writing toward a deadline and writing longhand

I may not have mentioned it yet (shy clearing of throat) but I received some interest on my current YA paranormal manuscript. Interest in the form of a revision letter. Two, actually.

So I am frantically rewriting and editing away each day, toward my end-of-October deadline. And when I’m not writing, I’m blogging (which seems like an escape from my writing), or reading other kidlit or author blogs. Or making some time to read. (I have to read.) Or typing in my manuscript.

photo by Alesia17 at stock.xchng

Typing in my manuscript? Yes–I admit it–I write all my fiction longhand. There’s something about writing with a pen or pencil onto fresh crisp paper that makes me feel good, and that feels so much more connected to my creativity, to what’s deep inside me, to my soul, than when I type fiction in. Writing longhand just seems to allow the words to flow.

I’ve tried both. I wrote an entire manuscript by typing it directly in to my computer. And it just felt so much more disconnected to me.

And when I edit, I print out my pages to edit, and then–you guessed it–edit by hand. I think I catch so much more working that way than directly on the screen. And then, yep, I type it all back in.

In this age where a large number of writers type their work in, and when computers are such a big part of our lives, I was starting to feel, well…different. Not that that’s a bad thing, but I’ve felt different a lot in my life. So I decided to do a quick search on Google to see if any other writers are like me. In A Writer’s Book of Days, Judy A Reeves says that when you write by hand, you’re more connected to your feelings. She also says that one is not better than the other, which I agree with. It’s just whatever works better for you.

Alex Flinn, Libba Bray, Beverly Cleary, Neil Gaiman, Garth Nix, Neal Shusterman, and Eileen Spinelli all write longhand. Doreen Cronin writes both longhand and on her typewriter. So I’m in good company.

My head knows that there’s no ONE right way to write. You have to write the way that feels best for you. But sometimes I forget that.

So, how about you? Do you write long hand? Or do you type your work directly into your computer? Know any other children’s or YA authors who write longhand?

September 28th, 2007