Pen and Paper or Computer...

Yesterday the internet went out at work. Since all of our programs are internet based (and will freeze or shut down if the internet dies) I spent the next twenty or so minutes sitting in my cubicle, playing candy crush, reading facebook and waiting for the internet to come back on.

During that time a friend and I had a discussion about writing. She felt that since I had down time I should write. I explained that my stories are saved on google docs, and that I couldn't access them when the internet is down. She told me to get out a pen and paper and write.

One problem; unless I'm taking notes in a meeting, or jotting down an idea, paper and I do not mix. We used to get along famously - in fact I have notebooks upon notebooks of stories and ideas from High School - but not so much anymore. As I've gotten older my handwriting has deteriorated to the point that it's illegible. Also when I'm writing an exciting scene, I have a habit of forgetting words, and the letters begin to blend together (usually because the paper has become so tilted that they all slant together). It's bad. It's really really bad. So bad that I've often had to throw away what I assume are perfectly good scenes and bits because I simply can't read them anymore.

As a result I prefer to use a computer when I write (which is probably why my handwriting is so horrible nowadays... ). It saves my sanity, plus if you write on paper, you're going to have to transcribe things into a computer eventually, so doing it on a computer to begin with also saves time. At least, it does, in my opinion.

But everyone is different. My friend prefers paper because that way she can jot things down in between jobs at work and not get confused. Another friend does it because she shares her computer with her husband and kid. A third doesn't have access to a computer unless she's at home.

What do you prefer?

ROW 80 Update:

I finished up chapter eight of TUO. I also went through and did some edits on the newest rewrite of the Dancer (also known as the Velvet). A friend read what I had and commented that she wanted to kill the male lead because he seemed like a jerk and an abuser. After going through it, I had to agree with her, so changes have been made to make him more personable. In addition to all of that that I updated one of my fanfics yesterday. I'm not really thrilled with the update. It feels like this section of the story is just dragging on and on and on right now, but there's so much to wrap up, and there are things that I need to set up for the next arc, and neither can be done very quickly without appearing forced.

WIPpet Wednesday:

Today is August 28th, so I am going to share 23 words from chapter 8. (2+0+1+3 is 5. 28-5 is 23) This takes place shortly after the scene from last week. Liam has fallen asleep and has a dream about his sister and what happened to her.

“There’s a fire coming, Liam.” Letty warned him as she began to fade from sight. “You better run before it consumes you too.”

WIPpet Wednesday is hosted by K.L. Schwengel. To join in, all you have to do is share a piece of what you are working on that somehow relates to the date like what I did here, and then share it at the blog hop located here.

To read more ROW 80 updates, check out the ROW 80 site here.