A fellow handwriter, Susan Wiggs says:
When I’m working on a book, I tend to drag this notebook around with me everywhere. When it’s not with me, I try to keep it in a safe place, like in the freezer. So if there’s a fire, it’ll survive.
I haven’t done the freezer thing yet but that’s probably because I do carry the notebook everywhere. 
I lost a buttload of stuff with a hard drive crash in 2005, and love knowing that if something similar happened, backups or not, I’ve still got my original safely tucked away – whether in my backpack or maybe now in the freezer!
We all know how I feel about my pen, though my ink of choice is black, but I also share Susan’s love for Clairefontaine notebooks. Barbara Samuel told me about them earlier this year and I’m hooked. I was already writing the current book in my Mead Cambridge tablet, but have been using one for journaling.
Being able to dictate what I’ve written by hand using voice recognition software is next up. I’m going to give the program on Vista a shot before trying Dragon Naturally Speaking again.
As to why I handwrite, Susan sums it up perfectly:
(…) putting the words down is a meditation and a pleasure for whole minutes at a time (…)
Pen to paper is where I find my zone every time. No other way. Weird, huh? Or maybe not according to Angelo Beyerlen, “an engineer and founder of the first German typewriter business” in his “analysis of the difference between the typewriter and the writing hand”, quoted in Friedrich Kittler, Discourse Networks, 1800/1900 (from a paper given at the Modernism and the Technology of Writing in 1999):
“In writing by hand, the eye must constantly watch the written line and only that. It must attend to the creation of each written line, must measure, direct, and, in short, guide the hand through each movement. For this, the written line, particularly the line being written, must be visible.By contrast, after one presses down briefly on a key, the typewriter creates in the proper position on the paper a complete letter, which not only is untouched by the writer’s hand, but is also located in a space entirely apart from where the hands work.” (quoted in Kittler, p. 195)
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I haven’t resorted to storing things in the freezer, but I have started storing everything on flash drives (my hard-drive crash was last year). I currently have three (1 is backup, 1 travels, and 1 for just in case);o).
I split my work almost 50-50 between the computer and writing by hand. It just depends.
Ann
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Another Sheaffer fan chiming in! My very first blog post was an ode to my pen. GMTA. :-)
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was there a winner for the january contest?
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Hehe. I’m in the wrong generation. I can’t think as well with a pen in my hand. Essays? Sure. Fiction? Hey, I began writing on WordStar in 3rd grade… Pens kill me.
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When I’m stuck, the pen comes out. I plot on paper, think on paper and make characters, you name it. Pen on paper helps me almost as much as Morning Pages. I haven’t stored anything in the freezer, but it comes with me always, and I think I’ve felt worse about losing my notebooks than computer crashes.
Now that you’ve admitted you love the pen/paper aspect, you should read Sex, Lies, and Handwriting by Michelle Dresbold. Flipped me out.
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I carry a small notebook with me always – always! Never thought about fires or putting them somewhere safe. Now I have something new to worry about :( Like Eva, when I’m stuck, I go for the pen. Somehow, it works.
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Thank you!! I was once chastized on a board because I often write by hand–yes I’ve got two laptops and can walk them anywhere I want to go, it’s not the same!
At the time, I couldn’t articulate that, then realized the person I was arguing with just enjoyed arguing. But I agree with every word here. I don’t write complete MS by hand, but usually when I’m stuck and can’t come up with the right words, grabbing my yellow legal pad and moving somewhere else releases the muse. And I agree with the meditation aspect of writing over typing.
Besides, I’m on a computer for a living and would still like to think of this writing thing as a hobby worthy of relaxation if that’s at all possible!
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Good freakin’ grief. Why in the hell would anyone chastise anyone else for the way they write if it works. That’s beyond insane.
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I mainly write by hand as well. Sometimes I draft scenes on the computer or AlphaSmart and then revise by hand. But when I say “by hand,” I mean a few sentences at a time. Then I type them into the computer, then go over them by hand again…and again and again and again. Until they sound right. I can’t break myself of the hand-writing habit, and have decided not to try. The recycling company in town doesn’t like me, because I recycle too much as a result.
Cindy
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Like everyone else on here, it seems we all do the handwriting th ing first. I do so as well because I don’t feel like lugging my laptop around all the time. With a notebook, I can write for an hr during lunch and not have to worry about finding a plug, powering up, opening the file, etc.
One of the other bloggers I read said that he occasionally sends his work to himself thru email (Yahoo, Hotmail, etc) and saves it. I’m thinking I might start doing that, too.
So, what’s the big deal about the Clairefontaine notebooks? Are they journals or something?
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Celise – It’s the paper. Ink doesn’t bleed through, and it’s smooth and flawless. Even if it gets wet or damp from rain, say, nothing smears. Just excellent quality paper.
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Oh, this is so me :) The first draft comes quickest by hand…I’ve tried repeatedly to draft on the computer or an Alphasmart b/c it would be so much more efficient, but the story flies out so much faster when I use a pen and paper I end up ahead, even with the huge type in I have to do. I tell myself it’s a proto-edit, but really it’s a price I willingly pay for that intense physical pleasure I get from the pen gliding over the paper. And I’m a black felt tip girl — slows me down even more, but I love the boldness of it.
Michele (off to gather up my pen and paper now LOL)