Why Write by Hand?
Why write anything by hand when you can write on a computer? Doesn’t it take too long? Isn’t it messy and pointless?
A hairy, headless pedestrian sign in Victoria, BC. Photo: Tanya Clarke 2021
I found a picture the other day while scrolling through the thousands of photos on my phone. I had photographed a note left behind by the previous resident of a hotel room we stayed in. It read – Becca has hairy knees.
I laughed out loud and read the note out to my family. The message brought foward memories of a trip to Whistler, staying in a hotel room so small we couldn't find the beds. Eventually, we discovered one hidden in the wall and that the sofa folded out into a bed for two. The room became one large mattress once both beds were open and my daughters delighted in bouncing from one to the other. At least I could make myself a coffee in the morning in the tiny kitchenette.
You Have the Coolest House, Ever
Last weekend, a friend came round and showed us a pile of notes she'd received in high school from her friends. Hand written notes passed to her in class, folded into intricate shapes with sharp origami folds. Her mum had found a box of them on a recent visit back home. Being a generous soul, our friend allowed us to read the notes, letting us laugh at all the things most important to a 12 year old girl in high school.
Do you think Ritchie likes me? I might let him feel me up.
I miss you so, SO much! Let's hang out soon!
You're the BEST friend ever!!!!!
This class is SO boring. YAWWWWN.
I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!
You have the coolest house ever!
They are wonderful. Hilarious reminders of developing brains and developing bodies. Small messages from the past reminding us who we were, who we are now and where we might be heading. All folded up into geometric shapes to be opened and refolded an infinite number of times.
Why Use a Pen & Paper?
It is often said to try and write by hand using a pen and paper. Writing in longhand might seem a laborious process when you can tappety-tap on a keyboard and keep all your writing neatly in digital form on your computer. Grammarly will correct your spelling and let you know when your prose sounds a little off. You can delete swathes of writing or spend a merry hour or two editing each and every sentence.
Why write anything by hand?
You might say you can only write in capital letters or you've forgotten how to hold a pen. Or that your writing is so illegible you'll never be able to read back all your notes.
All of these things are true.
My writing looks as if a spider crawled into an ink well and then ran across the pages of my notebooks. I can't always read every word I’ve written. Sometimes I hold my notebook at arms length as if squinting will help the messy lettering coagulate into legible words. It doesn’t always work.
Brain Connection
I like to write by hand because it feels more connected to my brain. If I need to remember things to do, and I always do, I write a list. I have a notebook where, every week, I write down a list of things to do for each day. I remember better when I write reminders by hand. I could put all these lists in my phone and set a reminder for each day. But, honestly, as the years go by, I think it might be best to use what's left of my brain rather than farming all of it out to Apple.
When I'm writing something fictional, a story, long or short, I always write by hand first. My notebooks are filled with disconnected bits of dialogue, scenes and characters that change names and come and go with no proper story structure. The structure evolves when I return to my notes to edit them into a story. The physical act of crossing things out, making notes in the margins, helps me to see where the story might go. Sometimes I tear pages out and re-order them with sellotape or even glue.
I find writing with a pen on paper slows you down. I don't mean the pen slows down your thought – it's best to write as fast as you can – I mean it stops you getting distracted. The allure of the computer is a major source of interruption. There's the need to clear out email, delete all spam, google something, start down a rabbit hole reading every news headline.
On and on.
And yes, of course, there are numerous apps to monitor your time online and many people find them helpful. Yet there is another way. You could remove yourself from that seductive flat screen of light and find the beauty in writing pages of scruffy rambling prose you don't want anyone to read.
But maybe I'm old-school. There are those that will always prefer to write by keyboard.
Found Notes
Becca and Her Hairy Knees will forever make me laugh. A message from someone else’s life. I wonder who is Becca? Why does she have hairy knees? I think about a story there.
My friend's high school notes from her friends are kept in a box she can share with a few people she trusts. There’s something beautiful about these messages she still has, the thoughts of her friends, the never-ending love in those early friendships.
I love the randomness of finding these things. Dropped notes, boxes of analogue photos in a car boot sale, notes in the margins of old library books. Insignificant to some, a treasure to others.
So go forth my wonderful writerly friends! Write messages, love notes, grocery lists, letters to your friends. Keep the ones that matter. You never know who might find them.
Until next time.
Message on a notepad. Photo: Tanya Clarke 2019
