How do you write?

[serria]

Technically, I mean. What kind of computer do you use? Or do you write freehand/some other way? Do you use any special programs? Microsoft Word, or something like Write or Die? Do you care about the font you use?

I'm one of those cliche aspiring authors who bought a Netbook. I heard that's kind of a stereotype, but mine really has been perfect for me. My normal laptop is too big to carry around, and the Netbook fits in my handbag and has a 7+ hour long battery life. I purposefully don't have any other programs except for Open Office on it, and it isn't hooked up to the Internet so I can't be distracted.

I use Open Office because it's free, and my Netbook didn't come with Microsoft Word. Actually, I've done a lot of writing just on Wordpad because it loads so quickly, haha.

Comments

[badass_tiger]

My first thought when I saw the title of the entry was 'erratically' :p

I use Microsoft Word on my laptop, and I have for seven years now. I've tried other programmes, but I find that I've become so accustomed to Word, my writing style changes when I try other programmes (e.g. my sentences get shorter and everything sounds brief and clipped). Sometimes I use Notepad for a quick drabble that is going to be less than 2k words and I know I'm going to write all in one go.

Mine is a Macbook Air, and while it's not quite as small as my previous netbook, I like it way better and I swear it's lighter too. I need that Internet connection though! I know it's my downfall in a lot of situations, but I need random name generators, research websites, resources, etc.

Question: Does anybody here use music or a certain 'sound' (rain, etc.) when they write? It seems to help some people but most of the time it just distracts me.

[serria]

I try to separate my "research time" with my writing time. I'm way too bad about zoning about and staying on the Internet for hours without actually doing anything productive. It used to be easier for me to focus on writing, but it really became harder for me to actually do it without refreshing Facebook a thousand times. I'm the same way with my reading, which is why I got the cheapest Kindle, without Internet or anything fancy, because I need to separate myself if I want to get anything done.

Oh, music! I can't listen to anything with words, because then I start focusing on those words instead of my own. But I absolutely love to listen to "background music" that will play during my scene when my books inevitably get turned into movies. ;) I often put orchestrated pieces on repeat and write for awhile. But to be honest, I usually write without any sound at all. Being easily distracted sucks. :O

[badass_tiger]

In that regard, I am fortunate. Although I find it hard to begin, once I do begin, it's hard for me to stop as long as I don't have writer's block. So even if I mess around a bit on the net while looking things up, I'll return to my stuff pretty fast. I have StayFocusd on my browser to block the really distracting sites that I know I won't have good use for when I write, though. But I'm such a cheat, sometimes I'll go into the extensions menu and disable it :(

But I absolutely love to listen to "background music" that will play during my scene when my books inevitably get turned into movies.
Hehe, that's a good one! I do find that when I'm inspired by a playlist or a song, putting it on repeat does keep the ideas fresh and flowing!

[serria]

That's great. I can get into moods like that sometimes, but I definitely struggle with staying focused. Which makes this "StayFocused" program interesting to me? Haha. But my laptop is pretty slow and clunky, anyway, so I don't think I'd want to write on it anymore regardless.

I should make more "book playlists"!

[inkdust]

I make sooo many book playlists, haha. Though they're mainly songs that fit my characters and themes and make me think about the story rather than songs that would actually work in the background of a movie. A few exceptions.

[serria]

Ooh, this would be a great future topic for this comm. "Tell us your book playlists (and what scenes/characters they are associated with)!" Must keep this in mind!

[inkdust]

Definitely.

[ayumidah]

I have a laptop that's JUST for writing, it's not connected to the Internet or anything. So I hole up at my desk and just go at it for as long as I can. I use Wordpad and generally Arial font.

My writing desk tends to look a bit like this: http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j274/ayumidah/Photobucket%20new%20version%20sucks/100_2068_zps3b8f850a.jpg with varying amounts of clutter, haha.

[serria]

Sounds like me! My Netbook is just for writing and that's it. No games (well, it is a Netbook after all), no Internet, nothing. You use Wordpad? Interesting! I admit I like it because it's so quick, but I can't write anything major on it - I need that spellcheck.

I like the Harry Potter poster! :D

[ayumidah]

Yeah, I have Microsoft Works but I only access it to check word counts now and again when I'm curious. Spellcheck I usually wait until I'm about to post my stories or email them to someone, and then use firefox's automatic check, unless a word truly has me stumped.

Thanks, got it for free after the seventh book was released-- Walmart had a table full of free stuff set out, including that poster, some bookmarks. I grabbed one of everything, made sure it was free, and left lol.

[siofrabunnies]

I used to use my netbook, but it's been so slow lately. I should have researched them better before I bought one. It was so nice for school, because I'd have hours free everyday, as long as my assignments didn't take too much time. And the low weight is definitely a huge plus!

These days, I'm in the house almost all of the time, and I just use my desktop. Notes and ideas, sometimes corrections, I'll jot down in a .txt with my tablet or on a piece of paper, but almost all of my writing is done at my normal computer. If I'm traveling, I'll use a notebook or bring my netbook, depending on how much I think I'll write.

I use LibreOffice (spin of of OO). I tried downloading one of those minimalist programs, and it was all just too empty. I need to use a lightly serifed font. My favorite for my desktop is Cambria, in 9 or 10 pt font. My eyes and mind are so picky about how my screen looks when I write.

[serria]

Hmm, now I hope I picked the right netbook. lol I only got it a year ago (or was it two?) but so far it's ace. I haven't had a desktop in ages, but I actually never had trouble writing on one. Something about the fact that it can't move (no going to lazy areas like couches or beds!), bigger screen, better keyboard... but I travel and move so often that it just isn't reasonable for me to have. I think it'd be awesome to have a desktop for writing, though.

Oh, what do you think of LibreOffice compared with OpenOffice? I've never tried Libre and don't really know how it differs. I like OpenOffice, but to be honest, I'd probably prefer Word if I had it (minus all the extra features that I never use). I just like the layout.

[siofrabunnies]

Libre is an offshoot of OO. As far as I'm aware (Wikipedia says so, too), OO stopped updates, but the site is showing updates, so I don't know what's up with that. I switched to Libre when I heard about OO discontinuing, but they apparently might not be.

Libre is almost exactly the same as OO, except it's green themed instead of blue. There are a few minor differences (menu names, I think a hotkey changed, stuff like that), since they splintered off a while ago, but it's the same platform at heart. They use the same filetypes, extensions, templates, etc. If OO is still updating, I see no reason to switch.

And I'm sure your netbook's fine. I did no research on it, and I was pushing it kinda hard. I'm a huge multitasker, and I was using it for school notes. Just treat it lightly and you'll be alright.

[inkdust]

MacBook, Scrivener, Times New Roman 12 pt, zoom 125%. Haha.

I used Word up until last year when I decided to actually learn Scrivener and realized that it made writing a 300 page novel 300x easier. I had barely started my current project, so it wasn't hard to transition.

Once in a while for a scene I'll hand write a bit on college ruled paper with a blue papermate pen, but now that I'm writing mainly at home and not before/during/after class, that's only for when I need a jolt.

Plotting, on the other hand, MUST be done with pen and paper.

[serria]

Very concise answer, I love it. XD

But what is Scrivener? Is that a Mac program? I've never heard of it, but I am very intrigued by anything that will make writing a novel 300x easier. O.o

I wrote freehand back when I had a customer service job in high school (it was a movie theater, and you can't imagine how dead it gets between showings). I couldn't bring a laptop, obviously, but a notebook was fine. These days, though, my hand cramps too quickly - alas, I'm not a student anymore, my hand muscles have withered.

[inkdust]

Scrivener started out for Mac only but there is a Windows version now: http://www.literatureandlatte.com/

Their free trial is I think 30 days, and it only counts the days you open the program, so I highly recommend trying it out, and going through the tutorial to see the features. I knew the first day that I would have to get it. The organization, being able to create a separate document for each scene and drag and drop to reorder them, create folders for chapters, and then export the whole thing in basically any format, for a long project I will never use anything else again.

[serria]

Wow, thanks for the recommendation. That sounds interesting. I actually could really use something that compiles and lets you reorganize scenes... if I download this and instantly pop out an epic novel, your name will definitely be in the dedication page! Haha. :)

[inkdust]

I hope you like it! It seemed a little unwieldy at first, but it's highly customizable.

[siofrabunnies]

I looked into Scrivener a while ago. The only thing stopping me from getting it was the cost (I never plan on publishing, so I was waiting until I did grad school to justify it). Having one document to link all the different parts is indispensable, and I can't wait until I can justify buying it.

[inkdust]

Oh yeah, it would be so helpful for grad school too. I hope that's soon for you!

[siofrabunnies]

Not remotely, unfortunately. There's a lot standing in my way. I hope to eventually, but I'm keeping up my studies on my own in the meantime. I just needed a big break from academic stress.

[inkdust]

That I understand.

[ljwrites]

Yay another Scrivener user! I use the Windows version on my home laptop and love the hell out of it. So much that I read the entire 120+-page manual, lol.

I agree with you it makes life a whole lot easier. I've written a 160K-word fanfic on it, and at least one chapter would have been impossible without Scrivener because I had to rearrange dozens of scenes before the chapter came out right. I've also written academic papers on it, and the ability to pull in research files and web pages saved me hours of work.

Away from the home I use a tablet (Nexus 7) with a Bluetooth keyboard on Evernote, and copy any drafts from the Evernote Windows program where my notes are synced. I don't carry the tablet around as much anymore, though, since I have an office computer where I have Scrivener installed and have access to my writing files via Dropbox.

[sarillia]

I use my nearly 5-year-old Toshiba laptop with keys that have the letters practically scratched off from overuse. I also use Q10. It's fullscreen and highly customizable. I have it set to a black background with light blue text because I've found that that's easiest on my eyes (I'm incredibly sensitive to light) and I use a font called Constantia because I like how it looks. I also have it set to show the word count at all times because, perhaps counterintuitively, I don't worry about it so much when it's always there and just part of the background.

[elydesia]

A whole lot of my earlier work was written in Microsoft Word, because my old computer came with it preinstalled.
I then went through OpenOffice after I got my laptop, and now LibreOffice on my new desktop.

Have been thinking about getting a netbook for exactly the reasons you've stated, but am quite strapped for money. When on the go, I make do with a binder and a portfolio.
Over the years, I slowly migrated from writing story notes in notebooks to writing in binders.

I'm actually pretty strict when it comes to what media I use for my story notes for which storyline/plot. If I write by hand, I'll remember it better. If I type it up, it's easier to access. Just how it goes.

[serria]

I don't know why, but I've never had a computer that has had Microsoft Word installed, except for a "starter" version that has very limited functions.

The good thing about Netbooks is that they are cheap! Well, I mean that relatively. I want to say mine was about $200. Much cheaper than a laptop or computer, at any rate.

I also have a binder made, mainly for my fantasy world with notes about the many worldbuilding details, as well as character profiles and any sketches I do. I don't really handwrite them, though, mostly it's just printed stuff. But I do think there's something to be said about handwriting - because it's more work to handwrite, you really might put more effort into your words? I don't know.