Normally, I type everything! Typing is faster, cleaner, and easier to edit. But believe it or not, I still keep a regular paper agenda where I handwrite my to-do lists. There’s something about crossing off tasks with a pen that feels satisfying. I also feel like I am more inclined to finished my to do list when I write it down manually.
This task felt a little weird at first because I’m so used to backspacing when I want to fix something. Writing by hand slowed me down. When I made a mistake, I had to either cross it out or squeeze in a new word above the line. Editing on paper definitely felt clunky compared to a keyboard, where revisions are invisible. The medium really shaped how I worked: I was less perfectionist and more forgiving of mistakes because rewriting whole sections by hand just wasn’t worth it.
The biggest difference I noticed is how writing by hand feels more physical and personal. My handwriting, the crossed out edits, even the spots where I pressed too softly is part of the text. On a computer, everything looks uniform. Bolter (2000) points out that digital writing remediates print by changing how we experience the act of writing and reading, giving us speed and flexibility but also detaching us from the material feel of text. I think that’s exactly what I felt here.
Do I prefer typing? Absolutely! it’s just faster and easier. But writing by hand made me pause and reflect in a different way. It reminded me of journaling as a kid, when writing was more about the act than the product. I guess sometimes the slower way has its own value. Writing this by hand also made me think about how much writing has changed over time. The printing press, typewriter, and now computers have each sped up the process and made sharing ideas so much easier. I’m honestly thankful for these tools because they let thoughts travel instantly and reach so many people at once. At the same time, doing this task gave me a new respect for how much patience and care earlier writers had to put into their work when every word was manual.
Reference
Bolter, J. D. (2001). Writing space: Computers, hypertext, and the remediation of print. Routledge
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