Project Longhand

Writing longhand - with pen and paper, no computer - requires an entirely different way of thinking about what I'm doing.

I suppose that's an exaggeration - obviously, I still think about characters and plot and setting and all the rest of that good stuff. But it's much more linear. By that I mean that it's very difficult to go back and change things, certainly in "real" time.

While I've always thought that I write a first draft completely before revising, it turns out that I actually make a lot of changes as I go along. These are generally "small" things - inserting little elements that will come up in the plot later, changing a weapon, etc. But all these little things actually add up.

Writing longhand kind of feels like I'm writing without a net. Now I realize I will revise - and type - at some point, but for now, it's all heads-down and charge ahead.