This handwritten exercise brought unexpected other benefits. Without digital copy-pasting, it became harder for students to submit large swathes of AI-generated text. They were writing more authentically, in their own distinctive voices. Returning the graded papers became a chance to connect in person one-on-one with my students, offering brief comments or quick exchanges that seemed to mean more to them than digital comments.

The debate over whether to write by hand, type on a computer, or use a phone has long occupied the literary world. Joan Didion famously wrote her first drafts in notebooks, calling handwriting “a physical process that cements language in your mind.” Zadie Smith spoke about writing portions of White Teeth by hand, explaining that “the speed of typing creates the illusion of flow, while handwriting forces more deliberate word choices. In Writing Down the Bones, Natalie Goldberg says “when I am writing something emotional, I must write it the first time directly with hand on paper. Handwriting is more connected to the movement of the heart.”

Later I asked my students how it felt to handwrite their assignments.

“I was stuck for a while. But then it was a nice experience. It felt more creative,” said one.

“Writing online gives a corporate/work vibe. It felt more authentic to write by hand,” said another.

Their responses are reflected in what neuroscientists have discovered. A 2020 study in Frontiers in Psychology found that handwriting activates regions of the brain associated with learning and creativity in ways typing doesn’t. “When we write by hand, we’re forced to be more economical and strategic with our use of language, crafting notes in our own words. To do that, we have to listen more closely, think about the information, and essentially distil others’ words and thoughts through our own neurological filtration system and onto the page” says Ryder Carroll in The Bullet Journal Method, a brilliant book that blends writing by hand with digital tools.

I wasn’t always a promoter of the pen. Like most people in my generation, I was happy to leave handwriting behind. Gliding from garamond to geometric sans serif, I experimented with text and typeface. If it didn’t read good enough, there was always backspace. And best of all, was Ctrl+C, the magic key - no more copying by hand.

Sometimes, I’d read interviews with authors who said they wrote their first drafts in longhand and wonder why they clung to such an old-fashioned method.

Then five years ago The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron came into my life. I was feeling low, in a creative trough, anxious about turning into an empty nester as our three girls left home. Write by hand, said Julia Cameron. A big part of her 12-week creative program is the Morning Pages, a journal which must be written by hand. It sounded pedantic and pernickety to me. But if I was doing the program, I might as well do it right. So off I went to Vinod Stationery in Juhu Market, bought a blank notebook and three gel pens (blue, black, and green), and began my handwriting journey.

It wasn’t easy. My fingers ached on the first day, and forming legible lines required effort. But over time, something shifted. My writing became more relaxed, my thoughts flowed more freely. On a computer, I’d obsessively edit as I typed, deleting and rewriting lines before they had a chance to breathe. Handwriting forced me to slow down. Because I didn’t like the untidiness of scratched out sentences, I let my lines be. I stopped worrying about perfection and let my ideas unfold naturally. Now, years later, my handwriting has grown stronger, and my hands no longer ache.

Yet, handwriting is not for everyone. Technology can be just as liberating. Last year we were moved to hear author V .V Ganeshananthan speaking to our book club about losing the use of her hands while writing Brotherless Night ; she managed to complete this Women’s Prize winning novel by using voice recognition software.

Yet writing my daily pages has reminded me of the value of handwriting. From ancient parchments to handwritten journals and letters and inscriptions, there’s something deeply personal about the physical act of writing, something that digital text can’t replicate. I treasure my copies of books signed by favourite authors like Amitav Ghosh and those I’ve got from friends with personal inscriptions in them. I save my children’s handwritten diaries and their scribbled notes.

Once, I stumbled upon The Godfather’s Notebook in a bookstore—with Francis Ford Coppola’s handwritten notes on the screenplay and stage directions for The Godfather. It was expensive and bulky, and I had neither the money nor the luggage space to carry it back with me. But it was inspiring and I’ve never wanted to own a book more. Later I discovered a whole sub-genre of these books. Susan Sontag’s handwritten journals, David Foster Wallace’s handwritten edits to Infinite Jest and closer home, many of Rabindranath Tagore’s books with detailed handwritten notations. The British Library’s collection of authors’ papers also shows how handwriting preserves the creative process—Jane Austen’s crossed-out lines and George Orwell’s margin notes offer insights no digital draft could retain.

What about you dear Reader? When did you last write with pen and paper? Do you make notes in the margins of your books? If you’re inspired to reconnect with handwriting, read Cameron’s The Artist’s Way along with Austin Kleon’s Steal Like an Artist — both offer guided exercises to rediscover the joy of pen on paper. In this age of AI as throughout all of human history, it is drawing and writing that set us apart; they help us connect, communicate and make sense of the world in a uniquely human way. So why not keep this skill alive - handwrite lists, birthday cards or journals ?

Sonya Dutta Choudhury is a Mumbai-based journalist and the founder of Sonya’s Book Box, a bespoke book service. Each week, she brings you specially curated books to give you an immersive understanding of people and places. If you have any reading recommendations or suggestions, write to her at sonyasbookbox@gmail.com

The views expressed are personal