How Much Do You Write?

[PAKMAN]

I restarted my Journal this year after a year or so off. I try to put what happened each day in there and how I am feeling. I work crosswords daily with my fountain pens. When I have home projects I write out lists of materials I need. I also have prayer journal. I have an ink journal that I add pens that are inked and mark them off when I clean them out.

[thesmellofdustafterrain]

Thanks to this thread, I decided to do a more accurate analysis of how much I write by hand.

 

I finally finished typing in last weeks handwritten text. The machine says it came to just under ten thousand words for the week and it probably would have been more but some of the pages were illegible so I ignored them out of frustration. That doesn't include journaling, to-do lists, project planning, mind maps, writing at work, and notes. I would say I handwrite about ten to twenty-five thousand words by hand a week. That's not that much as Grammarly says I spellcheck eighty thousand to a hundred thousand words a week (which includes things like forum entries).

 

Now I've done the math, I'm surprised how little handwriting I do. It takes up so much more space than typed text, so it looks more impressive than it really is.

 

 

Edit to add: next comes the tricky bit, editing those ten thousand words into six thousand words. I know editing is important, but it's so unsatisfying to see the hard work shink so drastically. I inked up my extra-fine, extra-cheap Jinao pen with some Yama-Budo Iroshizuku ink from Pilot this morning and stuffed a printout and my pen in my handbag in case I have any spare moments during the day to cross things out.

Edited January 14, 2019 by the-smell-of-dust-after-rain

[vjones]

There are four types of things I write by hand:

1. My journal. I write often, but not daily. I prefer to write my journal by hand on nice paper, using a fountain pen. Also it's usually in bed at the end of the day, so it is totally quiet.
2. Notes for anything new I'm learning - Some people think we can learn better by taking notes by hand. I think that is true for me.
3. Mathematics - in addition to working out problems, I make notes to my self in pencil in a nice notebook. Again, I think this enhances learning.
4. Poetry (usually)

For other types of writing, I almost always use a computer because my thoughts come pretty fast and I can type faster than I can write by hand.

[Nerdyhistorian]

I should try to write and use my pens more. Following this thread to get inspiration

[JakobS]

The amount I write has decreased in the past years, but I do try to write every day. Sometimes it could be a few lines of poetry, a whole poem, a page, or a few pages of a short story. Recently my creative writing has picked up again in hopes of publishing a few works, so I have had more productive days than usual. Even when I type these works into my computer, I will go back to my written copy to add any edits I made to the draft on the computer. At work, I have had a lot of work migrate to the computer, but will write out research notes, or tallies of insect counts and damage on specific plant material. I also have been pinning a lot of beetles for further identification, so have been writing in location and field info to go with each specimen. If I need to write something its always with a fountain pen.

Edited January 25, 2019 by JakobS

[alextkeane]

Great thread!

 

I have kept a written journal for over 40 years, and have kept them stored away in plastic boxes in the attic. Someday, my children/grandchildren may like to read them.

 

I also use my fountain pens for work, make notes from readings, and anything else.

 

Many people have told me I have an interesting way of working: I make extensive notes, drawings, etc. then import the information to my computer, redrafting, reworking and revamping, then back to pen and paper for final edits. Somehow the written word on paper helps my thinking process. It slows me down enough for complex, critical thinking.

 

When I was in graduate school, all of my fellow students thought I was crazy. I took handwritten notes! They all took notes on their computers. The act of taking handwritten notes helped me remember molecular and cellular flow. All of my professors thought I had a photographic memory. I don't. I just take good notes and remember the structures, flow - how it all came together or flew apart.

 

In law school, I kept a Topps FocusNotes pad and a laptop in front of me, I'd mostly take notes by hand but reformat them into something better to use as a reference during breaks. Most either did all digital or all by hand.

 

I was not one of the crazy individuals to take the Bar Exam by hand though, no way I could legibly write as much as I had to in that amount of time.

[Bookman]

Great thread!

 

I have kept a written journal for over 40 years, and have kept them stored away in plastic boxes in the attic. Someday, my children/grandchildren may like to read them.

 

I also use my fountain pens for work, make notes from readings, and anything else.

 

Many people have told me I have an interesting way of working: I make extensive notes, drawings, etc. then import the information to my computer, redrafting, reworking and revamping, then back to pen and paper for final edits. Somehow the written word on paper helps my thinking process. It slows me down enough for complex, critical thinking.

 

When I was in graduate school, all of my fellow students thought I was crazy. I took handwritten notes! They all took notes on their computers. The act of taking handwritten notes helped me remember molecular and cellular flow. All of my professors thought I had a photographic memory. I don't. I just take good notes and remember the structures, flow - how it all came together or flew apart.

 

 

 

In law school, I kept a Topps FocusNotes pad and a laptop in front of me, I'd mostly take notes by hand but reformat them into something better to use as a reference during breaks. Most either did all digital or all by hand.

 

I was not one of the crazy individuals to take the Bar Exam by hand though, no way I could legibly write as much as I had to in that amount of time.

 

If your choice in the bar exam is between illegible or slow penmanship and fast keyboarding, I think you’re morally obligated to keyboard. I went to law school in the age of DOS, the cuneiform of operating systems, and laptops were like Sasquatch—we’d heard of them but had never seen one. Slow, poor penmanship would certainly have been a demoralizing strike against any of my fellow bar examinees.

 

In class I was lucky. I found a manner of oscillating back and forth between listening and taking copious notes that worked well for me. Outlining my notes every Saturday helped too.

[inkstainedruth]

Well, come March it looks as if I'm going to be doing a lot more writing -- I signed up for a creative writing class through the local community college. It will be interesting to say the least -- walking in with both a laptop bag and a couple of composition books with fountain pens to write with....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[CMaurer]

I use my pens for art, doodling, and such when I'm not in school. I like to brighten up my notes and letters However, I understand the dilemma of not having the opportunity to use your pens as much - I certainly don't use mine as much as I'd like to.

[RoyalBlueNotebooks]

I write when I fill my journal, when I tend to my correspondence, when I practice calligraphy, when I jot down notes and summaries about the books I read, when I jot down notes and outlines for new stories.

So... maybe two A4 pages daily without counting correspondence.

[kealani]

Daily Journal (a page a day)

Correspondence as they come in. Try to answer within a week.

Daily penmanship practice (try to)

Edited February 16, 2019 by AlohaJim

[tooloose-letrek]

I am staging a protest against the forced move to a totally digital world. Last year I was shocked to learn that cursive writing is no longer taught in public school. I've been a pen person for over 40 years and the idea of not writing manually gives me instant withdrawal symptoms. It's not that I am 'against' technology as I am very active on my computer and really enjoy the convenience of what software can do with music notation, photo editing, sound editing, desktop publishing, etc. But I have a feeling that we are being corralled into a new world that perhaps we haven't chosen. I don't do social media at all and only use my phone when it rings or I need to send a txt msg. My protest strategy is the fountain pen. I keep notebooks and sometimes I think I do so just so I can write; it's a magical experience for me to see my words appear on a sheet of paper, conveyed with some strangers arm/hand/pen.

[Restored]

As a programmer, I live in a digital world so I have to adapt but I want to branch out. I really wanted to journal but I don't feel like I have anything to say. But I heard a guy in a podcast say (paraphrase) "You have something to say, you just aren't saying it". I need to just quit analyzing it and just start writing it down .

[Thymen]

As a programmer, I live in a digital world so I have to adapt but I want to branch out. I really wanted to journal but I don't feel like I have anything to say. But I heard a guy in a podcast say (paraphrase) "You have something to say, you just aren't saying it". I need to just quit analyzing it and just start writing it down .

 

I started using fountain pens (again) three quarters of a year ago... and I love the writing. But like you, I feel as if I have nothing to say.. op paper. In my mind the stories jump over each other like bunnies in a field full of hungry foxes, but I find it difficult to slow down enough for my writing to keep up. However, things tend to become easier to do if you just keep on doing them.

[Lloyd]

I don't do social media at all...

Do you realize that you are using social media when you post (or read) at FPN?

[TSherbs]

Do you realize that you are using social media when you post (or read) at FPN?

More like anti-social media

[columela]

I use my pens for scribbling notes at work, taking notes in conferences or meetings, signing my reports, and general quick note taking. At home I write a journal on a nearly daily basis, my letters, shopping lists, notes, etc. So it is not bad, I average 2 fully loaded FPs per month. I wish I would write more but I cannot realistically expect to write more in my present circumstances.

[morethanjustacat]

Class notes, which are a lot, & my journal. One thing I'm trying to get myself to do is start writing drafts of papers w/ fountain pens, but at the moment I think my brain is too hard-wired for typing stuff rapidly, then deleting & re-adding things than writing slowly & in a focused way..

[gmathio]

I write a lot and I mean a lot ! I use my pen daily, I work as a chief editor in a TV station and all my notes and writings are with my pen. Two or three A4 pages daily and on Wednesdays, when I have a specific talk show, I write 7 or 8 ! I always carry two different pens with me, which I change every week and when I take my Parkers, I also have some cartridges with me. And I refill my Pelikans every two or three days...

[Studio97]

Lately my writing has fallen off but have been doing more reading and artwork. I have added more photography in my journal but need to pick up a fountain pen again.