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For more information see:
https://www.fastcompany.com/90578555/the-psychological-benefits-of-writing-by-hand
In this time-pressured world, why would anyone write by hand?
Writer John Updike, who wrote both ways, said word processing made producing text “almost too easy.” In a letter to his editor at The New Yorker, Updike wrote, “I’ve bought a word processor and we’re slowly coming to an understanding. It’s quick as the devil, but has very little imagination, and no small talk.”
Writers from Danielle Steele to Neil Gaiman prefer composing their works by hand.
“To me, typing is like work, Gaiman explained in a 2015 interview with Tulsa World. “Writing with a pen is like playing. And you can write on planes when they’re taking off and landing.
Studies show definite benefits. In 2017 a study in the journal Frontiers in Psychology found that regions of the brain associated with learning were more active when subjects completed a task as opposed to working on a keyboard. And that writing by hand could promote “deep encoding” in a way that typing does not.
In 2014 researchers found that the students using laptops tended to write down what the professor said literally, while those who took notes by hand were more likely to listen to what was being said and to analyze it for important content. They were “processing information and reframing it in their own words.” Students who had taken notes by hand were better than those who had typed their notes to answer questions on the concepts the prof presented.
Daniel Oppenheimer, one of the study’s co-authors, told Medium’s Elemental that in order to analyze the lecture, “people had to think deeply about the material and actually understand the arguments. This helped them learn the material better.”
Perhaps the most annoying thing about writing by hand is also what makes it so effective for learning — slowing down.
When you write by hand, you write more thoughtfully. Neurologists and educators report that drawing out the letters opens neural pathways that pressing a key does not.
Handwriting involves pathways that go through or near parts of the brain associated with emotion. According to Oppenheimer doctors who take notes by hand can build better rapport with their patients than doctors who are typing into a computer.
Interesting, Warren. I tend to plan by hand. Does that count?
ReplyDeleteI have several author friends who will handwrite chapters if/when they are stuck. It works quite well for them. I have tried it with mixed results. That could be due to my handwriting which starts out gorgeous and quickly degenerates into a chicken scratch. SIGH!
ReplyDeleteIf I want to read it I either need to pay a forensic handwriting analyst to translate the illegible scribbles or I type/keyboard.
ReplyDeleteI write on my laptop,but do copious editing and re-writes by hand. And I plan by hand, on a big sketch pad, which I also use for maps.
ReplyDeleteI injured my right hand in an industrial accident years ago, and if it weren't for a keyboard, I would never be able to write letters to friends (and I do write letters to friends!) much less write any kind of fiction.
ReplyDeleteAs even my keyboarding becomes more and more difficult, I am looking into a a dictation program that Jim blogged about recently.
So interesting, Warren (she says as she types this comment). I plan by hand and handwrite notes throughout the writing process. I loved taking notes in classes. One year, after teaching myself the rune alphabet in Tolkien, I took all my notes for an anthropology class in runes. Not sure what that did for me. I love a blank notebook and a good pen.
ReplyDeleteI handwrite ideas and complete my outline. Based on what you've posted, perhaps I'm giving myself time to really think.
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