Savvy Context: The Crowd Weighs in on Computers

Bonus post between weeks!
(See, I told you I'd make it up to you!)

Last time I talked to proponents of writing on paper. Here's what the other side had to say:

I tend to use the computer mostly in the editing/refining stage. For me there's also a distinction to be made here between creative writing and academic writing….I like using the computer for academic writing because it allows me to start with an outline and then flesh things out little by little. —Kandi H.

When I wrote everything on paper first, I was always carrying a notebook around with me, often a large one. Now I…don't worry about always being prepared to write the next part of the story. Also, you don't really have to worry about losing the page that you just wrote your most brilliant scene ever on. And there's always spell check and the backspace key. I got really tired of not being able to easily change large sections on paper. –Aimee L.

I love the feeling of my laptop's keys beneath my fingers. It propels me to type something--anything--with no aim or purpose (most of the time). I start typing, and I watch as something unfolds: a long overdue email to an old friend, a quick online message to a new friend, or the beginning to what I hope will be the story that changes the world.—Lynz M.

If I'm writing on a computer, sometimes I like to start in the middle. I can write papers or stories in chunks and then rearrange, add and subtract as necessary….Computers help me write because they make it so fast and easy to generate, alter, check grammar and spelling, etc. But they also make it easy to agonize over one sentence, rewriting and deleting, until you drive yourself crazy.—Tanya P.

So which side are you on?