Gadgets for Writers

Gadgets to make your writing life easier and more productive.

The Writer’s Bookshelf

Written by The Gadget Man

The writer’s bookshelf refers to the handful of reference books that every writer should have on hand to refer to as and when required. Although books are not gadgets (unless you happen to read them on a Kindle E-Reader or similar device, which is not ideal for reference books) they can certainly be described as essential tools and so we would be doing a disservice if we didn’t cover this subject at least briefly.

 

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The first book that every writer needs is a good dictionary. Although almost all modern word processing applications have a rudimentary spell-checker built-in, a traditional dictionary is still essential because it offers a lot more than the correct spelling of a word. A good dictionary provides the various definitions that a word can have, it may highlight the origin of the word and it should also give the proper pronunciation of the word. This latter point is particularly important for writers of fiction – whether poetry, short stories, novels or screenplays – because it helps one to be mindful of things like rhythm and pacing.

When choosing a dictionary it is important to strike a practical balance between the number of words defined and the ease with which it can be used. A multi-volume dictionary can obviously define many more words than a single volume, but they aren’t particularly convenient to use without breaking the flow of concentration, so a large single-volume dictionary is more useful in my opinion. For American writers, Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary is highly recommended, whilst British writers will probably find Collins English Dictionary more suitable.

Hot on the heels of the dictionary is the thesaurus. This is useful for finding alternative words to get your point across, and in some cases the thesaurus will also provide synonyms and antonyms. Any writer who is in the habit of using the same words repeatedly (and most of us are!) can use a thesaurus to come up with various alternatives and thereby improve their text for both our editors and the public. Although you may well consult a thesaurus less often than you do your dictionary, it is still worth investing in a quality volume. After all, language doesn’t evolve at anything approaching the rate of technology and gadgetry, so a well-chosen thesaurus (such as Merriam-Webster in the USA or Collins in the UK) will easily serve you well for at least a decade or two and, in many instances, a lifetime.

My third essential book for writers is the yearbook which provides up to date information about the needs of various publishing houses and magazines as well as their contact details. There are several yearbooks available and most of them focus on a single country, so if you are in the UK you would probably be interested in The Writers’ & Artists Yearbook and if you are in the USA you are more likely to want a copy of Writer’s Market. The nature of the yearbook means that you should buy yourself the latest edition as soon as it is published, but the tiny investment involved here pales in comparison with the time you save when looking for the most appropriate company to submit to. And, of course, selling even one piece of work will cover the cost of the yearbook and more besides.

There are other books that you can add to your own writers bookshelf depending on your unique needs and the type of writing that you do, but the dictionary, thesaurus and yearbook belong on the shelf of every serious writer. Even better, investing in this minimalist writer’s bookshelf will motivate you to improve your writing, increase your output and – hopefully – achieve more success as a result.

ASUS Eee PC Netbooks

Written by The Gadget Man

The ASUS Eee PC range of netbook computers is one that I think every writer should take a look at. The machines are small, light and convenient yet at the same time provide all the functionality that a writer, professional or otherwise, might need.

I was an early adopter of netbook technology and so I use an ASUS Eee PC 2G Surf model running Linux. I have the option of installing a Windows XP operating system on this machine, but really there isn’t any need. I can write my text in Open Office, connect to the internet wirelessly, print documents via USB, store information on the 2G internal drive or save data to a USB drive. What’s more, the Linux OS that came preinstalled boots up in a matter of seconds, and boots down just as quickly.

There is quite a good range of ASUS Eee PC models currently available, and because I was an early adopter it has to be said that most of them are even more impressive than the one I am delighted with. My main criticism of my own model is that the battery life is rather short at around 2.5 hours. This issue has been addressed by ASUS and the currently available models now boast a battery life of up to 9.5 hours – enough for a whole day of writing wherever you please, and ideal for enjoying a couple of guilt-free writing hours in the garden!

As well as improving battery performance, the latest ASUS Eee PC netbooks also boast larger internal drives, faster processors, slightly larger screens and Windows XP preinstalled if you would prefer that. Yet these machines are a lot more portable than most regular laptops and the cost a good deal less too. You can pick up a brand new ASUS Eee PC for less than £200, and if you’re willing to spend a little more you can obtain a top spec model that will serve you well for years to come.

Some writers may be wondering whether the smaller keyboard of the ASUS makes writing more difficult. My answer to that would be no (unless you have particularly massive hands) but it does take a little time to get used to the smaller keyboard in the beginning. For me, the advantages of being able to produce text virtually anywhere is well worth a few initial typos.

If you’re a writer looking for a portable device that will let you write, check your emails, surf the web and do a whole lot more whilst away from your normal desktop machine then the ASUS Eee PC range is certainly worth investigating. I bought my model within minutes of seeing what it could do, and although many of the latest ASUS Eee PC machines boast better specs, I’m still delighted with my purchase.

Six Essential Gadgets for Writers – Part II

Written by The Gadget Man

In my last post (Six Essential Gadgets for Writers – Part I) I described my current set-up as far as desktop PC, netbook and software is concerned. Today I’ll conclude by telling you about the last three gadgets no serious writer can afford to be without.

Printer
Although an increasing number of book publishers, movie production companies and magazine editors are happy to receive submissions by email, many still insist on receiving text in hard copy format. This means you need a decent printer, and the key word here is decent. Submitting manuscripts produced on an old dot matrix printer will only encourage the recipient to wing it straight back at you with a polite but standard “After careful consideration…” rejection letter.

Back in the days of my trusty Amstrad PCW512, the dot matrix printer that came packaged with it was quite sufficient, but times have changed. These days professional writers tend to print their work on laser printers (I use a Brother HL-5140 right now, but I need to think about upgrading soon). Inkjet printers are good for those who are just starting out, but I would recommend switching to a laser just as soon as you have made your first sale. You can easily pick up a decent laser printer for less than £200, and the increased quality of output over an inkjet is well worth the additional cost in my book.

Internet Connection
Next up is a reliable internet connection. Not only is the internet a great tool for communicating with the companies that are in a position to publish or produce your work, but it’s also a very effective way of conducting research for your writing. Whether you write historical fiction and simply need to find out what the most popular names were in 19th century London, or you write non-fiction and need to carry out extensive research, having access to the internet is a lot more convenient than making a trip (or possibly several trips) to your nearest major reference library.

Backup Device
Last, but by no means least, is a backup device of some sort. Writers are in the business of producing text, and so our words have monetary value. If you lose text due to a computer crash, lightning strike or similar catastrophe, you will not only lose the text but also the time you invested in writing it and the financial value it might have had. I learned the importance of backing up my data on a regular basis some time ago, but the task has certainly got easier over time.

Initially I backed up to floppy discs, then to CD ROMs. These days I use two backup devices. The first is a Freecom Classic external hard drive, which I use to backup my entire system on a monthly basis. The second is a SanDisk Cruzer Titanium U3 USB flash drive, which I use to make daily backups of data that has changed since the previous main backup.

The latter device is incredibly useful because it has full password-protection built into the device, which means that if you lose it you won’t have to worry about anyone else getting access to your files. It also comes with various bits of U3 software pre-installed, including an application that can automatically backup whatever files and folders you choose. The Titanium model is about as crush-proof as a USB flash drive gets, and well worth the slightly higher cost than the regular SanDisk Cruzer models.

In future posts I will discuss specific devices that I have only briefly mentioned here, along with others that you might also like to consider. As well as discussing the gadgets themselves, I will also talk about some of the most effectively ways of using them so that you can make your life as a writer much easier and a lot more productive.

Six Essential Gadgets for Writers – Part I

Written by The Gadget Man

There are six essential writing gadgets that nobody who writes for publication (or intends to get published) can do without. Of course, this is just my opinion, and there will no doubt be some readers who disagree with one or more of my six essentials, but outlining my view might at least get you thinking about your own feelings on the topic. Here then, are my six essential writing gadgets, along with details of the various devices that I am currently using in my own set up

The Desktop PC
Although desktop computers are now so widely used that they have lost much of their original ‘gadget’ status, PCs really are an essential gadget for any serious writer. Whilst electronic and perhaps even manual typewriters still have their (somewhat limited) uses, producing text on a PC is something that the vast majority of publishing houses, production companies and magazine editors have come to expect as the norm. Submitting copies of your text in digital format makes life a lot easier for the powers that be, and anything that you can do to make their lives easier is more likely to help you sell your work.

I have written on a number of desktop computers over the last twenty-five years. I launched my career on an Amstrad PCW8512 and I’m currently using a Dell Dimension 5100 that I purchased a couple of years ago. The great thing about writing is that it isn’t an activity that demands ever-faster processing speeds (which was just as well back in the 80s!), so I’m not the kind of person who upgrades just for the sake of it.

The Laptop or Netbook
This is where some of you might think that my definition of ‘essential gadget’ is questionable, but for me a portable writing device has always played a big part in my work. I enjoy sitting at my desk and writing, but I also like to make the best possible use of what might otherwise be ‘downtime’. Being able to write on long train journeys or in the car (not when driving, obviously) is always a boon. And then there are the evenings when I might want to write without going back into to my home office. This blog entry, for example, is being written on my current portable writing device – an ASUS Eee PC running Linux.  I’ll discuss the Eee PC in detail in a future post, but it’s worth mentioning here that you can also get an eee PC with Windows. I chose the Linux OS simply because it’s very quick to boot up and down, which makes it ideal for portable writing purposes.

Before the ASUS Eee PC I used to write on an Alphasmart Dana, but I found the built-in word processor to be a tad unstable, and I upgraded to the Asus after receiving one too many ‘Fatal Error’ messages. Prior to that, I used an early IBM Thinkpad and – my personal favourite for taking notes on the move – a Psion 3a. I love my ASUS, which gives me the ability to surf the internet and upload documents to Google Docs via WiFi, but even now I miss the incredible battery life and simplicity of the Psion 3a. The Alphasmart Dana came very close to replacing the Psion in both respects, but having the machine lock up several times brought that particular working relationship to a premature end.

Word Processing Software
The next item on my list of essential gadgets for writers is suitable word processing software. Although desktop and laptop computers often come bundled with a word processor, I think it is well worth taking a look around to find out what options are available before you commit yourself to writing on a single platform.

When I am writing text for books on my desktop PC I use Microsoft Word. Some writers hate Word (usually because they have a built-in dislike for Microsoft), but it has served me well for many years (albeit in different incarnations) and the fact that the vast majority of publishers can read Word files (or at least RTF files, which Word can also save as) is a definite boon. For screenwriting I use a piece of software called Final Draft, and when I’m writing on the ASUS eee PC I use Open Office. The latter is an open source (that means free!) office package which is available for Windows, Linux and Mac and provides full cross compatibility.

In my next post I’ll discuss the last three ‘gadgets’ for writers that I consider essential. Until then, happy writing!