Summary

The article discusses the creative benefits of writing on paper, emphasizing its role in enhancing creativity and idea generation despite the prevalence of digital writing tools.

Abstract

The author, a digital writer who often writes on a phone, advocates for the incorporation of paper into the writing process. They argue that writing on paper activates more areas of the brain, leading to increased creativity and novel ideas. The physical act of writing is seen as a catalyst for the mind, particularly useful for outlining, generating headlines, creating mind maps, journaling, and note-taking. The article suggests that paper's fluidity and messiness allow for connections that are not easily made on a screen, and that the tactile experience of writing by hand can draw out ideas from the subconscious. The author's preference for canary yellow legal pads is highlighted for their non-intimidating and inviting nature, as well as their cost-effectiveness, which encourages abundant and free-flowing ideation. The process is synergistic: initial creative work is done on paper, then transferred to digital formats for refinement and efficiency, combining the best of both worlds.

Opinions

The author finds the analog method of writing everything by hand and later re-typing it inefficient.
Paper is valued for its ability to add a physical element to the creative process, which is beneficial for generating novel ideas.
The act of hand-writing is believed to be faster in terms of idea generation compared to typing, despite typing being faster for transcribing those ideas.
The author prefers using canary yellow legal pads with black or blue ink for their effectiveness in capturing and organizing thoughts without distraction.
Legal pads are considered ideal for creative work due to their low cost, allowing for abundant and uninhibited writing.
The transition from paper to digital writing is seen as a way to combine the creative benefits of paper with the efficiency of digital tools, streamlining the writing process.
The author views the digital aspect of writing as a blue-collar task, focusing on transcribing the creative output from paper into a more structured and shareable format.

The Creative Benefits of Writing on Paper

Why going analog will help you bring the best from your writing

We’re going old school today, but don’t worry. I won’t ask you to dump your laptop and go live in the woods without electricity. There are big creative benefits to writing on actual paper and I’d like you to consider them for your writing arsenal.

Let’s set the stage a little. I’m a digital writer. Not only do I use my laptop, but I do the majority of my writing on my phone. I’m always carrying this little tool in my pocket and I’ve found my phone has massively increased my writing output without taking more time from my life.

I write about my wild, mobile writing here:

Writers: How to Boost Your Daily Word Count with One Simple Tweak

If you want to write more, but you’re pressed for time, keep reading

medium.com

and here:

What I Learned Writing an Entire Novel on My Phone

The year was 2017. It was cold and dark outside. I was thumbs-deep in my latest novel and minutes away from typing the…

medium.com

So, how does paper fit into all this digital business? Well, it’s an integral part, but maybe not what you’d expect. There are analog writers out there who swear by hand-writing everything and later re-typing the finished work into the computer.

I find this analog to digital terribly inefficient.

But there are a few key places I use paper and they’ve increased my creativity by adding the physical activity to the process. When we hand-write we activate the brain in more places than we would had we typed the same passage.

When we add a physical element to a creative process, there’s movement. Our creative minds thrive on movement. If our work (i.e. writing) hinges on our ability to come up with novel ideas, wouldn’t it be best to put ourselves in the most creative situation possible?

Where I use paper for writing

Quick, first-pass outline (I’m a hybrid panster. I use a rough framework for my books) — This is the most-valuable creative use by far
Headlines and hooks — I’ve come up with all my best headlines on paper
Mind maps and diagrams — figuring out key points in the writing, where I couldn’t think my way through a tough spot
Journaling
Note-taking on the go — I find it faster to access
Dialogue-stealing from real-life conversations (later to save them in my phone)
Building a playbook — more on that here:

Create Your Custom Playbook: A Solution for All that Life Has to Throw at You

The one, priceless book you must write over your lifetime

medium.com

Paper is fluid and messy

That pure messiness is the reason paper writing works so well for creative processes. Lines go from here to there. Connections are made that you cannot see on a screen. You cross things out, but the ink is still there to remind you what’s underneath.

When you type it’s there or it isn’t. Yes, you can track your changes and mark the hell out of your document, but the excessive marking detracts from the creative side of the process even more.

Paper is fast.

Yes, I can type faster than I can write, but the ideas come faster when I hand-write. This is an important distinction that’s worth reflecting upon.

The physical process of hand-writing will bring ideas out of you, hidden deep in your subconscious. They needed a little motion and physical effort to draw them out.

My paper of choice is canary yellow legal pads

There’s something magic about black or blue ink on the yellow paper. You can keep writing and flip the pages back without taring anything out. You can dedicate entire pads to a single topic.

Legal pads are cheap.

I don’t worry about wasting paper. I write fast and loose. If I’m in an ideation stage it’s important to have abundant tools. Legal pads are perfect for this creative abundance.

I can draw little images in the margins to help spark ideas. I can doodle to keep my mind moving if I have trouble generating ideas. A blank screen can be intimidating. Blank yellow paper is more inviting (for me, at least).

The synergy

Once I’ve got the base creative work done on paper, I’ll transfer the work to my writing software. I’ll set up the entire outline, or document in my phone to make sure I’m prepare when I can steal time, writing in bursts.

I like to think of digital writing as the blue collar side of the writing work

Once I know the direction of my work (from paper) the rest of the process is typing-out the movie playing in my mind. I become little-more than a typist. I’ve found this to be the most-efficient way to get the writing done.

Once the creativity is established off paper I switch from artist to journalist. Instead of interviewing another person, I mentally interview myself and write as fast as I can to get the story on the screen.

Sometimes it’s best to start at the roots

If you want to give your mind the most-creative opportunities, you’ve got to get moving and write what you can on paper.

You can’t beat the efficiency of the keyboard, but if you’re looking for new ideas, stand-up, push away from the laptop, grab your stack of paper and let the ideas flow.