Writing by Hand?

This post is a supreme act of hypocrisy. I am blogging about Writing by Hand!

Here I am... tapping away at my keyboard. But the Luddite in me is telling me I've gone soft and should go back to real writing.

OK, I'm not alone. Emmy-Award winning scriptwriter Robert Avrech told me he writes with a fountain pen. But he writes his (also award-winning) blog on his Powerbook!

Copywriter Robert Stover writes:

Want to start writing better copy - instantly?
Then perhaps you need to throw out your computer and pick up a pen.

This insight comes from writing teacher Shari Wilson.

She noticed that her student’s writing transitions, flow and idea sequencing was better on handwritten in-class essays over those they worked on outside of class with a computer.

I've done some of my best writing in spiral notebooks... on the Subway! But I find it hard to give up the luxury of the word processor at home. The problem is the computer and the Net are recalcitrant tools. A #2 pencil doesn't distract you as much from your subject matter. Mark Twain anticipated this with his essay on the typewriter.

How do you write? Do you write a first draft with pen or pencil and only then fire up the computer? Or do you write your drafts on the computer?