tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761780763416603349.post331201947607832090..comments2023-07-05T07:49:39.205-04:00Comments on Sideways-in: iA Writer - My ReviewJohn Pylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14379211215949426912noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761780763416603349.post-29031721119694297912013-02-23T11:38:45.615-05:002013-02-23T11:38:45.615-05:00Thanks for sharing these thoughts. You're not ...Thanks for sharing these thoughts. You're not alone. A lot of people like to handwrite their first drafts. Normally, I just find it limiting. I type so much faster than I can write by hand, and for my first draft, I like to get my thoughts out as quickly as they come to me. Typing it helps me get out of my own way. Later, I slow down, weigh each word-sometimes I'll handwrite a particularly thorny or important passage, for the reasons you mention. In a pinch, or if I'm just in the mood, I will sometimes handwrite a first draft (I find it better for shorter pieces).<br /><br />I guess I'd say there isn't just one way for everyone. Some great writers of old would compose on a typewriter. Some would work it out in their heads first, or tell it out loud. A book like "The Scarlet Letter" was clearly handwritten first - and it shows. The Iliad and fairy tales were worked out orally - and that shows. Hemingway composed dialogue on a typewriter - and that shows, too. Each is brilliant in its own medium.John Pylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14379211215949426912noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7761780763416603349.post-55046721436060559152013-02-23T10:58:47.437-05:002013-02-23T10:58:47.437-05:00I've tried Focus Writer for a while. It's...I've tried Focus Writer for a while. It's nice, but I found that I just don't like the computer screen when I'm writing. I hand-write my first couple of drafts, which is the absolute best thing for distraction-free writing. Call me old-fashioned, but writing with one's own hand allows you to truly put yourself into each word you write. It's more alive, more deliberately alive. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com