Do you always use the computer to write?

Discuss writing, including writing tips & tricks, writing philosophy, writer's block, etc. If you have grammar questions, marketing questions, or if you want feedback on a poem or short story you wrote, please use the corresponding forum below.
Featured Topic: How to Get Your Book Published
Forum rules
If you have spelling or grammar questions, please post them in the International Grammar section.

If you want feedback for poetry or short stories you have written, please post the poem or short story in either the Creative Original Works: Short Stories section or the Creative Original Works: Poetry section.

If you have a book that you want reviewed, click here to submit your book for review.
Post Reply
User avatar
rssllue
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 50731
Joined: 02 Oct 2014, 01:52
Favorite Author: Ted Dekker
Favorite Book: The Bible
Currently Reading: A Year with C. S. Lewis
Bookshelf Size: 602
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-rssllue.html
Latest Review: My Personal Desert Storm by Marcus Johnson
fav_author_id: 2881

Re: Do you always use the computer to write?

Post by rssllue »

I have an old little Alphasmart that I have in the house so that I can start typing whenever and wherever the ideas hit me. It is not as efficient as the computer, and lacks all of Word's bells and whistles, but it is very comfortable and really cool too! :)
~ occupare fati suffocavit

I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for Thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety. ~ Psalms 4:8
User avatar
SharisseEM
Posts: 273
Joined: 30 Sep 2014, 04:32
Favorite Author: Mia Sheridan
Favorite Book: Stinger
Bookshelf Size: 34
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-sharisseem.html
Latest Review: "The Bonding" by Imogen Keeper
fav_author_id: 3312

Post by SharisseEM »

I used to write everything by hand for years. I wrote a few on my computer but I didn't trust that it wouldn't crash on me again. When I got my laptop last year for school, I began using it to write even in class because I got the Macbook Air so it's easy to carry around. I still do write by hand ever so often but not as much as I used to since I got surgery on my wrist and it feels tight when I write too long. I do use my phone as well now that I'm working. I can write anywhere I want and at any time. I use the Officesuite app to write on my phone.
“I don't suffer from my insanity -- I enjoy every minute of it.”
Latest Review: "The Bonding" by Imogen Keeper
AliciaC14
Posts: 11
Joined: 14 Oct 2014, 11:27
Bookshelf Size: 0
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-aliciac14.html

Post by AliciaC14 »

When I have a thought in my mind there are times when I don't have access to a computer so I do a lot of writing by hand or at least jot down thoughts as they come to me. I always complete my work on the computer
John Macgregor
Posts: 16
Joined: 16 Oct 2014, 10:26
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by John Macgregor »

I've been given no choice. I can't read my own writing. This reeks havoc when editing.
ameliadefield
Posts: 28
Joined: 21 Oct 2014, 23:13
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by ameliadefield »

I almost always use the computer, but if I am having a real hard time with a scene I grab one of my many notebooks and scratch away until I have a solid plan.
User avatar
icemech04
Posts: 11
Joined: 26 Oct 2014, 16:15
Bookshelf Size: 0
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-icemech04.html

Post by icemech04 »

If I'm in front of my computer I use it and it only.

If I'm away I carry small notebooks to jot ideas that come to me at strange times.
User avatar
Anacoana
Posts: 117
Joined: 30 Oct 2014, 13:30
Favorite Author: Too many to count
Favorite Book: More plentiful than cloud wisps
Currently Reading: Snuff by Terry Pratchett
Bookshelf Size: 0
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-anacoana.html

Post by Anacoana »

It really depends on the story, what feels right for it, but I'll always enjoy handwriting things more. Notebooks are easier to carry around then my laptop, and you don't have to charge them or anything and they don't have teeny tiny keys that are hard for me to hit without messing up. Plus for me writing is also very much about the physical flow of my hand and the writing it produces. It's soothing, and I can do quick, jagged letters when I'm making myself angry for an angry scene or pumping myself full of adrenaline for other scenes, and that just doesn't come when I'm on the computer.
User avatar
ALynnPowers
Posts: 8536
Joined: 21 Aug 2014, 07:14
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 417
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-alynnpowers.html
Latest Review: Sarah's Dream by Eileen Bird
Reading Device: B0051QVF7A
Publishing Contest Votes: 13

Post by ALynnPowers »

I just carried my giant 19" laptop to a cafe with me to write because I couldn't focus while I was at home. Somehow managed to sit here and write close to 5000 words in less than an hour, and then got on this forum just to brag about it. Booyah!
User avatar
rssllue
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 50731
Joined: 02 Oct 2014, 01:52
Favorite Author: Ted Dekker
Favorite Book: The Bible
Currently Reading: A Year with C. S. Lewis
Bookshelf Size: 602
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-rssllue.html
Latest Review: My Personal Desert Storm by Marcus Johnson
fav_author_id: 2881

Post by rssllue »

Very nice! Way to go, ALynn! :)
~ occupare fati suffocavit

I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for Thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety. ~ Psalms 4:8
User avatar
Anacoana
Posts: 117
Joined: 30 Oct 2014, 13:30
Favorite Author: Too many to count
Favorite Book: More plentiful than cloud wisps
Currently Reading: Snuff by Terry Pratchett
Bookshelf Size: 0
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-anacoana.html

Post by Anacoana »

Good job ALynn! I have a big laptop too, though mine's only 17". I just like to have the weight of it on me, I hate slim tiny things that feel like they're not even there.
User avatar
ALynnPowers
Posts: 8536
Joined: 21 Aug 2014, 07:14
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 417
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-alynnpowers.html
Latest Review: Sarah's Dream by Eileen Bird
Reading Device: B0051QVF7A
Publishing Contest Votes: 13

Post by ALynnPowers »

I like the light little things, but they are a pain to type on. My fingers are too fat or something, and I always make the weirdest erros that even I can't figure out when I go back and try to edit later.

-- 03 Nov 2014, 16:41 --

And me typing "erros" just now was not even one of them. That was just me being a dummy.
User avatar
milliethom
Posts: 141
Joined: 11 Aug 2014, 13:00
Favorite Author: Dorothy Dunnett
Favorite Book: Game of Kings - and numerous others.
Bookshelf Size: 15
fav_author_id: 27343

Post by milliethom »

I've been using a computer for my novels for a little over ten years now. I did find it difficult at first, not being of the 'computer generation'. I found everything so difficult until I eventually found my way round the thing. I'd always loved to write by hand, and had been scribbling away in notebooks for decades. Now, I can't think how I managed without my faithful laptop. It's so easy to get rid of mistakes, for a start. However, I still like to print out my work to edit it.
User avatar
pretzelsnow
Posts: 355
Joined: 13 Nov 2014, 11:37
Favorite Author: Lynn Austin
Favorite Book: Long Time Coming by Edie Claire
Currently Reading: Silas Marner by George Elliot
Bookshelf Size: 2
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-pretzelsnow.html
Reading Device: B00JG8GOWU
fav_author_id: 7595

Post by pretzelsnow »

I personally prefer writing by the computer.I have very neat handwriting but my hand starts hurting. Also the computer the computer is neater.
When all think alike, no one is thinking very much.
— Walter Lippmann
User avatar
ALynnPowers
Posts: 8536
Joined: 21 Aug 2014, 07:14
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 417
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-alynnpowers.html
Latest Review: Sarah's Dream by Eileen Bird
Reading Device: B0051QVF7A
Publishing Contest Votes: 13

Post by ALynnPowers »

Sometimes I write on my tablet, but the dang keys are so small, I hve to fix so much on my PC later anyway, I'm starting to think that its not even worth it.
User avatar
gali
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 53653
Joined: 22 Oct 2013, 07:12
Favorite Author: Agatha Christie
Currently Reading: Pride and Prejudice in Space
Bookshelf Size: 2288
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-gali.html
Reading Device: B00I15SB16
Publishing Contest Votes: 0
fav_author_id: 2484

Post by gali »

Yes, I do since it is much more comfortable than writing on my cell.
A retired Admin/Mod

Pronouns: She/Her

"In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you." (Mortimer J. Adler)
Post Reply

Return to “Writing Discussion”