This is a cool idea. It's far too easy to constantly change, edit and improve your work. Therefore, many artists will begin creating something without enough deliberation. For example, see any song that I have posted on Hubski... Back in the day, tape was expensive, studio time was expensive and you wouldn't just begin recording willy-nilly. When writing a sentence, I'd imagine in the past you took more time to deliberate and write with more purpose. There's creative value in that.
I've known way too many people who never get to the end of a first draft because they can't move on unless it's perfect. Writing really is rewriting — you can't be afraid to fuck it up on a first draft. I don't know about no edits, though! I like a distraction-free plain text editor instead of a word processor full of buttons. But I reckon even typewriters are a luxury. Can you imagine what they did before typewriters? How long did it take to write a whole novel by hand? And edit it! Jebus.
Think of the value of a written text prior to the printing press. How much time, energy and resources went in to re-scribing something. Books were treasures, literally. Can you imagine the power of a good story teller, prior to the printing press? Someone that could regale you with their telling of folklore? I once, and only once, attended a BNI meeting at the behest of my director at work. It's an organization where professionals meet once a week and exchange referrals and promise to do business with one another. Everyone took turns going around the table of about 20 people, talking about what they did for a living. It was the typical gang, I'm a banker, I'm a realtor, I'm in health insurance, I'm in home insurance, I sell for AT&T etc. Then, the last person to go was a woman in her 40's that by her very nature seemed different than the rest. She introduced herself to the group this way, "My name is Malinda and I am a story teller." Malinda, had started a business in which she would come to your party, your dinner, your book club etc and just tell stories. All her own. Malinda was the only person that I talked to before leaving.Can you imagine what they did before typewriters? How long did it take to write a whole novel by hand? And edit it! Jebus.
No, I really can't imagine.
You're also assuming that the person writing by hand had a disposable pen and pre-lined, bound paper. Imagine you had to make ink, get a quill, and make paper. Imagine how much paper costs when you have to make it from rags. Turning a tree into a porridge takes a lot of industrial equipment, then bleaching it takes chemicals.
Speaking as someone who learned to type on one of these: We used Wite-Out, both the sheets and the goop. Strike-outs are unprofessional in the extreme. We still corrected our mistakes, it was just laborious. I've got a half-dozen "writing apps" and if you're gonna go this way, go with WriteRoom. Me? I'll take scrivener.
I've been looking for a tool similar to Scrivener for a long time. I can't wait to try it out, so I thank you for the mention of it!