The Challenge of Writing by Hand
There are times and places where I still write with pen to paper.
(Due to an inexplicable system error, this did not post when scheduled. Please enjoy!)
As you read these words, I’m living in a canvas tent at a major medieval reenactment event in southwest Pennsylvania for a week and a half. I attend Pennsic every year and get to see lots of friends (and kill a few with swords while fencing). Save for the 2 years it didn’t happen due to the pandemic, I’ve been attending annually since 1996.
Anyhow, for this week and a half, I tend to be largely offline. Times have changed, however. Texting via phone, FB Messenger, and Discord helps me coordinate hanging out with friends not in my camp. Also, there are some emails related to event happenings I need to keep an eye out for (this is a semi-working vacation; I’m one of the people who keeps the fencing community safe). All of this is via smartphone; I have no computer at Pennsic.
To some degree, I’d love to be completely disconnected. But that’s not possible anymore. Still, I’m way more offline than online during this trip. One way in particular: All the writing I do is by hand.
Journals, notebooks, and pens, oh my!
While I maintain the blogs that I do publicly, I have a private journal I keep thoughts and feelings in. These don’t get shared, and that journal is a book I write in. Part of my daily routine Monday – Friday includes journaling.
Long ago I learned the value of this practice. I collect my thoughts somewhere I can refer back to if I need to. Also, putting them down and getting them out of my head is super useful. Why? Because there’s a release in putting pen to paper and writing out what’s in my head, heart, and soul.
Beyond that, however, I have a couple of notebooks I keep for other purposes. One is for abstract thoughts when I spend time in nature, often while hiking. Another is for Pennsic or long-weekend camping events. That’s for story ideas.
I even own a couple of fancy pens. Not fountain pens or quill pens or that sort of silliness. Fancy pens, handmade, individual. Not the usual store-bought 3- to 6-pack of pens. These, however, often only go to cons for book signings or live at my desk (the one I have that doesn’t have a keyboard, mouse, and monitors on it.
Yes, I know I can use my phone and type one-handed or employ talk-to-text for notes. But there’s something about the sensation of putting pen to paper and writing things down by hand. I think it’s similar to why I prefer keyboards and typing over using talk-to-text software overall.
However, there is a rather unfortunate downside to writing by hand.
My problem with writing by hand
My problem here is simple: My handwriting is atrocious. Yes, I’m old enough that I learned cursive in school. Apart from my signature, however, I do not write in cursive. (Also, I’ve been told that my signature looks a lot like a squashed bug.) Still, my handwriting, especially at speed, is often not easy to read.
There are a few reasons for this. I hold my pen wrong. Seriously, I hold my pen incorrectly, and even though I’m a righty, I hook my wrist like a lefty. I think because I was such a prolific writer as a kid, my teachers didn’t bother to correct this.
Another reason is that my hand isn’t entirely steady. Because of the nerve damage inflicted on my brachial plexus after I got hit by a car crossing a street almost 27 years ago, I can’t hold a pen, paintbrush, or the like entirely steady. This can be really frustrating, but I’ve found ways to adapt (and, yes, sometimes hold my right wrist with my left hand for extra stability).
The last reason? I write too fast. My mind thinks fast. Really fast. Writing to keep up with that often produces super-sloppy lettering, words missing letters, and spacing that isn’t easy to read. I tend to do this because I don’t want to lose a thought, so I write it quickly.
Combined, these make anything created by writing by hand a challenge to read. And, yes, sometimes I can’t read my own handwriting.
But there is still value in writing by hand.
Why I like writing by hand
On this vacation, the “indoors” is in the open, under a large, high-roofed tent with no walls. I sit at a wooden table with my notebook and pen to do any writing.
There is something deeply satisfying about this. The scratching of the pen on paper. The letters and words coming together on the blank page. A sense of fulfilment, of accomplishment, as I create something. Fiction or nonfiction, the act of writing by hand holds in it a certain catharsis.
When I started writing fiction, when I was 9 years old in 1981, I did all my writing by hand. There’s a sensation that goes with this that can’t be described, but I enjoy the memory inherent in it. Something about pen to paper is just deeply, deeply satisfying.
And even on vacation, there are things I want to write down regarding thoughts and feelings before and after happenings. But also, I always get new ideas. I’ve started a story or two while out and about, and even though I have to slog through my own awful handwriting after writing by hand, something is empowering about doing it. And empowerment is always a good thing.
That’s why I like writing by hand.
Thanks for reading. As I share my creative journey with you every week, please consider this: How are you inspired and empowered to be your own authentic creator, whatever form that takes?
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