I’m three chapters in to my newest novel, completely hand written. My wrist is killing me, my fingers are sore, but you know what?

I’m okay with it.

Honestly, my wrist stops hurting if I just stop writing and go do something else for about twenty minutes. My fingers are getting used to it, so long as I take breaks. I hold the pen with the iron grip of anger anyway, and have to learn to relax and ease up. That will help my wrist, as well.

So does switching pens now and then. I think through the course of these three chapters, I’ve used four different pens. All black ink, because I’m a black ink sort of person, but various tips and types. Today, for instance, I’m using a Papermate Liquid Flare, extra fine tip. It’s a cheap pen, but really comfortable to use.

Each time I start out, my penmanship is pretty good, readable and not too wonky, but as the page progresses, my penmanship notably digresses. By the end of each piece of college ruled paper, it’s pretty scribbly.

But I’ll tell you one thing – – writing by hand makes you give serious thought to each sentence, each paragraph, and really concentrate on the NOW, not the next scene or the chapter following this. Although as a writer, I can see the novel as a whole, while I’m writing I’m completely in the moment. Nothing matters but the words I’m writing just then, nothing exists further ahead than the sentence I’m on.

Writing by computer can so easily make a writer hurry, and rush through important scenes in a mad dash to get to the next important scene. I think that’s where the ridiculous notion of “write a million words of shit, you can always delete later” comes from.

What a waste of time. Why take the time out of your busy life, while you’re struggling to find time to write amidst chores, kids, work, spouse, errands and life, to write down crap you fully intend to delete later?

You know, another reason I write with a pen is so I can’t erase anything. I hate seeing lines crossed through mistakes, whenever that happens it irks me until I can get beyond that page and go to another. I hate it. Writers using a computer could do themselves a favor, if they resolutely refuse to walk away from the computer – Remove your delete key.

Just pull it right up, set it aside for when you’re balancing your checkbook or editing that scathing email. And while you’re at it, pull off that Backspace key, because I know you’re all thinking “Okay, fine, I won’t delete, but I can backspace and type over what I don’t like.”

Just. Do. It.

I admit, this morning my wrist started hurting right in the middle of a good scene. I was anxious to get down another six or eight paragraphs, and my fingers were screaming at me. I told Pete that maybe, just maybe, it’d be okay to use the computer for a while, and only hand write half the novel.

He reminded me who else did things half way – HITLER. That’s right, Hitler did things half-assed. I’m sure lurkers supported him in email, which was odd, since he and I were emailing that conversation.  /old forum references

Anyway, I didn’t. I set the papers aside, did something else for an hour, then went back to it with renewed vigor. And you know what? My scene was better off for it.

Got balls?

Get a pen.

The sun’s out today ! Like it was yesterday, and is going to be tomorrow and Sunday. Glorious blue skies and sunshine! Okay, so it is Spring, but around here you never know what you’re gonna get this time of year, and typically your sunny days are Monday through Friday, almost never on the weekend.

But last weekend we had glorious sunshine, and it’s baaack! Which leads me to make extremely detailed plans, so as to get the most out of the weather and the weekend. My sister and I practiced this last Saturday, and found not only were we capable of getting it done, but that it was productive and enjoyable. So this weekend, we’re going to try and do it both Saturday and Sunday.

What is it, you might ask?

Absolutely. Nothing.

My grand plans are to wake up Saturday morning, take my coffee outside on the patio, listen to the birds, gaze around the back yard, perhaps discuss the placement of the new plants, ponder the window boxes and what should go in them, admire the state of the freshly mowed lawn (the gardener came yesterday). After coffee, I’ll set up the new chaise lounges and attach the new chair cushions, then my biggest decision of the day will be: Do I read a book, or work on my own?

Sunday will be more of the same, broken only by my walkies, which I’ll do in the morning before it gets too warm.

Have you ever done that, for an entire weekend? Absolutely nothing, even when you weren’t sick? Do you know how rare that really is for the majority of us? You either have kids to worry about, or chores that need doing. There’s usually errands, a project waiting, or some other commitment clamoring for your time. Sure, it’s the weekend, and you don’t have to go to work, but how often have you spend two solid days in a row not doing a thing?

Sure, I might get some writing done. This novel is being written by hand, slowly and deliberately and very enjoyably, but that’s not work or a chore. I have rocks in the tumblers that need to be cleaned, which is also pure pleasure and done in the sun of the back yard anyway. The groceries and errands will be done after work today, gonna pick up some Baileys, maybe a fresh bottle of Bacardi, and just kick back.

That’s the mood I’m setting for the Summer of 2010. Not to be lazy, mind you. My sister has only been at her new job for three and a half months, so there’s no vacation for her this year – – she just had a full year of unemployment, so don’t be feelin’ sorry for her! And me, well, I have a lot of annual leave I’ll have to take, and I’ll just spend it around the house, enjoying the back yard and writing.

Which brings me to the point I was going to make about that . . . This new novel is being done by hand, and I’m taking it slow, on purpose. It’s a departure for me. So much so, I’m using a pen name, which is having an interesting affect on the overall writing of it all. More on that later. The novel itself is set in West Tennessee, in the summertime, and has a long, slow, humid feel to it. Writing by hand, in the summertime, will add to that in a way only hand writing authors would appreciate. Which is not to be cryptic or snooty, it’s just a fact, like grass being green and sweet tea being disgustingly sweet.

Handwriting is so different, I know ninety eight percent of you are rolling your eyes at the thought, and that’s a shame. I won’t bother preaching at you about it, but in my opinion – if you can’t get a novel done without using a keyboard, how do you even feel like a writer?

I’m looking forward to spending an entire Summer outside, with a pad of paper and a pen, so much I can’t even explain it. There was a little nagging fear in the back of my mind that I’d probably get tired, and bring my little Dell Mini netbook outside and use that when my penmanship began to fail me – but I fixed that little red wagon by giving my netbook to my niece as a graduation gift. She’s in Africa this year, and her computer broke the day she arrived, so I gave my little computer to her to keep. That little screen was hard on my eyes anyway.

I never use the laptop for a lot of writing, especially in the summer, because it’s too hot on my legs and my fingers get all sweaty on the keyboard. Not that big an issue with a pad and pen, surprisingly.

So this summer I’m handwriting, listening to bluegrass, learning how to make a Mint Julep (after figuring out exactly what goes IN a Mint Julep) and getting back to basics, in writing, living, thinking, all that. I wish I had an old rockin’ chair and a black and tan coon hound, but that would probably be taking things a tad too far !

Here’s to Summer, long, quiet weekends, lush green grass and a bottle of Southern Comfort! (which is actually a whiskey and probably way outta my league).

Okay, so I’m not technically a dyed-in-the-wool Luddite, since clearly you’re reading this note on a blog, on the interwebs, and not scratched into a cave wall with a stone. But I’m one week into my experiment – which if you recall was to take a novel I’d just finished the first draft of, and handwrite the second draft – and I’ve noted some interesting side effects thus far.

1) I seem to write a very clean First Draft, just as I’d always suspected. In fact, over the years, my First Drafts have gotten cleaner and leaner. Although I’ve changed a few words here and there, and altered a few sentences, I’m several chapters (and half a tube of Aspircream) in and so far no huge changes or big segments altered.

2) I found the perfect cramping break for my hands was to work on the cover art, which was surprisingly difficult for this one. I’ve never had such a time coming up with the “right” look for a cover before, which surprised me, but I think I finally did reach a solid conclusion.

3) I sometimes like to write with a pencil. Yep, even though I bought a new pen for this experiment, and I like that pen a lot, I find myself getting really comfortable with a pencil. I think it harkens back to my early days in school, using a pencil for nearly everything. Plus, when I do make a blunder, it irritates me to see a glob of ink there, and it’s nice to be able to just erase the boo boo.

4) Simplify has been my motto for years, and it’s seriously creeping in to my writing comfort zone. The physical aspect of it, that is. I’m loving how it’s just me and my notebook and pen/pencil. No booting up, no cursor blinking, no Microsoft formatting trying to impose it’s authority over my own. I don’t have to keep explaining to Word that ‘splainin’ is a fine word, properly spelled, thankyouverymuch.

5) I’ve finally shaken off a lot of the nasty side effects that crept over me during an unfortunate time spent in a writer’s forum, and come out the other side stronger, wiser, and clued in – if you will – to some very insightful things.

6) I’ve given myself permission to let the story determine length, and the speed with which it is accomplished. I don’t even check word counts any longer, they’re meaningless. Just as meaningless as micro-labeling genres, which I’ll chat about later on.

There are other issues, other developments, that involve writing by hand that I’ll go at in more depth later, I only have a few minutes to spare (kill) right now and just wanted to gab. This summer is going to be very exciting for me, writerly wise. I’ve learned a lot and discovered a ton and have experienced a sort of … well it’s hard to describe. But it’s exciting, primal and new all at the same time.

And now it’s time to wash out my coffee pot, and my cup, and drive home for the evening.