Last month I wrote about the importance of setting writing goals. This month, I’d like to explore the more practical aspects of writing—the “what” and “where”: what you use and where you write.
In my case, I do about 90% of my writing on the computer, simply because I really, really, REALLY hate transcribing the written word. But I do keep a handwritten journal—erratically, I must admit—and have on occasion mined it for article and essay ideas. (It was also the “birthplace” of my first book, The Gifts of Change, and has given me a starting point for an as-yet-unnamed project dealing with all the transitions I experienced in the two years after my mother’s death.)
As for the software, I use MS Word, simply because that is what I started with and so keep upgrading as needed. (Since I haven’t graduated to Vista, I am still hanging in there with Word 2003.)
Where do I write? Mostly in my spare bedroom-turned-office, sometimes on a plane or in the airport, at my Dad’s when I visit him in Florida, and, if I am really lucky, up by the lake when I actually take a day off and decide to write.
What about you? Where do you write—at home, at work, in a bookstore or coffee shop? What do you use: pen and paper or computer? And if the latter, what program is your absolute favorite and why?
Speaking of programs, in the 1/6/08 edition of The New York Times Magazine, Virginia Heffernan’s article “An Interface of One’s Own” spotlighted some other options besides Word. Start at Literature & Latte the home of Scrivener (designed for Mac users) and then hit the Links page for a list of other Mac- and Windows-compatible software. If you try any of these, let us know the outcome: Like it? Hate it? Have others to add to the list?
