lin

Windows sucks, but it can do everything you mention. (I'm sure what having iTunes has to do with creating great writers. This is piffle and then you get pissed off when people say so.


TT, you are the last person who should call for deletions. You realize your idiotic posts (of which this is but one) and shithead attitude would lead to you being the first one out?
You'd have to find some other forum and pretend you're a painter or stock car driver or porn star instead of lurking around here pretending to be a writer.

__________________

Judith Tramayne

Actually, technology does make better writers. I remember writing my first novel on an electric typewriter. It was totally time consuming to go back and edit.

When wordprocessing came out I was in heaven. I could change a word, move chapters, delete sentences in no time. This made me a better writer.

Granted you can do the same with a pencil, pen or paper but try to find someone that will accept your manuscript that way (smile).

Also technology has allowed writers instant access for their research. Long live the Internet!!

And because you can do this research EZily and faster, your knowledge improves thus making you a better writer.

As to whether you own a Mac or a PC who cares. Both have wordprocessing and both connect to the Internet.

Judith

__________________
Making the Complicated Simple!
Make ebooks, ebook covers and
177 Open Office Writer Templates
http://www.agoodread.com

JosephB

Using applications in Windows isn't really hard. My biggest complaint is the operating system. If you don't mind the crashes, freeze-ups and inexplicable crap that almost never happens on a Mac, fine.

My first day on a non-ad agency job my windows/pc froze. Ctrl + alt + delete did nothing. A coworker reached behind the box and unplugged it. I was shocked. In all my years working on a Mac, I'd never seen that.

This is mainly because with a Mac, the OS and the hardware are 100% compatible. This is also why they cost a lot more.

Otherwise, to me, Windows is, and likely always will be a less elegant imitation of the Mac OS, one step behind.
Likely spoken by a PC user. (Insert smiley here -- that is, if I used smilies, which I don't.)

__________________
"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources."
-- Albert Einstein

"I am really only interested in a fiction of miracles."
-- Flannery O'Connor

Mike C

Sorry Judith, but you're spouting from your fundament. Many successful writers write their first drafts either with a pen (Margaret Forster -34 books and 5 awards to date - mentions this in the Guardian Review this week) or typewriter (Will Self is, I think, one of these). You have a computer. Are you telling me that this makes you a better writer than more successful, but less 'tooled-up' writers?


Nacreous, I apologise for the way the thread's turned, but it's because of comments like Judiths that I responded as I did.

__________________
My writing
My Photo Blog
Web design for Writers
The Oddville Press

NightOwl

Some writers write using a pen and paper because it is more intuitive for them, and the fact that some writers still use typewriters just stresses the importance of the work environment, rather than diminishes it. After all, these are 'successful writers', it's not like they can't afford a computer. (I'm pretty sure that Will Self is not short of a bob or two.)

So why do they choose a typewriter when word-processors are readily available? I can only assume that it is because they create an atmosphere that they find conducive to creativity. Other people buy software that makes computer keys create the noise of a typewriter or use voice recognition software. It's all about what works for you.

The OP was just sharing what worked for him. Perhaps most of the functions of his gadgetry can achieved through other means, but he was excited to have discovered a way that he could have them all readily available on his screen at one time, thus enabling him to access them without disturbing his creative flow. And rightly so, imo. He never claimed that the software or features made him a better writer, no technology can magically do that, just that they made writing easier for him. OK, so to some people this is not important. But to others it might be helpful, so I'm at a loss as to why his contribution was shot down in such a hostile manner, particularly as a new member. Not a great welcome, is it?

Just my tuppence-worth.

__________________
Written a publishable short story/poem? Why not submit it to the Oddville Press? Click here for more details.

Nighttime is really the best time to work. All the ideas are there to be yours because everyone else is asleep.
Catherine O'Hara

CodeRed

I suppose it boils down to the preference of the writer - if you're struggling or becoming frustrated with the tools that you are using, finding something else that works better is likely to relax you and therefore leave you more able to concentrate on what you are doing. Which is really more a case of making things easier, rather than allowing you to become a 'better writer'.

According to Lian Hearn, the greatest writing implement ever invented is the gel pen. She wrote all 5 Otori books with a gel pen over several notebooks. (An interesting side note is that barely a word was changed from those drafts to the final print, quite a remarkable acheivement, I think).

__________________


All my best thoughts were stolen by the ancients. Ralph Waldo Emerson

Sam Winchester

Funny, Joe, I've never had a crash or a freeze on any Windows operating system that I've owned.

For the love of God, someone needs to settle this. Right, here's an example: I've got all the tools a plumber could ever hope to have. They don't make me a good plumber. The way I use them makes me a good plumber. You can have all the tools in the world, but if you aren't good enough to use them, then they're just worthless.

Sam.

__________________

HarryG

A Mac, or a pen? Windows, or a typewriter? Write with music, or in silence? Write with kids running around, or in an undiscovered cave? Write with a dictionary and a thesaurus, or rely on your own ability?


A hundred questions and a hundred different answers, but, personally, I will never turn a blind eye to to a new suggestion, well . . .apart from voice recording which I've grown to hate with a passion after a recent failed experiment, which caused me and my writing laptop to fall out, badly.


My 'progress' went from pen, typewriter, word processor, to Word and Openoffice. Whether I progressed is not for me to judge, if it can be judged at all.


As for Mike being rude to the OP, well, can't a moderator take off his moderator hat at times to post like the rest of us? Writers tend to be rude fuckers when something upsets their equilibrium, at least, that's how I am at times.

JosephB

Right, CodeRed. This is the point that was being made. Why any one would think otherwise is beyond me. Simply a case of seeing two words, "better writer" and assigning a very specific meaning to them, rather than seeing them within context of the poster's comments.

__________________
"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources."
-- Albert Einstein

"I am really only interested in a fiction of miracles."
-- Flannery O'Connor

Loulou

No equiptment will make us a better writer but certain utensils might make it easier. It doesn't matter if we use Windows or an old typewriter or freakin' toilet roll to write on. Use what works for you. If you can produce profound works of literature by writing it on your kitchen wall, then do it, though I wouldn't recommend sending this to a publisher by email. Might end up in the spam folder.

__________________
http://www.oceanmag.org/id67.html

Just Jim

Strange .... This site allows dozens of discussions that have nothing to do with writing, like the weekly rants on religion.

But post something about what program and/or hardware might help a writer, and it gets flamed all over.

Mike, I enjoy your rants and your use of "bullshit", but you are a moderator, and the basic idea is to "moderate", which you don't.

__________________

http://jimsstories.wordpress.com/
__________________
The Oddville Press
Accepting short stories, poetry, and art.

RomanticRose

Neither have I.

__________________

Sam Winchester

Just because Mike is moderator, doesn't mean he can't voice his opinion on something, Jim. All the members on this forum are allowed to do so, so the same should apply to moderators and mentors. They are human, after all.

Sam.

__________________

JosephB

Sam and Rose, you have bright futures in IT!

__________________
"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources."
-- Albert Einstein

"I am really only interested in a fiction of miracles."
-- Flannery O'Connor

nacreous

this is a person who sees the commonality of writers. She got it right, as did several others out there. If you folks knew me, you'd know that I dont start fights. I was merely excited about my new computer - its so shiny and silvery - and I just wanted to share how I use modern technology to help me write. I honestly have no idea how anyone would think that I was saying I am a better writer than anyone - good god! you've got to be kidding. I just think its cool to use different programs simultaneously while working

oh well. I have a problem with arguing. I hate to argue. For the past two years, I have not argued. I just shut up now when the principal talks to me.

Maybe from now on, I'll really think about my posts and threads before submitting them here, to make sure nobody could possibly start arguing about it.

Life is far too short for arguing.

By the way, thanks for apologizing, Mike C., and I am also sorry about what I said in response to you.
Cheers to all. Have a nice day.
Joshua

__________________
nacreous - a type of high-flying cloud which often reflects the setting sun back to the earth long after darkness has fallen on the land.