writing "equipment"

hisholinessnb

Hi all!
I'm just about to attempt to write my first novel. At the moment I'm mulling over some ideas but I'm almost ready to start jotting down the basic plot and character information.
As I'm hoping to do bits and pieces during lunch break at work, and at home I was wondering do you prefer a notebook, or pc or more to the point is there anything more "portable" than a laptop designed purely for writers?

Appreciate any advice you can give, once I actually get started I hope to post here some more!

pickarooney

I always used pencil and paper and a quiet room at lunchtime then transcribed it once every few days into a text editor.

dawvee

I think I personally write best behind a desk, since I find it indispensible being able to do bits of fact-checking and research on the fly, and I'm not away from it enough to justify getting mobile internet access. Sad to say, but Google is pretty much a memory substitute for me.

If your job gives you free rein on your work PC during lunch breaks, you could just get a USB thumb drive and store your work on there. I did that for a while at offices I worked at.

EileenG

Okay, it's so old tech that most people collapse laughing when they see it, but I absolutely love my Psion 5.

It's small, light, incredibly portable, has instant On / Off, runs for weeks on a couple of batteries, has a touch sensitive screen and built in thesaurus, and best of all, it's almost impossible to lose work. Even if you switch off without backing up, everything is still there when you switch on again.

I quite literally never go anywhere without it.

WHU

There's always one of those small laptops, notebooks I think they call them, got everything on them the same as a laptop without the size, similar to Eileen's Psion 5

EileenG

Not the same. I have a net book, and I give it to one of my kids. It takes ten minutes to switch on, and five minutes to turn off, the battery life is a joke, and the punctuation keys are all over the place.

Actual laptops are much more functional, but they are heavy, slow to load up and eat batteries.

I carry my Psion in my pocket when I'm out cycling on the bike. I wouldn't even take a laptop with me on the bike in case it got bounced about.

I should say that while I find the Psion perfectly fine to touch type on, it might be more difficult for a man.

WHU

EileenG wrote: »

Not the same. I have a net book, and I give it to one of my kids. It takes ten minutes to switch on, and five minutes to turn off, the battery life is a joke, and the punctuation keys are all over the place.

Cheers EileenG, I thought they looked handy

EileenG

If you are thinking about buying a netbook, make very sure all the punctuation marks are where you expect them. The one I bought had the apostrophe down beside the space bar, where I'm used to finding a comma. It nearly drove me bonkers!

i-digress

I got a netbook for Christmas. I have a long term illness and laptops are too heavy for me. My one is great because it has a full sized keyboard and is laid out exactly like those on a laptop. Some netbooks have slightly smaller keyboards which makes them fiddly to use.

pickarooney

I have trouble typing on laptops, let alone netbooks. I just find them too cramped (and usually have AZERTY keyboards, which is less fun again).

Does anyone use a dictaphone? I think I'd be far too self-conscious.

hisholinessnb

Many thanks for the advice folks!

Killer_banana

At the moment I'm operating off the family PC when I'm at home and I carry a notebook with me everywhere in case I get any flashes of inspiration that I need to get down on paper. I find it easier to write when I'm on a computer though so I'm thinking of getting a netbook for when I'm out and about. My birthday's is soon so I might pick up a Samsung second hand cos they're meant to be good and they have a full sized keyboard. I've used my friends acer a few times and it is the most irritating thing ever! The keys are absolutely tiny!

I think though what you use is up to you. Some people find it easier to write everything by hand and then type it up later while some people, like me find writing easier if they're sitting at a computer. Good luck with your novel however you write it!

EileenG

One thing in favour of the Psion. With a bit of careful bidding, you should be able to buy one off e-bay for under €50, which makes it cheap enough that can cart it everywhere without worrying about the cost of replacing it.

hisholinessnb

I settled on a "psion revo plus" at GBP60 from e-bay.
Now the hard part starts!