I have this belief that writing by hand increases creativity, so I chose that idea for my first blog post. And, what do you know, I can’t find any support for that hypothesis in my admittedly brief internet search.

By first blog, I mean first blog post after a long hiatus and most of my former posts were just lists or me complaining.

Back to the subject.

There is science showing that writing by hand improves comprehension of a subject compared to typing notes.

“We conclude that because of the benefits of sensory-motor integration due to the larger involvement of the senses as well as fine and precisely controlled hand movements when writing by hand and when drawing, it is vital to maintain both activities in a learning environment to facilitate and optimize learning.”

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01810/full

“We show that whereas taking more notes can be beneficial, laptop note takers’ tendency to transcribe lectures verbatim rather than processing information and reframing it in their own words is detrimental to learning”

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0956797614524581

So, more senses, better learning. Also, better processing, better learning. Does this aid in creativity? What is creativity?

The American Psychological Association defines creativity as:

Creativity is the ability to produce or develop original work, theories, techniques, or thoughts. A creative individual typically displays originality, imagination, and expressiveness.

Creative thinking refers to the mental processes leading to a new invention or solution to a problem. Products of creative thinking include new machines, social ideas, scientific theories, artistic works, and more.

https://www.apa.org/topics/creativity

Except there’s truly nothing new under the sun. So, how do you get original ideas?

By making unique connections between ideas, knowledge, thoughts.

“Creativity is just connecting things.” ~ Steve Jobs

No one has the same thoughts, memories, knowledge, experiences. So we can be original by making connections that no one else could.

They say that there are only so many basic plots to a story and yet, the number of stories is infinite.

Every story in the world has one of these six basic plots, https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20180525-every-story-in-the-world-has-one-of-these-six-basic-plots

The Seven Basic Plots, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seven_Basic_Plots

Nine Basic Plots, https://www.how-to-write-a-book-now.com/basic-plots.html

So, handwriting.

Taking notes by hand will definitely aid you in learning about a subject. And knowing something, and not forgetting it once you close your laptop, will aid in making connections.

Handwriting is slower than typing, which may give your brain the lag time to make connections. I’m only guessing at this, however.

Because handwriting involves so much more of your senses and body than handwriting, it may help focus and that may spur creativity.

I will offer that during NaNoWriMo of 2022, I did a lot of word sprints on my laptop in order to generate enough words to meet my goal. I found that this often gave me ideas, like my mind was in overdrive.

Therefore, find what works creatively for you. Mix it up. Take notes by hand. Type your great American novel in sprints. See what gets things connecting and keep creating.

Edit on 2/7/24. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/evidence-based-living/202402/writing-by-hand-is-good-for-your-brain