Technology - is it your best friend or your worst enemy?
I'm doing some research for an article which will look at how different writers use technology to help them in their writing. (I won't be looking at use of the internet for research, or using technology to promote your work, as those areas have both been covered in great detail.)
What I'm looking for are things to do with how technology helps with the actual writing - things like - voice recognition software, novel planning software, project planning packages etc
I'm also looking for people who hate technology and wish they could go back to using a quill and parchment. And I know lots of people (including me now I come to think of it) have horror stories of backing up the wrong versions of documents, or of computers crashing and taking a whole day's work with them.
If you have any thoughts on this subject or anecdotes you would be willing to share, please either leave a comment here, or contact me by email via my profile page.
Thanks very much.
And yes, the biggest barrier to the use of technology in this house is the 'help' offered by the four furry people.
13 comments:
I wouldn't say technology is my worst enemy, but I prefer to write longhand, and couldn't imagine ever using novel writing software.
I can see how voice recognition might be useful. But really I think there's just something about pen and paper that makes me feel connected to what I am writing, whereas technology often feels like a barrier that I need to overcome.
That's great Joanne. Would you be happy for me to quote you in the article?
Oh of course Helen!
I am a 50/50 girl. On the positive side great for reasearch, great for networking, great because I have terrible hand writing and great for speed and accesibility. On the negative side I can fin it distracting e.g. facebook, shopping etc. I also find you have to wade to through lots of crap to find something useful.
Any fiction or poetry, I write longhand and then use the process of typing it into the computer as the first edit. But I write my plays directly onto the computer, probably because formatting is so important and time consuming, and the "Final Draft" software does it so easily and so well. But my big admission is that I refused to learn to touch type when I was a teenager - probably to spite my mother more than anything else. But now, decades later, I developed bursitis in my shoulder from my bad typing posture so I've had to teach myself to touch type. You see, mother's always right :-) People told me to try voice recognition, but it just seemed too weird to be talking out loud like that. I think I need to feel like I'm physically controlling the words.
I had no idea such a thing as 'novel planning software' existed! It sounds like the answer to all my porblems. I'm not sure it would be quite so satisfying when the book is published though. Now I can think, I created a (hopefully) coherent plot out of the spaghetti in my head...
Jenny - I think I'm a bit 50/50 as well.
Sue - I like the idea of physically controlling the words. That's important isn't it?
Leigh - you do seem to have managed quite well without it.
"Replicants are like any other machine. They're either a benefit or a hazard. If they're a benefit, it's not my problem." - Deckard, Blade Runner.
I enjoy using technology when it helps me to work and play. In my opinion, that should be it's main job. Unfortunately there seems to be a lot of poor quality software out there and, if you're not careful, you can end up spending huge amounts of time doing battle with it, rather than getting on with the primary task.
I've tried a selection of writing software, of the planning/organising/managing type, not psuedo-AI stuff like story generators. These include:
TextBlockWriter
yWriter
Writer's Cafe
WriteItNow!
I have to say that, with the possible exception of yWriter which seems to be on the right lines, these have fallen far short of my expectations. I'm amazed that many writing software tools do not fully utilise keyboard commands, forcing you to use the mouse for common operations. RSI, anyone? Considering the target market, this is a serious flaw, in my opinion. Scrivener has a good reputation among other writers I've communicated with, though it's only available for the Macintosh so I've not actually tried it myself.
I've been tempted to write my own on several occasions (I've worked as a software developer for twelve years) but I feel the market is too small to make it worth my while.
Feel free to use any of this in your article, if it's in any way useful.
ps. Leigh, I've just started reading Cut Short.
Captain - that's brilliant, yes I would like to use that in the article if it's OK.
Oh excellent - cat pictures.
I don't find there's any 'thing' about using pen and paper - in fact I've got cramp by line 3. For me it's sitting down in front of the computer. My typing speed and thinking speed complement each other.
I moved over to a Mac almost entirely so that I could use Scrivener. I'm getting there with it but I suspect that I've an awful lot more to learn about it.
Oh, technology. I'm convinced that when I started writing (get the violins out), my output on my trusty portable typewriter (remember those?) was much higher. Having said that, if my internet connection fails for half an hour, I feel as if several limbs have been amputated.
I don't use voice recognition software but I do use a cracking novel planning piece of software (Ulysses). Love that. It's great for keeping all research notes, character notes, ideas for plot twists - everything - all in one place.
I back up and back up and then, when an editor asks me for a file on disk, I panic that I'll send the wrong version, I'll have lost the right version - aargh.
Wish I could help, Helen. I just about manage Word, but sometimes even that's touch and go...
Good luck.
XX
Hmmm, I'm a bit of an on the fence girl here (not the first time is it)!
I obviously use the internet a lot (that's why I'm here :-) and I do type my stories as well, but for some things hand-written is the only way for me.
For example, there's something about hand writing a to-do list that makes it more of a commitment, and you can't replace the joy of crossing things off later. And for planning, well I find it most helpful to use postcards or post-it notes that can be laid out and physically moved around. I have worked that way since the good old days of essay planning at college and I don't think I'd get on at all well with novel planning software - far too much like laying pipe!
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