"To write, you need to simply write. The tools of your trade are in you. Don't make it harder than it is." -Heather Sellers in Page after Page
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My laptop died yesterday. The hard drive crashed. I can spend another $350 to get a new hard drive, but considering I just bought the dang thing 4 months ago, I hate to put more money into it. Macintosh computers are supposed to be one of the most reliable computers out there (one of the reasons I bought one in the first place), but so far, I haven't seen it. I got my first ibook 4 years ago. I don't know the lifespan of laptops, but 2 in four years doesn't seem that reliable to me--especially given the price of a Mac. So, I'm left wondering what to do. Should I put more money into it (it is a used ibook G4) or should I buy a new Mac powerbook, or should I go for a windows machine?
What do you use for your writing? Do you like it? Has it been reliable? I am so frustrated with the whole thing; I don't want to spend time on computers, I just want to be able to write! Maybe I should just go back to the basics: pen and paper. (I will be for a while anyway--while I figure out what I'm going to do about the laptop thing. My girls keep whining at me to get off their computer. And I'm using my husbands at the moment because he's at work. But competition is fierce here.) I love computers when they work. They make writing and revising so much easier for me. But boy, do I hate computers when they don't work!
Anyway, I'd welcome any input/warnings/shared horror stories/sympathy/pep talks...... that you can offer.
8 comments:
Sarah;
They do work well as boat anchors.
I know the feeling with competition; that's why I write early. Everyone else likes to sleep in.
I have Windows and I like it as well as any computer system, but then I am electronically challenged.
have never been impressed with Apple products, which seem to restrict the ways you can use them, but that's a whole nother issue. -- I am writing this on an Acer laptop that I like very much (using Windows XP); I had a Dell laptop that lasted about 3.5 years, with minor upgrades (but Dells are noisy -- they run hot, so their little fans are blasting away inside all the time).
Anyway, whatever you choose, get yourself an external hard-drive and back up to it regularly -- then you will not be faced with, on top of the frustration of computer failure, loss of anything important.
BTW, why in heaven's name wouldn't your computer still be under warranty after 4 months?
Carol-- This was a refurbished laptop (stupid me, it turns out)and so there was only a 3 month warranty. Out by one month. And thankfully I do have an external hard drive and I did back it up so I didn't lose anything.(I learned that four months when my first laptop crashed.)
Maybe windows is a cheaper way to go. I like Macs, but it seems to be getting a little too expensive for me.
Larry--boat anchor doesn't sound bad right now!
Sarah,
I've used Gateway products since buying my first computer in the early 90s. My laptop is four years old and I've been very happy with it. I've hauled it from coast to coast, literally, performing tasks from scheduling to power point and, of course, writing. It's been a road warrior. I hate to say this, cause I'm superstitious enough to believe that I can jinx my good fortune.
I almost always write poetry by hand, in my journal or on a legal pad. I almost always write fiction directly onto the computer.
Off topic, I suppose, but I think Mike's comment about writing prose on computer and poetry by hand is interesting because it seems to be a very widespread approach. I know very few poets who draft on computers.
The speed of the computer, though, does seem to suit itself to the rate at which prose can come into the mind and then down to the hand. I could never compose on the typewriter, back in the bad old days, but once I began writing drafts on the computer, I found it seemed ideally suited to my process.
I do the same thing: poetry by hand, prose on computer. Although if I'm stuck (or think of a great scene while in the shower) then I handwrite as well. Maybe it's a length thing. Or maybe handwriting uses a slightly different part of the brain--it helps to write by hand when I'm stuck on something. I don't know why, but the editor in me is quieter when I'm scratching stuff out on paper.
Ah, the old typewriters. I learned my typing skills on an old electric typewriter. I doubt I could have composed on that either--but that was mostly because of the difficulty in changing anything. Whiteout? God forbid. And it took me quite awhile before someone told me I didn't need to double space after a period. All that old training had to be unlearned.
My typing teacher had the longest, most brightly painted nails of anyone I've known. I still hold great admiration for her ability to type with those claws.
Of course, if I think of our first computer (an old Kaypro), it wasn't much better than the typewriter. Shoot, I used to write out my papers longhand and then type them in because it was such a chore to get the computer to do what you wanted. Green screen with glowing green cursor. I lost more papers on that. Let's hear it for progress (at least, when the dang computer works, it works almost transparently).
Sarah--
What a rotten situation! And naturally the thing died after the warranty ran out. I definitely feel your pain. My first laptop was crushed less than six months after I'd shipped it to my brother in Georgia to fix the screen. Thank goodness he was able to work miracles and retrieve my documents or parts of The Shoe Tree would have been lost. I've learned my lesson about backing stuff up...mostly.
My first laptop (may it rest in peace) was a Dell and they do run hot. I could sit with it on my lap and sweat...and that's not sweating out words. And I've been told the screen burn out is not an uncommon occurance. I still love its replacement, another Dell, but have to say that the smaller, lighter HP I bought for travel has some great features, including the ability to turn off the touch pad so your cursor doesn't go all over the place.
I've also found that writing with pen and paper--gasp!--is sometimes a good way to kickstart my writing when I'm stuck. Like Sarah said, it seems like the scratching of pen (or pencil when I'm writing in bed) to paper drowns out the inner editor. Sometimes I'll start a scene on paper and then transfer it to the computer or rewrite about a page longhand and then see where it takes me.
I also have another story/novel/whatever you want to call it that I write only on paper. It's something that will never get beyond that notebook and a way to keep writing when my inner critic has temporarily shut down production on the novel.
Sarah, sorry to hear about your computer woes! I have no suggestions on brands, and no experience with Macs. My Gateway laptop has served me well for nearly 5 years now, with lots of software updates. And a new battery last month has helped loads. I bought a used HP tower recently and the power supply and motherboard failed within a matter of months. Ouch.
I almost never write anything by hand anymore, beyond my signature. No one could ever read it, including me. And I back up all my important stuff on a USB drive, early and often. --Mark
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