Is the Pen Mightier Than the Word Processor?

"The last time anybody said, 'I find I can write much better with a word processor,' I replied, 'They used to say the same thing about drugs.'"--Roy Blount Jr.

Caveat Lector: Most of the below is obvious, and goofy to boot. I am not affiliated with any of the companies or whatsits mentioned below. As with all things, your mileage may vary.

Short answer: it depends.

Long answer: it depends on what's comfortable, useful and affordable/available for you.

Writers are luckier than artists in that we can get away with cheaper supplies. I was once in line at the cashier at the Cornell Store, and the girl in front of me was an art major purchasing over $1000 in materials. She commented that there was a reason the phrase "starving artist" existed. On the other hand, more expensive options can be nice, too.

Writing Utensils

For those who write the old-fashioned way, you can use pens, pencils, markers...I like Japanese .3mm pens (which have the dubious advantage of being deadly if you jab someone with them) and I insist on a smooth "feel," no clogging ink, minimal smearing and usually medium or fine point. I prefer that a pen die all at once then gradually, in ever-fainter ink; best of all is if you can see the ink level. Thanks to a friend of a friend's kindness, I indulge in a Sheaffer fountain pen, too.

I dislike pencils because they smudge, though for math I became fond of Yasumoto Grip500 mechanical pencils because the pointy end retracts (so I don't stab myself in the thigh when I have it in my pocket) and there's no sharpening involved. (Ever try finding a pencil sharpener in the average Cornell classroom?) When I use pencils, Mars-Staedtler erasers work well, though a friend swears by the kneaded eraser (she does art). Markers can be irritating if you have small handwriting, want to write on both sides of a page, or dislike the fumes, but they're bold and easier to read (and photocopy).

Paper

Notebooks, looseleaf, scrap paper, lined or unlined, colored or white or black. All of these are portable and require no batteries. I find notebooks handy so I don't lose sheets (I have trouble finding impromptu paperweights in the summer when I keep windows open), and I avoid notebooks that lose sheets easily. Some notebooks have irresistible designs even though they're more expensive. I've tried top-bound and side-bound. I used to prefer the latter and now prefer the former. Preferably they are bound so that pages lie flat easily, so that when you go to type up the contents, you don't have to find something to hold down the pages. Looseleaf and a binder or folder can work well, and makes it easier to remove an offending passage. Sometimes I use scrap paper for drafts, mainly out of guilt. Writers go through paper like mad. Clairefontaine notebooks are expensive but beautifully and durably bound, and perforated index card notepads slip easily into the pocket on subway rides. Now all I need is a clipboard.

Writing Surfaces

Anything with a large, stiff back will do; you can also find lap-desks. In Japan and Korea you can get pencilboards. I like notebooks that already have a stiff back and aren't too heavy. Otherwise, if you're luckier, you have a comfortable desk or table. The Science Fiction Writers' Association's pages on ergonomics are helpful in figuring out what's good for your body. For my laptop, I find RoadTools' (Podium) CoolPad, Griffin Technology's Elevator (I have an earlier version of the thing called the iCurve) handy, though depending on your personal computing setup they may or may not be helpful.

Computers

There are a lot out of there, and for writing you don't need a bleeding-edge gaming/graphics machine. Every operating system has some word-processor program(s) available. For cheaper options, there still exist dedicated word-processors, such as the Alphasmart and things like the Crosspad (I only heard about it after the company stopped producing them) or QuickPad, which are/were cheaper. Desktops are cheaper than laptops; I've never used a handheld device, though some people swear by 'em; even my Macintosh Powerbook 1400cs (a laptop) seemed nicely portable. I used to use my boyfriend's Wintel PC, but now have a newer Apple laptop. That, and the CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive lets me make inexpensive backups (and watch DVDs). Any pricing options I list will be outdated by the time you read this, but ZDNet (mostly PC) and MacWorld have fairly up-to-date reviews and prices.

Keyboards

QWERTY or Dvorak? Most people learn the former, but convertees swear by the latter. I've worked on learning Dvorak because (a) it'll screw up anyone wanting to borrow my computer (I'm paranoid) and (b) the theoretical increased comfort would be nice; I'm worried about getting carpal tunnel syndrome. However, the research on QWERTY vs. Dvorak seems muddled. Then again, I type 70-100 words-per-minute on QWERTY, and approach 40-50 wpm on Dvorak when I'm in practice, albeit with a much higher error rate. There are one-handed Dvorak layouts, as well as the "chording" keyboards (one-handed) that are said to be more comfortable but slower. You can also get QWERTY or Dvorak (external) keyboards in more ergonomic flavors than the standard flat keyboard. I'm using a Logitech Navigator, which has a low profile, accommodates the Macintosh pretzel, and has a bunch of programmable buttons and wheels (volume control, scroll wheel, email, etc.) that I find myself using, despite my initial skepticism.

If I ever have money to burn, I would like to check out a Kinesis. (Why wait until I have an RSI?)

Software

Choice of word-processor software is an individual thing. My experiences: AppleWorks (over 10 years ago) was pathetic, but it was what the middle school computers had. Microsoft Works 2.00a was fast and functional, but starting choking when my files hit ~500 kilobytes. ClarisWorks came preinstalled on my aged Powerbook, and worked pretty well; it's now part of the (much newer version of) AppleWorks, which I used at one point. On my iMac, I've used Mariner Write, which has all the functionality I need in a word processor, has the customization options I want, and is fast. A visit to Versiontracker for Mac OS X reveals a number of other Mac OS X alternatives, from Nisus Express to the incredibly affordable and well-regarded Mellel, which I am now using on my laptop.

Currently the software I actually use to write stories in is Literature & Latte's Scrivener. It's a streamlined, specialized, writer-oriented brainstorming/organization/composition system; if that sort of thing appeals to you, give it a try. It exports to RTF and .doc, at which point I bring the file into Mellel and do the final cleanup.

On Wintel I used Microsoft Word more out of resignation and availability than any fondness, and I'd switch to Yeah Write (a word processor with an attitude, and more comprehensible and fun interface) for personal use. If your computer didn't come with some acceptable word processor preinstalled, there are decent and far cheaper shareware options available. For me, word processors reduce the drudgery involved in writing: easy backups, copy-and-paste, spellcheck. Most will include a built-in spellchecker; you can also find stand-alone spellcheckers.

I experimented briefly with LaTeX, using TeXShop, a front-end for teTeX that walks you through the installation process. LaTeX: It's Not Just for Academia, Part 1 and Part 2 provide additional help. The sffms document class will produce a properly formatted sf/f manuscript for you, with a little input; Excalibur is a LaTeX-savvy freeware stand-alone spellchecker. Why did I go this masochistic route? The formats in which I like to view onscreen, read printed revisions, and send emails for commentary are all different from standard submission format, and with the help of BBEdit's grep (regular expressions, or regexp) capabilities tossed into the mix, LaTeX looks like my best bet for a good manuscript/writing-processing workflow once I get past the learning curve. That, and if I ever need to write a story with equations in it, I'll be set. If your eyes were glazing over as you read this, or things like UNIX innards and command lines bother you, this is not the route to go. On the other hand, if you like tinkering with open-source software, well, what can I say? It's versatile and it costs little-to-no money.

Typewriters

A potentially cheaper alternative, but with a lot of the drawbacks of handwritten copy. Then again, a good electric typewriter can have a lot of word processor-like abilities (the one my folks used to have held an error-correction tape and stored up to a line in memory, so if you caught your mistakes while you were typing a line you could easily "erase" them; plus auto-centering and other tricks). I don't use them anymore, but I feel nostalgic; I wouldn't mind having a manual for rough-drafting. (I retype to revise, so that wouldn't be a notable drawback.)

Printers

These days dot-matrix is not acceptable for submissions, though some eight years ago I got away with it with the print quality jacked up as high as it would go. Basic inkjets are pretty cheap (as of this writing, a couple hundred dollars or less; check ZDNet or your favourite computer-shopper site for up-to-date prices). Thanks to generous in-laws, I have a black-and-white laser printer now. The difference in printing speed (and per-page cost) becomes significant when you print hundreds of pages regularly.

In Summary...

Use what's best for you (as if I could stop you). There are far more options than the ones I've sketched here. You'd think something like what you use to write wouldn't matter, but it can. My sister writes best on the computer. I write science fiction best on the computer and fantasy best on paper (weird, but appropriate). Find out what helps you write and use it.

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