Is the pen mightier than the keyboard?

“Fool,” said my muse to me. 
“Look in thy heart and write.” 
~Philip Sidney

How do you write? Is the pen mightier than the keyboard? When you sit down, do you peck at the keys or cradle a pen and notebook in your hands? Do you wait for your muse to show up?

“The benefits of handwriting have been documented by lots of educational psychologists, who have found that handwriting
engages parts of the brain that typing neglects.” 

How many words can you type a minute? Your fingers move quickly when you type. Writing with a pen slows you down and gives you more time.

Other research shows,”When the children composed text by hand, they not only consistently produced more words more quickly than they did on a keyboard, but expressed more ideas.”

I wonder if that applies as we get older? How can we express more ideas? Keep our muse showing up? Have you ever tried writing morning pages? Julia Cameron calls this writing cloud thoughts. Or you might consider crystalized thinking.

You might be interested in A Writer’s Book of Days to spur you on. “To create new or enhance existing stories, poems, or writing of any kind, all you have to do is set a date for writing practice, open your notebook, and begin writing.”

Do you have a favorite pen or journal that you like to use? Do you write morning pages? Do you have a favorite book on the craft of writing? Whether you write with a pen, or type on a keyboard or use a combination to keep your muse happy, keep on writing!