Paper and Computer

It was so good to work on my computer again, but I kept lifting my legal pad to my nose for the occasional whiff of paper. I mean paper has never failed me.

During my computer hiatus, I outlined one and half book ideas on paper. I will be typing those in since Millie (my Mal-Shi) will eat paper if I don't keep it from her. She would have been the ideal dog for 'My dog ate my homework!' back in the day.

Thank you all for suggesting Word-type options to use instead of buying Microsoft. I needed something that didn't require me to be online for those days when my internet crawls. We use Google Docs at work, so I tried that first at home. I don't especially like using Google Docs, but was willing. Maybe I don't know how to work with it offline, but it just wasn't the best option for me. Plus it seems to to steal more time from me just finding my documents. Again, this is all my incompetence.

Even though I thought all lightbulbs in my brain had burnt out, one more lightbulb flipped on giving me an idea. Years ago, I taught various technology classes: Word, Excel and... OpenOffice to mention a few. At that time, I don't think they had a Mac version. They do now! So after HOURS of downloading it, I'm using OpenOffice. Word seemed to always be updating and sending messages out to its mothership. OpenOffice appears to be its calmer cousin.

The winner is OpenOffice.org as my option. I'm back in the computer writing saddle again.

Don't forget to come back this Friday for my FIP post on Roland Yeomans.

T.

Comments

Yes, it's always a delight for find a Mac version of anything. My greatest find recently was the Mac version of Scrivener. that helped me enormously. But like you, I miss the intimacy of pen and paper, and although it is a slow process, I find that the best work stems from curling up in a chair and scribbling down my ideas for another book. And good writing with OpenOffice.
Mason Canyon said…
I didn't realize there was a Mac version of OpenOffice. That's great. I used it for awhile and liked it pretty well. You just can't beat paper and pen. Looking forward to Roland's post.
Pat Hatt said…
Great when you can find something that has a Mac version and works indeed. Good not to let the pu eat your homework these days too lol
I always outline with pen and paper before starting a new book. I also do a lot of blog outlines on paper, too.
I'm glad you've found your groove. I'm just thankful there are many tools for authors.
At work, I use pen and paper to start a new chapter or short story on my 2 breaks and lunch half-hour. I am so glad you got your computer back. I know how cut off that can make you feel. Thanks for the post on Friday. My Stetson's off to you for that. :-) Thanks, Mason, for wanting to read Teresa's post. Tomorrow on my post, the fungi attack just in time for Halloween. :-)
That's great you can use OpenOffice! I do use Google docs for some things (backups, writing on vacation on different devices, etc.), but I'll agree their interface and search feature needs help. Plus, I'm still mad about all the other stuff Google has discontinued of after I'd gotten used to it (Google reader and Google Plus, among them), so I'm not sure I 100% trust them anymore.
Chrys Fey said…
I'm glad you rediscovered OpenOffice. I'll have to remember that one.

Popular Posts