This volume is about finding a place to work on your fiction writing (or non-fiction), and making sure you can get to it anytime and keep it flowing. There are many ways to write and organize what you’re working on – from writing in notebooks to using various electronic devices.
Where do you like to work, and how do you keep your work safe from loss, damage, and hobgoblins? Please share your method. Be sure to use the tags #Writing and #Workshop.
The previous volumes in this series are Volume 1, The Beginning; Volume 2, Exploring voice in writing; Volume 3: Say what you want to say; Volume 4: Serial fiction projects on Steemit, and Volume 5: Getting organized and actually writing. Each post provides some ideas and inspiration, invites #discussion about a fiction writing topic and provides encouragement to write and share your work.
Writing here, writing there; we can write anywhere
In the old days, I worked at a desk, writing freehand. I have always loved sitting in coffee shops, writing in notebooks, scratching out odd, clunky wording and supplanting it with something better. One of the nicest aspects of this method is that you can see your writing take shape, and you have a record of its evolution.
But I’m over it.
I had to switch it up, ultimately, and go digital. For one thing, if you write longhand, there’s the issue that you’re going to have to retype all of that stuff. And for another thing, it can be lost, damaged, or dropped in a puddle.
A better method, of course, is to write on a laptop or tablet. This is a big step up because you can carry such a device with you just about anywhere. I say “just about” because you most likely wouldn’t carry it into the movie theater with you. And you’re not going to stand in a line waiting to buy something and meanwhile typing into a tablet. Not only that, but hard drives lose their little minds sometimes. And if that happens, there goes your stuff!
How to write anywhere, anytime, and protect your work
So I have a recommendation. If you have a smartphone, you have a little computer with you wherever you go. You can actually work on a piece wherever you are, whenever the inspiration strikes. I work in Google docs because it’s a free cloud-based service and all of your work is stored automatically.
Working in the cloud is not risk-free, of course. No method is. But the only thing you really need to be concerned with is hacking. So I recommend setting up a double sign-on in your Google account. This prevents anyone from signing into your account without your knowledge.
Here’s how it works. If you sign into your Google account on a device that you haven’t signed onto before (or if you have signed on before, you have since logged out or wiped the sign-in history), you must retrieve an activation code from your phone and enter it into your Google account to regain access.
In other words, someone would have to be able to receive the activation code to hack your account. So unless they have accessed your Google account from your phone, they can’t get it. And the way to prevent that from happening is to a) not lose your phone and b) be sure to set up your mobile phone with a password.
Back to the topic of writing
Now that we’ve talked about the technology aspect of writing, let’s get back to just how freeing it is to be able to write wherever you are. I often have a story idea, an opening, an ending, or an idea about some critical missing plot element pop into my head when I’m out shopping, or out walking my dog on a trail.
Wherever I am, I can go into my phone, open Google docs, and add notes or passages. And I actually voice-text them into the document I’m working in so I don’t even have to stop what I’m doing. It’s pretty slick! I also keep a running document that is all the random ideas for other things I want to work on, so that when I complete the current piece I have a huge collection of snippets to pull from.
I hope this inspires you! Don’t let the fact that you don’t have a paper or electronic tablet in hand at all times keep you from writing. Please share your thoughts.
To your success!
