Archive for the 'The Writer’s Life' Category

Please excuse me for a few moments of indulgence.

Does the “Writer’s Jig” around the room.

Yells a few “Yipees!”

Ah – that’s good.

A cheque in the mail for a short story recently published.

Now back to work.

In the pre-computer days I used notebooks and a portable typewriter for my writing needs. It was slow and laborious and, not being a good typist, I made many mistakes. Because the typewriter was portable it meant I was not tied to a desk.

In the early 1990s I bought my clunky old Commodore Amiga computer. It was bulky and slow and took up a large area on a desk. What it did, however, was give my writing a huge boost. I could easily edit, correct, reprint and rewrite with ease. I fired the old computer up recently – and it still works like a charm. It was very advanced at the time.

Next came a series of desktop PCs. I was off and running with my writing, but I was stuck to a desk. While it was rather restricting as far as movement was concerned, that was a small price to pay for the power of a PC to assist my writing endeavours.

Early 2004 saw a new development. I bought my first laptop. I can now write on the move. I can write in the sun room if that takes my fancy. I still use to office quite a deal, but during the colder months I set up a table in the lounge room in front of the slow combustion fire. It gives lovely warmth – with the added bonus of having the television on to watch the football. In the summer months I can keep an eye on the cricket while I write. And when I visit my son in Sydney or my daughter in Clare, the laptop comes with me so I can keep writing whenever I want.

Where don’t I write?

1. I haven’t been tempted to take the laptop into the bath with me.
2. I certainly don’t take it into the toilet – though I sometimes have great inspirational ideas while meditating therein.
3. I have taken the laptop into bed with me – but only once – and my wife was away at the time.
4. I have taken my laptop into the garden but I don’t make a habit of it. I’d be too tempted to watch the birds, or snooze in the sunshine, or worst of all, see some job that needs my attention.
5. I do not write while driving; it is not recommended.

This last one reminds me of a cartoon in the Weekend Australian Newspaper last Saturday. The drawing shows a writer tapping away on a laptop while his car is plunging over the edge of a cliff. An arrow from the caption points at the screen. The caption says:

“…and as I plummeted to my death, I wondered if perhaps I should have been concentrating on the road rather than typing this autobiography.

THE END

So – where do you do your writing?

Share your writing habits in the comments section below.