Write by Hand: A Potential Solution to Perfectionism

Last Updated on August 29, 2024

Ever since I was little, I dreamed of being a famous fiction author. Now that I’ve had a taste of what the corporate landscape has to offer, that dream has become even more alluring. 

I’ve had a few trial runs and some ideas that stuck, but I could never come even remotely close to finishing my first draft.  

This experience isn’t unique to just me, though. Technology is so quick to give feedback on our writing that some people can find it difficult to complete their writing projects. Think about it: it takes less than a second for most modern computers to show the dreaded dotted red line under a typo. That’s not much time for a newbie to start focusing on imperfections instead of practicing. 

For those of us that are quicker to edit than they are to write, this can be a real obstacle in the creation process. 

A few months ago, I decided to take a stab at writing the first draft of my novel by hand. Before I knew it, I had thousands of words down on the page in a matter of no time. It was so freeing! 

Surprisingly, I could not find many opinions on this method. So, here are 5 reasons why I advocate writing your next story by hand. If you are also struggling to get some traction on your creative project, keep reading!

It’s Harder To Erase

Although not being able to erase your mistakes can be scary, the inability to easily backspace all of your hard work is a huge benefit to scribbling on a piece of paper. 

When you write by hand, you get rid of the biggest tool for editing: that beautiful 21^st-century backspace button. Without that button easily at my fingertips, I’m forced to make whatever I wrote down work. 

Now, is this foolproof? Of course not. You could write in pencil and erase when you really need to. But are you honestly going to sit there and manually erase a whole paragraph or chapter?

Exactly. 

For the hardcore, or the especially fickle, you can always write in pen to eliminate any temptation to start over. And no, I don’t mean those erasable gel pens!

(NOTE: It’s important to keep in mind that the goal isn’t to write a trash first draft. What we’re aiming for is to just get the first draft done. You can’t edit if you have nothing to edit.)

You Get Better at Plotting

Writing by hand made me commit to my ideas because I couldn’t just easily erase them. I’m not just blowing smoke. If I said that the main character had long curly hair in the first chapter of my draft, I better stick to that later on. 

This sort of “forced improv” leads to better plotting, in my opinion. The ability to think on your toes and connect ideas is a valuable skill set. 

To me, a story is like a forest full of your ideas. There are obstacles, heroes and villains, and beautiful detours. In the beginning, you may not have a clear direction, just an end goal. When you start to carve a path to it, you create the story.

This is a valuable skillset for an aspiring author to have, and worth practicing. 

Also, by committing to what you wrote before, you reduce the chances of creating gaping plot holes in your work. For example, if the main character is planning to beat the villain and avenge their family in chapter 3, don’t have them suddenly forget who the villain is and meet them all over again in chapter 9. 

That’s going to confuse you and your reader! By committing to your own ideas, you make the editing process less of a lift later on. 

You’re More Focused

Something that easily gets in the way of my writing process is distraction. A computer screen is only as efficient as you make it. Email notifications, text messages, ads, a cluttered desktop…

These can all negatively impact your focus when working digitally (and this goes beyond writing). 

When I write by hand, there are no notifications.  A blank sheet of paper leaves less room for me to drift than the “black mirror”. As I focus on writing out the words, other parts of my brain can juggle the plotting, dialogue, and connecting of ideas. 

Gone are the days when typing was a skill set that you had to prove as a part of your job interview! Typing is incredibly passive for many people now. Writing by hand is not. Forming the letters, spelling the words correctly, and deciding what to write next all take up more mental space than it would if you were typing. 

With less distraction comes more focus on the task at hand. With more focus comes better ideas. It’s really as simple as that.

Final Thoughts