Holy Worlds Christian Forum :: View topic - Longhanders

Let me warn you, though, it's horrible to have to type it up later - so time-consuming!

I only use mechanical pencils too. I like always having a sharp edge on the graphite, and it also saves a trip to the pencil sharpener.

Paper breathes ideas in ways no computer ever could. The leaves of endless whiteness whisper temptingly... The stroke of a black ink pen making a line on the blank page simply exudes mysteries of what has not been written, and what is yet to come...

*cough* Ahem. Beware ye followers: that may well end up as a drabble on my blog. :roll:

Enough imagining! You may well have guessed I am a lover of the fair pen and its partner, paper.

I was starting to get that impression.

I'm not sure why we should beware of a nice drabble being on your blog, though. :roll:

Thanks for all the helpful responses! Right now I'm leaning towards loose leaf, so I can rearrange and add scenes at will. (Also, because I don't have a suitable notebook on hand...) Instead of buying a binder, I think I'm going to decorate these two nifty pieces of stiff cardboard I just reclaimed to make a special cover and backcover. I'll keep everything together with some bookrings I've got lying around. I'll let ya know how it goes.

Jonathan Garner wrote:

I'm not sure why we should beware of a nice drabble being on your blog, though. :roll:

It was a heads up, so when you see it there you don't go "Hey! I've read this already!"

You mean people still do that?! :shock:

I can't get the creative part of me going on a computer, even with the best music going and everything. It HAS TO BE PAPER.

College ruled, white, in a notebook. I think that's it. It just has to be paper.

Author:	Rachel Newhouse [ May 13th, 2011, 10:39 pm ]
Post subject:	Longhanders - what kind of paper?
For those of you that write your books out by hand... what kind of paper do you use? Lined or unlined? Any special type? Loose? In a binder? Notebooks? What kind of notebooks? Why? I'm considering writing a novel out by hand for the first time, and I'm not sure what paper would be best to use. I'm considering doing loose, as that would allow me to insert and remove scenes easily, but I also think it would be fun to buy a notebook especially for the occasion.

Author:	Aragorn [ May 13th, 2011, 11:32 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Longhanders - what kind of paper?
I don't write on paper anymore, unless a computer isn't available. However, for many years I did all my writing on paper. College ruled notebook paper was my favorite, loose rather than in a notebook. I tried writing in notebooks for years, but eventually decided loose paper was preferable so that the editing wasn't as difficult. I usually just kept the loose paper in a folder rather than a binder. It's probably best to always number the pages with loose paper. Now I find writing on a computer vastly superior, since it's so much easier to edit.

Author:	Constable Jaynin Mimetes [ May 14th, 2011, 12:40 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Longhanders - what kind of paper?
Lined!!! Lined, lined. I cannot write on unlined paper. My lines go all over, my handwriting gets undecipherable, even to me, and other, bad things happen. Usually college bound spiral notebooks are what I write in. I've used loose leaf on occasion, but it's too easy for things to get lost. When I started writing seriously (shortly after the completion of my first draft of Prince of Yen) I realized that simply writing in spiral bound notebooks was simplest. I'd have a story, then a list, then a poem, then start a new story, then go back to the old story, and instead of trying to keep sections together I'd just go in order and sort it out later. I also learned pretty quick to try to title and date everything. It helped with sorting. If I know I'm writing a book when the first sentence comes out of my pen I do things a little differently. I have a collection of hard cover notebooks (most of which are wide ruled, unfortunately) and I'll go pick a couple out and write my novel in those, uncluttered by my random stuff. I'll walk around for a couple of months with two notebooks as a result. I have some odd habits with my writing. I never use two colored notebooks in a row. I always write in pen, black pen. I simply can't stand colored ink or pencils... no clue why. Call me a crazy fantasy writer.

Author:	Suiauthon Mimetes [ May 14th, 2011, 2:09 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Longhanders - what kind of paper?
I prefer to write on a computer but most of the time that isn't possible for me so usually I end up writing on paper. When I write on paper I prefer notebooks, but they have to be lined!!! Otherwise my writings would look more like a roller coaster than a story. When I'm brainstorming I prefer paper. It helps me think through what I'm doing more than a computer would.

Author:	Sienna North [ May 14th, 2011, 8:20 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Longhanders - what kind of paper?
I sometimes write some of my story on paper. Let me warn you, though, it's horrible to have to type it up later - so time-consuming! And another thing: editing is a pain, so try not to make too many mistakes! Anyhow, as to the type of material, I prefer to use a lined, spiralbound notebook and a mechanical pencil. My current notebook is rather small, with somewhat narrow lines, but I like that particular format. Just something that works for me. The nice thing about a smaller notebook is that, when writing by hand, your mind considers progress in terms of pages, so having shorter pages is a definite plus . I think that summarizes my preferred writing style admirably!

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Author:	Calenmiriel [ May 14th, 2011, 11:08 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Longhanders - what kind of paper?
Phili! I'm surprised! I thought wrote longhand! I never write my stories on the computer. I like to have a hard draft on paper just in case the computer crashes or the story gets wiped out for some reason. (I mentioned this in the "Notebooks" thread. ) I LOVE college ruled, loose leaf paper, because I like to pick out fun binders to put my story in. I also like the ability to keep adding pages to the binder. It's also handy to snap notes in a binder. I usually keep all my notes specific to one story in the same binder I'm writing in. (Most often in the back or pockets.) I only use mechanical pencils too. I like always having a sharp edge on the graphite, and it also saves a trip to the pencil sharpener. My tid bit of experience. ^^ ~Calen

Author:	Aragorn [ May 14th, 2011, 11:24 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Longhanders - what kind of paper?
~Evenstar~ wrote: Let me warn you, though, it's horrible to have to type it up later - so time-consuming! Good point. I forgot about to mention that part. Calenmiriel wrote: I only use mechanical pencils too. I like always having a sharp edge on the graphite, and it also saves a trip to the pencil sharpener. Whenever I tried using mechanical pencils, they always kept breaking. Maybe I just press down too hard. They also leave such thin, light lines, while I prefer the wider, darker lines of a normal pencil. The numerous trips to the pencil sharpener weren't fun, though.

Author:	Rachel Newhouse [ May 14th, 2011, 6:20 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Longhanders - what kind of paper?
Yay! Responses! This is happy. You thought I wrote longhand, Almond? Up until this point, I have been a dedicated computer writer. While I don't want this thread to turn into a "do you write longhand and why" discussion (there's other threads for that!), I will say that the reason I'm trying longhand for once is to see if I can reap any benefits from writing more slowly with the inability to do extensive editing. I figure that typing it up afterwards will be a good opportunity to edit, so that by the time the thing's on the computer in a usable format, it will be well on its way to finalized. However, once I decided on that, I ran into the question... "So... WHAT am I supposed to write on?" Hence this thread. Thanks for all the helpful responses! Right now I'm leaning towards loose leaf, so I can rearrange and add scenes at will. (Also, because I don't have a suitable notebook on hand...) Instead of buying a binder, I think I'm going to decorate these two nifty pieces of stiff cardboard I just reclaimed to make a special cover and backcover. I'll keep everything together with some bookrings I've got lying around. I'll let ya know how it goes.

Author:	BushMaid [ May 15th, 2011, 6:13 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Longhanders - what kind of paper?
Paper breathes ideas in ways no computer ever could. The leaves of endless whiteness whisper temptingly... The stroke of a black ink pen making a line on the blank page simply exudes mysteries of what has not been written, and what is yet to come... cough Ahem. Beware ye followers: that may well end up as a drabble on my blog. Enough imagining! You may well have guessed I am a lover of the fair pen and its partner, paper. I use lined, spiral bound notebooks for whatever I happen to write. As a few others have mentioned, my writing would look like errant snail tracks without those precious guiding lines. I also use a fineline black ink pen. Leftover from my arty side; where tracing pencil drawings with black ink works wonders. I don't write entire novels in notebooks, but I do write excerpts, novel ideas, poetry, six word stories, plotlines, character names, anything and everything that may ever become useful I write in those. Being a lefthander often has its trials, so being able to open the book and fold it back with the spirals is quite helpful. Between excerpts/poetry/ideas, I usually leave several blank pages if I plan on coming back to write more. Just in case. That is the end of my long ramble.

Author:	Lady Elanor [ May 15th, 2011, 6:22 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Longhanders - what kind of paper?
I always try and write all my work by hand first. I once didn't, computer crashed and I lost all my work. Lesson learned. I buy hardback, lined paper books and write all my stories/WIP in them; that way I have it all secure I can type it into the computer when I have finished, but there is no way I can lose it then.

Author:	Aragorn [ May 15th, 2011, 11:26 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Longhanders - what kind of paper?
BushMaid wrote: Paper breathes ideas in ways no computer ever could. The leaves of endless whiteness whisper temptingly... The stroke of a black ink pen making a line on the blank page simply exudes mysteries of what has not been written, and what is yet to come... cough Ahem. Beware ye followers: that may well end up as a drabble on my blog. Enough imagining! You may well have guessed I am a lover of the fair pen and its partner, paper. I was starting to get that impression. I'm not sure why we should beware of a nice drabble being on your blog, though.

Author:	Elly [ May 15th, 2011, 12:23 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Longhanders - what kind of paper?
College ruled lined paper with black pen in a two inch 3 ring binder is best for me.

Author:	BushMaid [ May 15th, 2011, 4:15 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Longhanders - what kind of paper?
Jonathan Garner wrote: I was starting to get that impression. I'm not sure why we should beware of a nice drabble being on your blog, though. It was a heads up, so when you see it there you don't go "Hey! I've read this already!"

Author:	Aragorn [ May 15th, 2011, 5:38 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Longhanders - what kind of paper?
Philadelphia wrote: Thanks for all the helpful responses! Right now I'm leaning towards loose leaf, so I can rearrange and add scenes at will. (Also, because I don't have a suitable notebook on hand...) Instead of buying a binder, I think I'm going to decorate these two nifty pieces of stiff cardboard I just reclaimed to make a special cover and backcover. I'll keep everything together with some bookrings I've got lying around. I'll let ya know how it goes. Please do. BushMaid wrote: Jonathan Garner wrote: I'm not sure why we should beware of a nice drabble being on your blog, though. It was a heads up, so when you see it there you don't go "Hey! I've read this already!" Yes, but we only got to read part of it. We'll be waiting to read the rest of it.

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Author:	Rachel Newhouse [ May 15th, 2011, 6:29 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Longhanders - what kind of paper?
Yes, we will look forward to reading that. I really love writing with Sharpies. It's so smooth - no scribbling to get the ink to flow! However, as normal Sharpies bleed, if I use them on plain lined paper, I'll only be able to use one side. Which is not necessarily a bad thing. (I do have some of the new "Sharpie Pens" that bleed less, but I think mine are running low on ink. ) Has anyone ever tried double-spacing while handwriting? If you're using lined paper, you could skip lines, as long as you remember to.

Author:	Andrew Amnon Mimetes [ May 17th, 2011, 7:22 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Longhanders - what kind of paper?
I always double space in the (very, very, infrequent) times I write in longhand. I generally always write first drafts in mechanical pencil, second drafts in Pilot G-2 pens (needless to say, I've never actually written a second draft in longhand, so I haven't written much longhand with pens). I usually use spiral bound or even just normal notebooks. 3 ring binds are good for editing, but then you have to lug this huge binder around. Personally, a book-size moleskin is great! That's what I will be writing the first draft of my realistic fiction novel in. eru

Author:	Varon [ May 17th, 2011, 12:03 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Longhanders - what kind of paper?
I used to use composition notebooks with the glued spine and speckled cover until I realized how much faster I could write on a computer (I don't write cursive very well) and the ease of changing names and such.

Author:	Airianna Valenshia [ May 19th, 2011, 1:52 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Longhanders - what kind of paper?
You mean people still do that?!

Author:	BushMaid [ May 19th, 2011, 4:39 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Longhanders - what kind of paper?
laughing out loud!

Author:	Calenmiriel [ May 19th, 2011, 4:43 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Longhanders - what kind of paper?
Airianna Valenshia wrote: You mean people still do that?! Why yes, quite hard core, in fact.

Author:	Bethany Faith [ May 19th, 2011, 4:43 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Longhanders - what kind of paper?
Airianna Valenshia wrote: You mean people still do that?! That was my response too...until I remembered that I'd written an entire novel in hard copy when I was like...seven. Not fun.

Author:	Rachel Newhouse [ May 20th, 2011, 2:19 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Longhanders - what kind of paper?
Airianna, dearest, keep it on topic. There are other threads if you want to discuss why or why not to longhand. I want to longhand, but for the life of me I can't figure out what paper to do it on! How pathetic is that? Hence this thread.

Author:	Lady Eruwaedhiel [ May 20th, 2011, 10:02 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Longhanders - what kind of paper?
Ok, I can't stay out of this, being a committed longhander I have always written longhand, since I didn't have regular access to a computer when I started and it is now so firmly engraved in my brain that THIS IS THE WAY TO BE CREATIVE that I don't think it'll ever leave. I started in a spiral-bound notebook and would tear out each page (since each page was a chapter long at that point) and put it in a plastic slip in a three-ring binder. I still have them all. ^_^ Then when I got serious about writing I switched to tape-bound notebooks, to make it feel more like the book it would be instead of a bunch of loose pages. I can't get the creative part of me going on a computer, even with the best music going and everything. It HAS TO BE PAPER. College ruled, white, in a notebook. I think that's it. It just has to be paper.

Author:	Constable Jaynin Mimetes [ May 20th, 2011, 10:13 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Longhanders - what kind of paper?
Lady Eruwaedhiel wrote: I can't get the creative part of me going on a computer, even with the best music going and everything. It HAS TO BE PAPER. College ruled, white, in a notebook. I think that's it. It just has to be paper. You and me both. Finally, someone who understands why I can't write on the computer. I wish I could find more of those kinds of notebooks that are college ruled. Most of the time I have to choose between tape-wrapped and college ruled, so the college ruled spiral bound usually win.