bad writer
no gf cookie.
I haven’t been writing more than these posts the past few days. I barely plan ahead and I haven’t been preparing for some other writing obligations. I am scattered and spread thin. I’m focusing on other obligations (Work and fibre) so something had to give. As my writing hasn’t yet paid bills in an obvious manner, this was what was set aside.
It was with skepticism that I sat to read this NYT article last night, An Interface of One’s Own. I’ve written before about my frustrations (distractions?) of having formatting and too many bells and whistles available when all I need to do is write. I’ve thought of how I miss my Smith Corona Word Processors and my manual blue typewriter (which mum left when she moved because she didn’t think I’d want it *sigh*) and how much more efficient and polished my writing was when I cared more about the craft of my words than how it would print out or otherwise display. I am impressed by this article how it echos the frustrations that we turn to technology when technology might not be the answer.. I am a techie, yet I do not and will not use a PDA. I find that my filo and index cards suit my needs better. I once had a client who wanted me to build him a complex shiny inventory tracking system so he could show it off when a simple spreadsheet would suffice. He is no longer a client.
Despite my scepticism of using technology when I’ve long used a more manual method, I find Scrivener interesting, especially with a thesis looming. I’ve been hearing good things about it for quite some time, but did not see a need. So, to that end, I have downloaded the 30 day trial. I may review it, I may just end up dropping it (like writeroom, which I like but prefer to use a terminal and vi instead). We shall see.