Thread: Pen vs Computer

Okay. I'm not entirely sure if someone has posted this before, but i can't seem to find anything related under search.

So my question is, does typing on the computer undermine the ability to write by pen? Ability as in writing flow, syntax and maybe even vocabulary.

Because i'm still a student and sits for examinations using the traditional pen and paper, but i find that it's often faster for me to type. I'm quite worried as to whether it will affect my exam condition, if i keep practising essay-writing on the computer, since it's faster, and also more environmentally-friendly.

Please do help! Thanks in advance.

Unless you write a ridiculously fast shorthand or hunt-and-peck on the computer, typing is simply faster than writing by hand. It doesn't limit about what you think of and how you will write it. In my experience, I type because I'm able to keep up with what's on my mind. It also allows me to quickly delete mistakes , making the finished product seem rather polished for a first attempt. When you make mistakes in writing by hand, half your paper is filled with crossed out words and arrows and the like. Still, you come up with the same story in the end.

I would practice writing by hand, just so you don't clam up when it comes time.

For most people, typing is far faster than using pen or pencil. But that should be the only difference. Wherever I can I use a computer, but when I'm in the field I use a notebook and pencil (never a pen - they can betray you). It makes no difference in the way I write, except that where need be I resort to syntactically compacted text to save time and to get as much down on paper as I can. I have published many articles that were originally composed in the field with pencil and paper. There is no difference in style between those and articles composed on a computer.

In the old days of course we used typewriters. You young folks have never experienced the thrill of sitting down and turning out four or five thousand words on an Underwood Model Five. I wish I still had mine.

But today I would probably hate it after using a computer for the past 30 or more years.

Using a computer has certainly undermined my handwriting ability. Anything I attempt by hand is totally illegible.

Print. That's what I had to learn to do before I started high school. My handwriting was impossible for me or anyone else to read. My Standard Six teacher suggested I print for a while to discipline my hand. I did, and soon developed a very neat though not very stylish cursive based on my printing. I still use it some, but print more often. Using a typewriter had nothing to do with my handwriting problem, which existed before I owned a typewriter and learned to type. When my teacher suggested printing as handwriting therapy, I based my printing on the elite type in my Underwood.

If you think that at my age I’m going to sit down and begin spending time labouring over THE CAT SAT ON THE MAT,I’ve got news for you, Sunny Jim.

So you are saying there's a difference between age 12 and, ah, a somewhat older age in using that sort of drill?

I've always liked the keyboard. When I had the stroke, I forgot the entire right side of the keyboard (and I'm not as coordinated as I used to be) - but that is one of the first things I retaught myself. The keyboard and how to type.

I learned on a manual typewriter, but when the computer took over - I liked it even better. Editing before you print AND you can see it all? Priceless.

I like using pen, typewriter and computer for different projects. I don't know about everyone else but, for me, something about the medium has an influence on what I'm writing. Maybe it's due to the speed involved through the different writing methods.

Though currently my typewriter is broken beyond repair. I miss the clacks and clicks that come through typing each letter. I'm going to have to get a new one.

My stroke affected the left side, and unfortunately it was my left hand that had suffered a fragmentation injury many years ago that needed months of physical therapy to straighten out. After the stroke there was a brief time of recovery, briefer than what the doctors had predicted, and today I'm in fair shape. The stroke was seven years ago and I still have problems walking slowly - I tend to stagger and sometimes fall. But my hands are working at around 90 percent so I can still put one word after another about as well as I ever could.

Were those old manual typewriters as good as we remember? Mine was an Underwood Model Five built in the late '20s, and I've also used Royals that I liked almost as well. Today my error rate is fairly high and I'm only saved by the edit on the fly capability of the computer, so I doubt I could use any sort of typewriter anymore.

I don't think I could use a typewriter, either - I make too many errors now. My favorite typewriter was the IBM Selectric, though. That ball was fast! I used to always jam up the keys on an old-fashioned manual typewriters, but that is what I learned on.

Every single idea I've had is written in a little Molskine notebook. I write some rough dialogue and a few "test-runs", if you'd call them that. I always prefer to write a few paragraphs by hand before really sitting down and typing something up. Typing is faster but, there's something about actually writing it that's quite satisfying.

I also draw little doodles while I'm writing by hand, which helps me ascertain the mood. I write letters to characters I haven't even made up yet, which helps a lot. . .I guess I'm just a little strange. I have longer to think while I'm writing by hand too, if that's good or bad I don't know.

So I love both, but in the long run, typing makes my life easier. I'll always love writing down a brand new, rough idea though, and it's an important part of my little writing routine.

Winner = Computer

I write very little by pen/pencil nowadays. Flowcharts, to-do lists, equations, logic flows, etc., stuff I need for programming or organizing my workload. I rarely write any of my story, except when I am somewhere and don't have anything pressing to do. Then, I write, illegibly, or draw.My vocabulary, phrases, etc don't change, but my speed does, and I do wind up scratching out quite a bit, just because there is no backspace.

I always write first drafts on paper, then transfer to computer. Rewrites and editing are much easier on computer. I find I can't think as well if I try to start on the computer. My brain will work better with pen & paper.

I prefer handwriting notes or rough drafts. Staring at a word processor makes me more conscious of looks (formatting, font, how the words appear on the page) than content, plus I already spend enough time looking at a monitor.