Time to Print

I wonder if there's anyone out there who writes his/her entire novel on the computer?

I've reached the stage with my latest manuscript where I know I must print myself a copy. It's only about 29,000 words, and there is much more work to be done on it. But, for me, it's time.

I realize that this shows my age, but sometimes it bothers me that my novel is stored inside a computer, where I can't even see it unless I turn on a machine. I'm at the mercy of the hydro company whether or not I'm going to work on it!

Okay, that may be a bit of a stretch. The truth is I want to be able to hold the pages in my hand as I read. I want to spread those 100 pages out, sort through the scenes, make notes in the margins, even cut and tape sections, if necessary. Once I go back to the computer those changes will be easy to input.

I'd never want to go back to the"olden days" when I plunked away on the typewriter, re-typing draft after draft, trying to fit revised chapters in, without having to repaginate. I love the word processor's ability to move whole paragraphs to better positions or delete them altogether.

It all boils down to the fact that I can't see the whole thing on the screen. It's not easy to flip back to see what I said about something in Chapter Three and stay consistent in Chapter Eight.

I'd love to hear what you think.

What Works For Me

I create my first drafts in longhand. They are, afterall, extensions of the "free writing" method I use for generating ideas. When I reach the end of the story, I transcribe it, chapter by chapter, onto the computer.

I don't hurry this step. I am revising as I go. This is the stage I'm at now with my new novel. I hope to finish this step by the end of the year, but there's something to be said for moving slowly. I like to hold each chapter in my head overnight, to listen to the voices of the characters. It's surprising how little inconsistencies will reveal themselves, or new plot twists spring, unexpected, to mind.

Eventually, I will make a hard copy of this second draft and make further revisions to it in pencil, which is erasable. This may sound cumbersome to you. But although the word processor is wonderful for giving a writer the ability to move whole paragraphs around or delete them altogether, I still like the heft of manuscript pages.

When my hard copy becomes so cluttered with edits that I can hardly find my way through it, I'll transcribe this third draft onto the computer and, from that point, all the editing will be done there.

It works for me.

Cheers!