Tag: #handwriting

The Desk or the Lap?

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Hello everyone,

I hope you’re well.

Recently my weeks have been filled with trying to get into a new writing routine. Or at least back into my old one. I attempted NaNoWriMo 2022 and finished on 36k words. I’m happy with that. More than happy. And although I missed the target (50k words) along the way, I’ve found that writing on my laptop while on my actual lap is my favoured way to get things done.

I work from home 2-3 days a week, and the thought of finishing and returning to the same desk to write on my personal laptop doesn’t fill me with much joy. It makes writing a chore, which I definitely don’t want AT ALL. Writing is in my heart. Forever. So, just the act of writing directly to the laptop, either on my lap or on a different part of my desk or in my house, has helped a lot. Seems simple, but it’s a game-changer for me.

And I’m looking to start writing using a pen and paper as well.

I have plenty of notepads and got a nice new fancy pen for Christmas, so writing a story entirely on a notepad looks to be the logical choice. Though, I’m not sure my hands can handle it. At work, when I make any notes that go over a few sentences, I can feel my hand begin to cramp up. Which is a bit scary but understandable. I do mainly type at work, and notes are few and far between. Having said that, I have begun to write in my new notepad, and my hand is holding up well.

I completed a short story writing course last year, and one of the assignments was to write a story in a genre different from my usual (soft sci-fi). I decided to write a romance and loved it. I didn’t think I would, but putting the thing together, about a man meeting a woman in a coffee shop and bonding and later falling for each other over their shared love of a particular author was brilliant. So, I’ve started to write the whole thing on one of my notepads. This one, in fact:

(Also, The Dark Crystal rules, by the way)

I’ve noticed I’ve had to slow down my writing pace, as when I try to write as quickly as I’m thinking, the words turn to scribbles. On a laptop, it’s not a problem, but handwriting is another animal. I’ll get there.

This all leads to me ask a question to finish the post. It would be great to hear what you think.  

Do you like to write on your laptop, or do you prefer via a keyboard linked to a monitor?

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My Morning Journal and How It Makes Me Feel.

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Hello everyone,


I hope you’re well.

If you write a journal, for whatever reason, how has it helped you and/oryour writing?


Since the turn of the year, I’ve been writing at least one page in my journal. I’d heard of the theory that writing down whatever is in your head in the morning can help you focus and prepare for the day ahead. I also heard it can help bring about some ideas and be a kind of therapy.

In practice, I’ve found these two theory’s to be true.

I started by writing whatever it was that was in my head. Sometimes it made sense and sometimes it did not. This then morphed over the course of a few days into making sense. I then used it to get out any frustrations or insecurities I had in my working and personal life.

Once I’ve written some grievance down I then tend to keep writing until working out why I’m annoyed and come to a resolution about the whole thing. Although this can take a few days of writing to do, it has been very helpful indeed.

It has and continues to help me overcome any negativity and anger I have about the particular situation I’m in. This has also allowed me to tackle similar circumstances from a different and more productive angle. I’m much calmer for it as well.

As a writer this has assisted my growth and development. I’ve been writing for years and this is a dimension I didn’t know I needed.

And it makes me realise how bad my handwriting has become. It was never exquisite to say the least but it has gotten worse. I do work on a computer in my day job but hopefully journalling will help sort this out. And build the strength back up in my hand.

If you write a journal, for whatever reason, how has it helped you and your writing as a whole?

Thanks for reading and (maybe) contributing. Have a good day!