nacreous

hello. look not for any words of great wisdom here, fellow writers.
these are just a few ideas for those relatively high-tech writers out there, who, like me, find great satisfaction in some of the modern advances in computer technology.

first of all, ditch your pc and get a new iMac. The new iMacs have something called Leopard, which is an operating sysytem practically designed for us creative writers. Leopard has a function called 'spaces' which lets you operate four or more screens simultaneously as you write.

that means you can run your word processing program, at the same time as you run other programs which can help you write better.

this is how I use my computer to write:
on one screen I run the word processor called "Bean" which is free and absolutely perfect for creative writing.
on another screen I keep my iTunes program, which is huge, and has over 3300 songs on it. I usually need music to write.
on a third screeen I keep my dictionary and thesaurus program, which is also huge, containing the accumulated knowledge of all the dictionary add-ons and plug-ins and translators. when I need a word, this program will really help, showing me the derivations and roots of the word so I can really decide which word I need.
and finally, the fourth screen I use has all my "stickie" notes and other little notepads, where I store my creative ideas and notes for my stories and poems.

This way, as I am writing, I never have to stop and open up some other program or dictionary. everything I need to be creative is right there, just one click of the mouse away, and I can sit there and stare out the window for hours and tell myself that I am not procrastinating.
hope this was helpful to someone out there.

Mike C

You said it. What a load of bullshit. Buy a mac, sure, but don't expect it to bestow you with any more wit or imagination than you currently possess. Which, if you think any level of technology beyond a reasonably sharp pencil will make you a better writer, I would suggest is not a lot.

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RomanticRose

I can do all that with my PC except iTunes. But I don't have an itunes account and I don't need music to write. All I need is pencil and paper; all I do is transcribe on my PC.

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OddGodHMK

Or, alternatively, keep your PC and simply open your music library, an online dictionary/thesaurus, a document to write in and a document you keep your notes in and navigate between them all on one screen with simply a click of the mouse!

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Sam Winchester

If I start writing more than one story at a time, I'd never get anything done. You don't know much about computers if you think that an ordinary PC or laptop can't do the things you've just alluded to. My music is stored in a music player called Xrat, my thesauras/dictionary is open at all times, my notes for the current project I'm working on are minimised at the bottom of the screen, the Internet is miminised as well, and my work is open in full screen. Everything is accessible at the click of my mouse. Couldn't be simpler.

Sam.

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JosephB

By all means, by a Mac, if you can afford it. I hate Windows. I have to have a PC w/ Windows as well as my Macs for testing purposes.

However, other than the fact that I almost never have to waste time dealing with freeze-ups and crashes when I'm on my Mac, I don't see that a Mac is going to make that much difference as far as writing is concerned. Creative people in general prefer Macs because they are more intuitive, but otherwise it's just writing tool.

Anyway, you can do what you've described on a PC. And you've been able to do the same on a Mac for years, and as usual, long before you could do it in Windows. Windows always lags behind and will likely always suck in comparison. It's the synergy between the OS and the box. But of course, you pay a premium for it.

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astralis

I can do the exact same thing on my PC and I have iTunes.

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nacreous

hey, you guys forgot to dispute my claims that Bean is a wonderful word-processing program. Oh yeah, somebody should chirp in with a denial that I have over 3300 songs on my iTunes program, too.
By the way, I guess they don't choose moderators around here on their moral qualities.
Oh, well...

Sam Winchester

I didn't agree with your post, but I did think it was well presented... until this ad hominen attack. Honestly, why people can't take a little criticism just baffles me. Not everyone is going to like your idea. Doesn't mean they're wrong and you're right. Just that they have a different opinion. Mike made a valid point (in his own unique way). The way to respond is deal with it without lashing out. Otherwise, his point is vindicated.

Sam.

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nacreous

actually, you are absolutely wrong about what you just said. If you think about it, who really dealt the first unhelpful comment? It was a moderator. If I were to make some dumb comment, for example, about your hair, should I just say it to you? Or, perhaps, like me, you also would refrain from such an uneeded attack. We should look for some common ground on which to stand.
Perhaps you dont understand. Look at it this way - dont drag things to the ground.
cheers!

Sam Winchester

Mike made a good point, Nacreous. No operating system or word processor in the world will make you a better writer. It may aid you in writing, but that's it. You just have to get to know people here and understand them. That's why there's a lot of flaming out on sites like this. Mike likes to bring across his points in that way. It may be wrong, and it may be right, but when you get to know people you can understand it better.

Sam.

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Mike C

I think you did. You implied that owning a mac would make you a better/more productive writer. Which is, obviously, complete bullshit. I'm not quite sure why Itunes might be a big deal to a writer - it came pre-installed on my windows laptop and it was the first thing I deleted. I have about 5 tracks on my laptop, but I tend to use it to work, not to jerk off over how cool my gadgets are. If I want to listen to music I have a couple of thousand CD's and probably twice that number of albums, but I have no idea how many tracks that equates to.

Mac, Windows, ball point pen; they're all just tools. They won't make you better at anything.

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JosephB

Seems nacreous is just excited by his new work environment. A better work environment, one in which you feel more comfortable, can enhance your creativity, no doubt about it. I doubt seriously that nacreous was suggesting it would literally make him a better writer.

So in that respect, certain comments were off-base, and somewhat less than what I would expect from a moderator, if I was new to a site.

Bean is a fine, easy to use, lightweight word processing program. So what? Not robust enough for most business applications, which is why I wouldn't use it.

EDIT: Sorry Mike, I didn't see your post. Having read it, I'll say you were way off base and reading far too much into his comments. Your analogy is simplistic. The tools won't make your writing better. But they can make writing easier, faster, more enjoyable.

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HarryG

I say, each to his own. I think the PO was trying to be helpful and may have imparted some useful information, which Mike disagreed with, as is his right.


I couldn't write on a screen with four open windows either, and, even if they were minimised, they would still distract me.


But that's me, and I'm sure we all have different ways in which we like to write. And Macs are brilliant for photo editing, too.


Oh, and I have a writing laptop, hidden in the sock drawer for the time being, which has only a word processing programme on it, and nothing else, it doesn't even know what the internet is, has never been exposed to Facebook, wouldn't know iTunes if they crept up on it, and if Windows tried to update it, it would fight back.

Truth-Teller

Spam, anyone? Spam?

This thread needs to be locked, blocked, or deleted.