Technology

Most of the time I use my laptop for writing, but occasionally I'll use pen and paper.  I especially find it helpful if I’m having trouble with the flow of a scene.  There is something about physically writing that helps my imagination.  However, I’m not sure I could have been a writer if I had to write the whole novel in longhand.  Come to that I’m not sure how I would have got on with creating the whole thing using a typewriter.  Maybe it would serve to make my first drafts tighter and more perfect.

I love technology.  I love being able to move sections of work with two shortcut keys.  Being able to cut out sections and put them in a new file to possibly use again.  Having old versions to go back to when I realise a section I cut weeks before is now needed.  The ease of using Find and Replace to change a character’s name, or to find those irritating weak words that slip into my first drafts.

I can’t write as fast as I can think, but my fingers on the keyboard are much more in synch with my thoughts.  In fact I think it’s my brain that has to do the catching up most times.

I use spreadsheets for section and character outlines, and keeping track of my daily wordcount.

There are some downsides, and the major thing I’ve had to overcome (still working on it at times), is the tendency to keep editing my early drafts rather than just getting the ideas down.

Time-wasting is another downside.  The internet is great for research, writing advice and learning, marketing, and keeping in touch with people, but you can easily spend more time doing that than writing.  And I won’t mention when technology breaks down just in case my laptop hears and decides to have a meltdown.

On that note I’d better do a backup!