Comments on: Are you a better writer or a better ‘type-writer’ ?

By: Sharath Rao

Sharath Rao — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 18:29:57 +0000

“But when made on paper the list has more profound effect on organising my work than when on comp.”

I so agree !! Some things are better kept on paper – the whole idea of switching on your laptop in the middle of the street/bus stand to look up a phone no. does not appeal to me But at the same time its easier to lose paper stuff so I store some things on both …

“Even while typing blogs, when I get stuck I generally go back to paper. ”

- Oh no ! that wud be hard man

By: Ganesh Nayak

Ganesh Nayak — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 16:42:03 +0000

@ Sharath
I guess I have tried out both. One more example is the ‘To do’ list. I have tried alternately on comp and paper. But when made on paper the list has more profound effect on organising my work than when on comp. Even while typing blogs, when I get stuck I generally go back to paper. So i guess its individual preference.

By: Sharath Rao

Sharath Rao — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 20:50:18 +0000

@rajeshwar : good luck to you.

@ganesh : “Somehow, for me, flow of thoughts is smoother on paper than on the keys.”

thats how it used to be for quite a while …i dont know how much of this is individual preferences and how much is abt not having had enough experience with typing as well…for its likely that if one is favorably convinced abt X so strongly that one does not try Y, then he/she continues to remain inefficient/ineffective/or both with Y

By: Ganesh Nayak

Ganesh Nayak — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 14:28:30 +0000

I have done typewriting course (even though I did not give the exam) hence typing was always faster for me than writing. But recently I discovered that I feel more comfortable to first write a draft on paper and then type it out to make further modifications. Somehow, for me, flow of thoughts is smoother on paper than on the keys.

By: rajeshwar

rajeshwar — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 10:50:34 +0000

I am a better typewriter than a handwriter simply because I use a TVS gold keyboard. i used to be a typist years back and suffer using general keyboards till somene suggested tvse gold keyboards. now i am bidding for the world championships for speed typing.wish me good luck and may india shine.

By: Sharath Rao

Sharath Rao — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 03:27:33 +0000

@bala – thanks for the comment, this looks like a first time welcome too.

“Now, it still takes as much time or longer to get the final draft as people go through as many as twenty revisions, simply because making changes is easy.”

- point taken, but given say 30 minutes to get something done, is a better job done writing vs. typing …

By: Bala

Bala — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 18:52:50 +0000

While typing is certainly faster than writing on paper for most people, it does not translate to increased productivity. A common example is legal documents. Previously it was hard to get a legal document typed and checked. Hence there were only about three revisions of it. Now, it still takes as much time or longer to get the final draft as people go through as many as twenty revisions, simply because making changes is easy.

By: Sharath Rao

Sharath Rao — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 16:32:16 +0000

@yhac – “I feel much more comfortable starting a draft on paper, especially if its of a long essay.”

that comes across as unintuitive – esp. on long essays ? must be harder.

Yes, I agree with the sketches thing – which is why i prefer taking notes on paper rather than on a laptop in class…. IF EVER that is

@joy : I completely disregarded (apparently intentionally ) the nostalgia aspect when I wrote that post. I should not have – I remember a friend of mine who almost refused to get on email and expected me to write letters. I obliged actually ! I certainly agree that nostalgia is a powerful driver.

By: Joy

Joy — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 07:48:26 +0000

If I were to ‘write’ I’m much better off typing. Somehow the thoughts just don’t flow when I put the pen to paper and I’m almost always left staring at the blank sheet.

However, I still remain a big fan of writing down quotes and passages from books etc in spiral bound/handmade paper notebooks . Flipping through the pages evokes nostalgia and a screen just won’t do in such cases

By: yhac

yhac — Sat, 03 Nov 2007 05:54:17 +0000

I’m definitely a much faster typer than writer, but for reasons that I haven’t figured out yet, I feel much more comfortable starting a draft on paper, especially if its of a long essay.

It could be because writing on paper gives me degrees of freedom — in being able to sketch out ideas in figures/formulae etc — that typing doesn’t, atleast not yet. It could also be because there are fewer things to distract you if you are facing a book, when compared to a computer

Once I have a rough skeleton ready, I usu switch to typing. As you mentioned, the advantages in editing are much too huge to ignore when working with a soft copy.