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| This is not my book, this is the Constitution ...also a good read. |
I am in the process of typing my handwritten manuscript into the computer. I have recently discovered that this is Not My Favorite Part. I wonder if it might have been better to have just typed it all along but, realistically, I know that I am away from my computer too much to have gotten as far as I have if I had relied on the ol' laptop. Also, with its pathetic lack of a "J" key, and its perpetually sticking spackbar, I think it is entirely possible that I might have demolished it before now.
I have decided that, if this book does well, I am getting a new laptop to help with my future writing endeavors! (Who am I kidding...first I will get the roof fixed, but someday, SOMEDAY, I am getting a new laptop. Seriously.)
I have noticed that, during this typing-into-the-computer phase, my book is continuing to grow. New scenes miraculously find their way into the book. Bit characters swell into full-fledged characters that suddenly need names and backstories! I knew that my re-writes would increase my page count, but it does make me wonder if I will have to end up pruning later.
The funny thing about having the typed pages staring back at me is that, suddenly, it looks more like a Real Book. No longer is it just my familiar scrawl sprawled across the pages. Now it looks almost...official. There is a certain satisfaction in seeing the words all lined up properly. It is kind of like when the family gets all spruced up for a proper portrait, and everyone is wearing their best clothes and smiling brightly, frozen in time, and you think That's how I knew it could be! Of course, nothing is really different than it was just a moment before: Bobby is still annoyed with Suzie and pinched her right before the photo was taken, and Max's pants are too short. But to the casual viewer Suzie's eyes are bright with happiness, not tears, and the too-short pants don't show in the photo. All is well. Only those who were there during the process know The Truth.
And the truth is Writing is Messy Business! Deciding to change the point of view and tense is a tedious fix, and I wonder if it will be worth it. Handwriting the whole blasted thing just to have to turn around and type it all in later makes sense in some ways, but don't remind me of that while I am typing or I might snarl...especially if the spacebar sticks.
I love that! The family portrait analogy is great! Only the family (our beta readers, etc.) know exactly whose pants are too short outside the frame of the photo.
ReplyDeleteIf I lived near you, I'd be happy to type it in for you. My J key works, and I used to be a medical transcriptionist. I can decipher even doctors' scrawl and I type pretty fast, too.
Good luck!
On my desktop computer my letter 'U' sticks. I spilled Iced Tea on it so it doesn't work well anymore, lol.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to handwriting or typing... I have to say typing is the most efficient. I can't think well 'on paper', probably because I erase things about fifty million times before I get it right! I'd be very good at wasting paper!
Good luck with all that typing in! It's a good way to edit, that's for sure :)
Good luck with the typing! Either way, the revision would be imperative, just think about all the wonderful things that are happening while you type. It will be worth it!
ReplyDeleteI used to do both with the main body of it done on the computer. The stuff I wrote was usually a scene beyond what I had already or a rework of what I remembered. It rarely got entered in that fashion.
ReplyDeleteNowadays, I just type it all. I'm faster that way and my writing is such an unreadable mess next to the crisp letters on the glowing screen.
Oh, and the shift key on my new keyboard sticks and, on the laptop, the E key has become a shiny black square.
Man, I can't imagine handwriting a full novel. I'd get carpal tunnel or something. I prefer to type. It's faster too.
ReplyDeleteIt also gives me reason to have good handwriting, though. That's the downside.
I just never remember to lug the laptop around with me. (And if I did, someone else would complain of being deprived of its use.) Also, when inspiration hits, I get impatient having to turn it on, wait for it to boot up, log in, blah, blah, blah...
ReplyDeleteDon't get me wrong, I LOVE computers/technology/gadgets/gizmos...I just like the ability to grab my notepad and pencil (I keep case of them sharpened in my "writing bag") and jot down a thought, or a line, or a scene...
I like to hand write chapters first. Then it kind of serves as a second draft to enter them into the computer. Like you said, the writing gets fleshed out in the transition, so it's kind of a revision process too.
ReplyDeleteI like your photo analogy. It's true, who knows what amount of heartache and anguish lurks behind those printed words?
ReplyDeleteMy laptop is my best friend when it comes to writing though. I could never hand write a whole novel, my hand cramps up if I write too long and the quality of my handwriting steadily decreases when it was bad to start with. I'm glad I'm not living 200 years ago!
Good luck with the typing! I also cannot imagine handwriting an entire novel! Seeing the words typed in front of me helps me think and edit and whenever I have to handwrite (if my imagination strikes at a "bad" time) I must type it up as soon as possible.
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