Thursday, April 3, 2008

A few of my favorite things

I’ve been writing since I was twelve so I’ve written in a lot of different ways. At first I wrote longhand on notebook paper. Not very conducive to edits. But then I got a typewriter. I was really moving up in the world! I wrote my first novel over the summer break when I was sixteen. To capitalize something, I had to hit the shift key with my pinky finger and the thing weighed about five pounds. By the end of the summer, I had hands o’ death!

Then around nineteen, I got my first computer. A Televideo with dual five and a quarter floppies. It was the ultimate in high tech. But then, many years later, I got my first IBM clone with not just a word processing program, but a spell checker. Oh, I was in heaven! You see, I think the universe has a wicked sense of humor in that it instilled in me a burning desire to write, but gave me a terrible spelling impediment.

With the invention of the spell checker, my Doubleday Dictionary (held together with liberal doses of duct tape) finally got a rest.

Now, at the tender age of forty-one, I have a very sweet Dell computer with so many bells and whistles I can’t name them all. But still, my favorite thing is the spell checker.

A few of my favorite things for writing would include the invention of the computer, the spell checker, coffee, and the internet. So I was wondering what are your favorite writing tools?

4 comments:

Savanna Kougar said...

A few of my fave things? Anything that works -- pens, hard surfaces. My IBM electric typewriter, that now does not get used -- but I adored it when I worked after graduation at Park College.
The bells and whistles are great on my computer, when they work, which is most of the time. When they don't! Flashfires of upset abound -- if only I were a fire-shooting goddess.
Okay, copy, paste and cut are my fav features, and the fact that my fingies can move much quicker than on a typewriter. It means I can write and re-arrange sentences, paragraphs without having to re-type a whole page. Now, that's real progress to me.
One of my old faves, and still is -- My old poor Thesaursus is in brown-piece pages, held together by clips. And my crossword puzzle dictionary, if I could find it.
Also! Paper, I'm crazed over paper, any color practically, as long as I can write on it, and create on it.

Mel Hiers said...

You mean besides spell check? *grin*

I have a fetish for bold tip Uniball Vision pens. (The purple ones if I can get'em!) It's like having a fountain pen without having to deal with a fountain pen.

And Media Player. So I don't have to make all those mixed tapes anymore.

Diet Coke.

And I'm with Savanna with the copy and paste thing. I use that CONSTANTLY.

Oh, and Post-its. And those little portable hard drives to back everything up with. I'd better stop. I'm an office supply nut!

Savanna Kougar said...

Omygawd, Mel, not the uniball vision purple pen! A must have! Along with red. If I could afford it, I'd be an office supply junkie!

Anitra Lynn McLeod said...

Sav, I would love the ability to fling fire at will. I would only use my power for good . . . or would I? :)

Mel, oooo, me too on the office supply fixation. I like the Bic round stic medium pens. I buy them in the 12 pack box and go through them like candy. Same with post-it notes. I have those all over the place.