So I've kind of used this place for my own means. The first three things I've posted were all queries related to things I couldn't answer thanks to search engines. Mostly related to the story I'm making, indirectly. I'm the masked hero, and having not picked a pen name, I'll just stick to being heroic. For now. I'm writing my first major novel-length story, currently, after letting the ideas and characters circle around in my head long enough. It has been an interesting experience, to say the least. I find the net can be distracting at times, but also very informative. Solitaire helps me relax for small bits, and then bam, out comes a conversation, a fight, or a scene. A strange process indeed, made troubling by reading a book recently called "The Shallows" by Nicholas Carr. I'm a big believer in sharing and asking questions, so I leave with these questions on writing: Do any of you write on a typewriter or word processor? Do any of you write with internet access enabled? Lastly...is the ability to edit instantly, in a document, a good or bad thing for an author? Thanks, thanks in advance, and thanks soon for all present, past, and future help.
Both sound like torture to me - how did they write before Bill Gates came along with MS Word - imagine their notebooks, manuscripts, whole pages scribbled out, umpteen edits, words on top of words, rewriting the whole thing, sticky typewriter keys, having to bash the Es and As, broken or dried out ribbon, text getting weaker, fading to nothing AARRGGHHHH! Internet access, constant wifi is a huge distraction - facebook, mini-pool and writingforums.org are weapons of mass distraction! It's a Godsend! Welcome masked hero!
I really cannot imagine how they did it. I typed a paper on a typewriter. Once. One of the most frustrating experiences ever, and the thing was electric.
I own a typewriter and it informs the world I am writing, so no, I don't really use it any more. It is a gift of my late grandmother though, and I love it. I like handwriting a lot, but the editing and reasearch part of a computer is amazing, wonderful, dreamy. The distractions, not so much...
I have several more-expensive-than-I-wish-they-were leather-bound blank books I've purchased over the years thinking I would use them for writing. They're all decorative, nothing more. I have an antique Underwood in perfect working condition, also decorative. These things are like artifacts uncovered in the ancient ruins of an alien culture. Only my Mac is real. Welcome.
Hello Masked Hero, Welcome to the Creative Writing Forums. Please read How to Use the Writing Workshop before you try to post there. Posting your own writing for people to comment on should not be among the very first things you do here anyway. It is worth taking the time to see what other people have done to improve their writing, and see if some of it applies to your writing as well. That is part of why we require members to review other members' work before posting their own for review. On the other hand, there are no restrictions, other than content and copyright rules, on showcasing your work in your member blog. Also, be aware that posting a piece of writing on any public site, including this one, will greatly diminish your chances of selling it for publication. Removing the writing later does not alter that fact - once posted, it is irreversibly considered published. So do not post anything more than a small excerpt of any piece you are planning to submit for publication. If you haven't explored the site yet, you should probably do so soon. Newcomers often gravitate to the Lounge, the Writing Prompts, or the Writing Workshop, but there is much more to be discovered if you poke in the corners. Remember to check out our FAQ as well, and be sure to read through the site rules, too, to avoid any misunderstandings or hurt feelings. Respect for one another is our principal mandate. As for the Writing Workshop, new joiners often wonder why we do things a bit differently on this site than on other writing sites. We emphasize constructive critique as a vital writing skill. Training your eye by reviewing other people's work helps you improve your own writing even before you present it for others to see. Therefore, we ask members to review other people's writing before posting work of their own. We also impose a two-week waiting period before you may post writing for critique, to give you time to become familiar with what is expected and how the site operates. The Writing Workshop forums on this site, therefore, are true workshops, not just a bulletin board for displaying your work (and on that note, please only post each item for review in one Writing Workshop forum). Also, please use the same thread for all revisions and additional excerpts from the same piece of writing. See this post, Why Write Reviews Before Posting My Work? for more information. And while you're looking around, don't forget to check out the RPG forum for improvisational fiction. Also try our Weekly Short Story Contest and Weekly Poetry Contest. They actually run more than one week apiece, but any member may enter, and all members are urged to vote for their favorites. Enjoy your stay here, and have fun!
I have been using computer software for all my writing (other than notebooks - the pen and paper kind - which I use to record research, sketch out ideas, and make notes to myself when away from my desktop) since the late 1980s, when I started with MultiMate Advantage. But I can remember using an old manual typewriter that my father had bought for my mother in the early 1960s so that she could reacquire her skills (despite the fact that he was vehemently opposed to her going back to work), happily clackety-clacking my way along. Like the comptometer (a mechanical calculator that I learned to use in my first part time job, working in the Salary Office at Macy's in New York), I remember it fondly but do not have a desire to go back to it.
I've read somewhere about an author going back to the typewriter (in the back of his book). As a child of the transition years, I remember the old technology, but couldn't see myself using it regularly. In college I had a professor who refused to use a computer though, so there are holdouts for everything.
I'm an engineer. I've always used calculators and computers for my professional work, but I love slide rules. They're fascinating devices, and I have a small collection of them - they're a bit of a hobby of mine. But I don't use them in my work - the newer technology is superior in every way. It's the same with writing. I enjoy working with pen and paper, but I seem to do it less and less. I grew up using my older sister's manual typewriter, and eventually bought my own electric typewriter when I went to university in 1979. It's gone now and I don't miss it at all. Modern computers and software just blow all previous writing technologies away.
