Writing on the Go

Last Monday I had two doctor appointments in the same area. It would have been burdensome to drive back home between them, so I had to stay. I worried that because a good portion of the day was going to be spent waiting for these appointments, I was losing writing time. Sure it was a teacher’s planning day and I had taken the day off, but days off means writing for me. Yet these appointments were a time drain.

So that morning I downloaded the Pages app onto my iPad. I usually look for free apps for my iPad, and this was the first time I paid for an app. The Pages app transfers documents to and from your iPad. So I loaded some Word documents related to my WIPs onto my iPad hoping I’d write a chapter or two during my appointments. Then I stuck the device in my purse.

While I sat in lobbies and waiting rooms, I was able to type out two-thirds of one chapter, but it was not easy at first. I had to get used to the virtual keyboard. I’ve had my iPad for a while, but I was really just using it to read books. Now I was typing on this thing. And I kept accidentally deleting chunks of fresh writing by hitting undo. Because I didn’t know where the redo button was—but later on I found it—I was retyping paragraphs at a time, frustrated that with each step forward I fell one step behind.

I eventually got the hang of the keyboard. I didn’t write as much as I wanted to before and after my appointments because of my initial clumsiness, but I did get something done. At home I found a better way to use the app in conjunction with another device I had. I had my outline open on my iPad while I typed chapters of my draft onto my AlphaSmart. The AlphaSmart’s physical keyboard made writing twice as fast compared to the iPad, while the iPad was handy for having my outline open—with no distracting internet, I was typing like a speed demon. I’ll still use the Pages app since the iPad fits into my purse—while the AlphaSmart does not—and I’m sure I’ll be less clumsy the next time I write on it. I thought about getting a keyboard for my iPad, but according to reviews that makes iPads bulky, and the whole reason I have an iPad in the first place is to avoid the bulk factor.  

Overall, I like having these devices because of the portability and their lack of internet. Do you use any writing devices that making writing faster, easier, and/or portable?  

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Contest Reminder

I have two books to give away to blog followers in the U.S. and Canada: Veronica Roth's DIVERGENT and Michelle Hodkin's THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER. The deadline is January 31st, 11:59 p.m. EST. You must be at least 13 years of age to enter and the form is below.

A ROW80 Update and a Giveaway

It's time for a ROW80 update. The current round of A Round of Words in 80 Days runs from January 2nd to March 22nd. My goal during this round of ROW80 is to a) edit WIP #1 and get it to beta readers and b) write at least half of the first draft for WIP #2 based on the outline I wrote during the previous round. I’m not one to write in detail about my WIPs online, so I’ll use abbreviations of the titles. WIP #1 is TWILAMPH and WIP #2 is EK.

TWILAMPH: Last week I ended at 13 chapters edited, and to date 18 out of 28 chapters have been edited. I wanted to be at 20 chapters, but fell short of my goal. By the end of this month I'd like the first round of edits to be done, so I have to get busy this weekend. February I want to do a second round and March I'd like to do the last round. I'm aiming for three rounds of edits to make my manuscript as polished as possible before I get it into the hands of beta readers.  

EK: I wrote 2 more chapters, so now I'm at 3 chapters completed for this draft, when the outline calls for 24 chapters. As long as I write 1 or 2 chapters a week from now on, I'll be on task with this goal. 

I hope all the other ROW80'ers are doing well with their writing goals. 

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I have two books to give away to blog followers in the U.S. and Canada: Veronica Roth's DIVERGENT and Michelle Hodkin's THE UNBECOMING OF MARA DYER. The deadline is January 31st, 11:59 p.m. EST. You must be at least 13 years of age to enter and the form is below.

Weekend Random

I added some new buttons to my sidebar. There are some exciting releases and blogfests coming up.

First in my sidebar is the blog tour for Julie Duck's A PLACE IN THIS LIFE. To date, there are a few slots available in this tour if you're interested.

Sign ups for The Blogging from A to Z April Challenge will start January 31st. I plan on joining and it will be my first time doing this challenge.

I signed up for the Tumble 4 Ya Blogfest, which will take place February 10th. Participants will blog about their celebrity 80's crushes. Who should I pick? Johnny Depp, Ricky Schroder, Michael J. Fox, Kirk Cameron, Emilio Estevez, any one of The New Kids on the Block...there are so many choices, really.

Alex J. Cavanaugh's CASSAFIRE is being released February 28th. I need to move my copy of CASSASTAR higher up my to-be-read pile so that I can read the sequel after it.

And this is a reminder for The I'm Hearing Voices Blogfest, which runs February 6-10. It involves three posts and coincides with the Tumble 4 Ya Blogfest, but that's okay. On February 10th I'll write both posts.

So that concludes the explanation on the latest buttons in my sidebar. I will now share with you my new favorite song, because I'm always discovering songs for the first time and all of a sudden I have a new favorite. This song isn't that new, but I heard it for the first time recently and it's always on replay while I'm writing.