Tag: internet

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Six Vital Writing Items

Since becoming a writer, I’ve found I’ve come to rely on a several useful items and resources. Let’s look at six of the more important ones, divided equally into two lists.

Related to technology

  1. Privacy screen
    If you regularly use a laptop in a public place, such as cafés or trains, grab a privacy screen yesterday. These narrow the field of view so anyone looking from the next seat is unlikely to see your screen. I used to own one that was stuck to the screen with near-invisible tabs, although dirt found its way behind that, so I think I’ll buy a removable one next.
  2. Text shortcuts
    When I’m writing, there are certain words, phrases and symbols that I often use, so I’ve set the AutoCorrect in Microsoft Word to generate these; for example, the letters ‘wr’ type out ‘whether’ into the document. In tandem, I have an AutoHotkey script, allowing me to generate a en-dash with a simple key combination, among other useful symbols. Finally, if you press Win+V on a Windows machine, you can access the multiple copy-and-paste feature to save time when transferring a lot of different items.
  3. Mobile hotspot or tethering
    After a decade of running a writing group, the one constant is a hit-or-miss Wi-Fi connection, sometimes from week-to-week in the same venue. I recommend finding a mobile phone plan that allows you to use your own Internet connection where the house Wi-Fi fails, perhaps even a cheap one seperate from your normal phone. Indeed, some tablet devices support a SIM card, which does the same job.

Unrelated to technology

  1. Diary with note pages
    For many years, I’ve kept an A5-sized paper diary with a week spread over a page or two pages. When you’re on the phone to organisers, it’s much easier to check your availability. I also make sure there’s plenty of note space, as many of my pieces begin life as pencil on paper. Speaking of which…
  2. Sharpener with shavings container
    These days, I never buy a pencil sharpener without a little bin attached to it. It keeps all the shavings contained so I don’t need to move away from my desk to deal with a blunt pencil.
  3. Subscription to Writing Magazine or similar
    I feel obliged to point out that other magazines are available; this is simply my go-to publication. I haven’t grouped this under technology as printed magazines still appear to be thriving, even if the content is also available digitally, including Writing Magazine. I like their sheer breadth of featured publishers and competitions, although only a handful will be suitable for my work.
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Not Lost, But Hard to Find

A couple of weeks ago, I made an entry about keeping an archive of pieces and how I found one particular poem that wasn’t stored in OneDrive with the rest of them. A few days after writing that entry, my backup system was put to the test.

On Sunday 2 June, the town of Leven was finally reconnected by railway after 55 years. Along with a couple of pals, I was one of the first passengers on the revived service, and we decided to head for a coffee. One minute, I was using my phone to tell people about my day; the next, it went completely black and wouldn’t react to any button pushes nor attempts to charge it.

Fortunately, there were a lot of services I could still access, such as the aforementioned archive. However, some relied on two-factor authentication, which requires using a phone as verification, like I used to secure WordPress.

The short version of the story is that my old phone was beyond recovery, but I now have a new one, and I have full access to all my services again.

In all that excitement, I didn’t have much of a chance to think of a writing-related entry. But I do wish to reiterate the advice of backing up all your work, both locally and online, so you don’t fall victim to an unexpected loss.