The personal computer was supposed to make our lives easier, but has it made writing better or even easier? Back in the day I used an actual typewriter to put my words on paper, so my answer is, “Yes, my computer makes writing easier for me.” But not the story-telling part of writing. The proliferation of writing aids, apps, mind maps, editors, timeline makers, blogs, beat sheets, and lord-knows what and how many other computer/tablet/device helpers can easily bog down a writer to the point of not writing while looking for the perfect tool or tool bag. I’m interested, from a friendly nosey point of view in what other writers use. If you care to share, please do so.
It has, in the sense that it helps me make endless edits. It also helps with research and computer programs, collages, etc. Still, I wish I had a big room with corkboard and lots of paper.
I agree, my computer serves as a typewriter and allows for vastly improved editing compared to what I could do with white-out and a pen back in the day, but aside from that I still use the old-fashioned methods for working out story etc. I've tried the mind map stuff, and I don''t like the computer versions as much as making what I call a road map on a piece of paper, which has so much more personality to it and is more memorable. On the computer versions every entry looks identical and soulless. I id like using the trial version of Scrivener for the corkboard, which is essentially a beat sheet or step outline. After the trial expired I found a way to use tables to create a beat sheet that;'s nearly as responsive, and does everything I need it to do, but the jury's still out on how effective beat-sheeting is for my methods of story creation. I seem to do best when writing without structure in big Evernote files for ideas, and then putting those into a beat sheet form just so I don't lose them all and can arrange them the way I want and link them to pages with more information if that's needed. But I'm not fully convinced I need to do any of that. Especially on my current project, which is a group of shorts. Actually though, having just said that, I think I'm going to need to beat-sheet the ideas to see them all laid out in order and how well they really link up. You can't tell that from just a bunch of unstructured notes and loose ideas.
I recently saw an advertisement for a computer program meant to help writers. I thought of my long narrow column of Microsoft Word, and how I scrolled up and down, trying to stay organized in my head. A corkboard and paper. Or at least a wide desk. I want for so little. And a bed. Fucking Hell, if writers of old could do it, then so can I.
3x5 index cards, write a single story beat on each one and you can shuffle and arrange them however works best. Then you can do the same for scene beats at a higher level of resolution. But it's best done after working out ideas in full sentence/paragraph form. If you start off with beats it's too minimal and abstract.
I think looking for the perfect tool with which to write, to the point of self hindrance, signals a very imperfect writer. He could just as easily be putting off that 'masterpiece' until he finds the right pen, stationary, desk, room, typewriter, underpants etc... I use Google Docs for first draft, and Scrivener for the big edit. Simple is best for massing content, while more features do help with organizing it later. I also think it's a major boon to be able to find and/or replace throughout the entire draft.
It's not free, but Curio serves well as a notebook of corkboards. I use its equation features when I study math, which I'm quite lousy at.
Yes. A computer helps me write. In fact I would go as far to say that without it there is no way I could have done what I have.
The word processing ability of a computer is a vast improvement over old manual typewriters and carbons. The spellcheck/grammar check is nice, except when it decides to turn an unfamiliar word into a familiar one that makes no sense whatsoever in the context of the sentence. My gratitude for not having to erase/use whiteout/scrape mistakes from carbons knows no bounds. Why, I used to have to whiteout words ten miles each direction in a howling blizzard.
I find programs can generate music much more easily than ideas for stories. Have you ever tried those free plot generators? There are more patterns to music than ideas... If one had a large enough program I'm sure it could come up with something better than I could.
When I used the computer for my homework for the first time, I found it difficult to think while looking at the screen. There was something about staring at a light that prevented me from focusing on my work. I went back to writing on paper. (This was many years ago). I don't know if anyone else experienced this. I'm used to the computer screen now. And using the word processor helps me edit more efficiently. But sometimes I wonder if writing or typing on paper would help me think more clearly.
Not sure if you have tried this but here's a thought. I often have difficulty shutting out the normal distractions that go on around me. I once read that Mozart helps people write more creatively so I gave it a try. Once you set a volume that suits you, go to work. Surprisingly I found it does help. Doesn't have to be Mozart, could be Def Leppard of you like. The idea though is to play something that doesn't focus your attention on it, but remains in the background. I'm not the greatest typist but I find my speed goes up (and the error rate doesn't) when I do this. May not work for you but give it a try.
I saw this and had to relight it. My introduction to working with computers was related to working in manufacturing. It certainly made that much more efficient. (bear with me. This will come back around to writing) I had started in my working life using machine tools to make metal parts. In the eighties computer controlled machine tools were becoming commonplace. I learned to program them using a language called G-Code. It was a simple code system that only required simple commands like spindle RPM and direction of travel in X,Y, and Z, and travel speed. About that time desktop Computer Aided Design programs started to appear. By the 90's I was learning that, and got pretty good at it. What started happening right around that time was the age of the personal computer. Businesses took note and started a trend, intended to increase profitability, but that actually hurt productivity. Training workers was an expense they saw they could get away from. Pull someone from the street and put them in front of MS Excel, and you have an instant accountant. MS Word? Instant technical writer. I spent more time than I would have liked fixing AutoCAD drawing from third parties who had hired instant engineers. In a couple of cases it was so bad I had to start from scratch.
As a musician and sound designer/engineer I find music very distracting; I end up critiquing the music instead of writing. I find an ambient sound that seems to fit what I am writing at the moment. As an example, my current WIP is set during an interstellar war. I listen to NASA sound recordings of planets, interstellar noise, etc. If I'm on a planet I'll listen to nature sounds that apply to the setting - oceans, forests, cityscapes, offices, etc. I even use some of my own sound library. I find a computer very convenient. Since my arthritis took a hard hold on me I have been very fumble-fingered, so misspellings and the like are easily corrected. It's also great for copy/pasting unwanted material in a side document when revising my work. (Hey! Great idea! It just doesn't work here, you moron. Save it for something else.) I'm not a luddite, but I do feel that we are too "connected" with the digital world. I use a smart phone (I got my first smart phone three months ago) because it has become a necessity in order to function in the modern world. I don't subscribe or ask for notifications; they're just another interruption to my creative flow.
No kidding! Even though I am no longer an active musician I still can't hear music without following details like voice leading and chord progression. Regarding being too connected, I remain fascinated by my recent rediscovery of fountain pens. When I write by hand, it's more personally me, somehow. At least at first. If I write some notes by hand and then turn to the keyboard, that different timbre remains.
Yes, and I think it allows for much more polished results because of endless edit-ability. This can be good or bad depending on what you want. I feel it’s possible to overwork any art piece and words are no different. Sometimes the second draft is better than the 10th. Id liken it to drawing. I can make very clean drawings with traditional mediums, but it does have limitations. There are no layers, you can’t scale, rotate, translate…
The late Iain Banks had a writing computer in his study that wasn't connected to the internet at all. No temptation to play solitaire, read the news, research that one miniscule plot point (my greatest failing... "a champagne-colored Mercedes pulled out of the..." wait, what model year was the car? What model of Merc? Was champagne an option in that model and year? Let's look it up...no, but it was the next year, would it change my story if a side character who will be in the book for five pages drives a '68 instead of a '67? Where did three hours go?) So yes, it does help, but there are times I wonder if I should just pull the LAN cable out.
