Writing old school

Whether I'm at Barnes and Noble or Dunkin' Donuts in Coral Gables/Miami, I sometimes prefer to go old school - I write by hand. I've been doing this with my sixth book lately and I find that the writing f-l-o-w-s in a different way.

I really think about what I am going to put down on paper instead of letting my fingers loose to waltz across the keyboard of my laptop in a hyper creative rush.  In a world where we constantly type and thumb messages on our smart phones, writing by hand is a welcomed change of pace, a throwback even if my writing looks like chicken scratch that only I can decipher.  I'm finding that I am writing more scenes and dialogue when I use a pen than when I use the keyboard. No Wi-Fi required either.

Of course, I then have to input what I wrote by pen into the computer. When I do that, I continue the process of editing and rewriting.

Another benefit to writing by hand - it's low-tech and lightweight. I can do it at the coffee shop or on my red sofa while watching reruns of Knight Rider and Charlie's Angles on COZI TV. (Talk about old school!)  My memo pad is much lighter than my laptop.  And my battery never runs out.

PS
I also like using pens from the Hampton Inn. They never seem to run out of ink and they're pretty smooth.