Geek Envy and my Writer's Heart

I couldn't believe my eyes.  There sitting next to me at the small town rodeo was a girl, around 8 years old, working on an iPad.  What?  My first thought was, "No fair!  I don't have an iPad, why should she?" 

My love for electronic gadgets has been unfolding since the first electronic word processors were launched during the 1980s.   They were so popular that my husband had to stalk Montgomery Ward to eventually buy me the prized possession.  (He earned many man points that day.)  I still say it was one of my favorite gifts of all time.  That was a long time ago -- manual typewriters and Montgomery Ward.  Am I dating myself or what?  

Anyway, I have transitioned over the years from a manual typewriter, to an electric word processor, to a DOS computer, to a PC, to a small Dell laptop.  I have loved every transition and each one has made my writing life so much easier.  So when the iPad released, I thought it was going to be the next step in my geeky writing journey.  But as I researched it, I found it doesn't meet the needs of a writer at all.  It's a great electronic toy for Googling things, playing games, reading books, etc.  In my life it would be just a toy, not a useful writing tool.  And if I was honest, it would probably distract me from my writing.  Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson, said about the iPad, "It's a solution looking for a problem to fix." 

So my iPad envy was so unjustified. (Is envy ever justified?)  I truly do not want an iPad at this point.  But it was just looking over at this tiny kid tapping away that made the electronic geek in me think I "needed"  an iPad.  Really?  Like I would be writing instead of watching the rodeo in St. George, Utah. 

A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.

Proverbs 14:30 

I do look forward to whatever the next writers' electronic tool will be, but for now it's not the iPad. Are you an electronics geek?   What helps you the most in your writing endeavors?

Writers write.  Keep writing,

Procrastination--The Writers' Bane

The Writer's Porch--Friday
Procrastination is a writer's bane. For whatever reason, writers love to find reasons not to write. The laundry calls, the phone rings, the cluttery closets coax to be straightened. So what's a writer to do?
For myself I like to create an atmosphere in which I like to write. I like to listen to music--anything from Daughtry to Susan Boyle. I wear things that make me feel like a writer. For example, I have the cutest bracelet made of typewriter keys. It reads "Bookworm." Recently, I was in a little boutique and found two note cards with old typewriters printed on them. I bought the cards. I intend to frame them and place them on the wall in front of my computer.

Author Anne Lamott recommends placing a 1 inch by 1 inch picture frame on your desk. Then study it with the idea you will write just what picture will fit in that frame. It could be a sentence, a paragraph or page, but the 1x1 frame is the beginning of the story. I picked up on this idea and I have a tiny frame on my desk. I think, "I can write what I can imagine inside of this frame."

Reading The Writers' Digest, how-to-write books, and author autobiographies spur me to write. However, I must be extremely careful that I don't allow my reading to interfere with my writing time. So, I have found if I read these at night, I am more inspired in the morning to write my one inch idea.

Candles, incense, funky things spur me to write--think beatnik or hippie. Here's the truth about writers, we walk to the beat of a different drummer. Most of us have artists' hearts. We tend to be introverts by nature. Many of us would be classed melancholy verses sanguine personalities.

Here's what I know for sure, writing is hard work. Procrastination comes naturally to writers. Find what works the best to keep your behind in the chair and your fingers on the keys.

Keep the Heart-Print Faith,

Susanne