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What Do You Write On?

Heliotrope

Staff
Article Team
Kenny, that is really interesting. I know for myself I prefer to write long hand first in my sketchbooks, and part of it is because when I'm writing long hand I'm lazier… it's harder to write longhand than typing… so when I'm writing long hand I choose my words and sentences more carefully. "How can I write this in the most concise way possible?" Vs "I'll just write type stream of consciousness and see what happens…"

When I write long hand first I find I get clearer work. When I type I get a thousand words of WTF?
 

Penpilot

Staff
Article Team
I'm struggling to figure out LibreOffice right now. I can't find some of the things I need most, like the thing that lets me put accented letters and symbols into my document. Very important when the majority of my characters have accents in their names. Copying and pasting from other documents is a pain in the butt. I much prefer Microsoft Word.

This might be helpful Common/Inserting Special Charactershttps://help.libreoffice.org/Common/Inserting Special Characters - LibreOffice Help
 

Jerseydevil

Minstrel
I use a Dell Laptop for writing. I put it on a folder box, making an impromptu standing desk. Sitting too long is unhealthy and standing burns more calories. I also think better when I pace around.
 

CupofJoe

Myth Weaver
It just says there's no text in the page... o_O;

Inserting Special Characters - LibreOffice Help

The link got doubled somewhere...
This function allows you to insert special characters, such as check marks, boxes, and telephone symbols, into your text.

  • To view a selection of all characters, choose Insert - Special Character.
  • In the large selection field click the desired character or several characters in succession. The characters are displayed at the bottom of the dialog. When you close the dialog with OK, all displayed characters in the selected font are inserted in the current document.
  • In any text input field (such as the input fields in the Find & Replace dialog) you can press Shift+Ctrl+S to open the Special Characters dialog.
 

Geo

Troubadour
I put it on a folder box, making an impromptu standing desk. Sitting too long is unhealthy and standing burns more calories. I also think better when I pace around.

I hear you...

I have the box of my laptop as standing desk. I used to have a wood stand I made for it (it was at the perfect height to keep my neck relaxed) but that got destroyed/lost along the many field trips I had last year, so now the box (which is a little to low to be fully functional but better than nothing) sit is its place.
 

kennyc

Inkling
It just says there's no text in the page... o_O;

Well, only now am I back in front of my computer and able to take a look. What I'm seeing is that all it takes is to click 'Insert' from the top menu bar. Choose 'Special Characters' from the drop down (third item from top on mine) and then choose the special character from the array/table and click 'Insert'
 

kennyc

Inkling
I use a Dell Laptop for writing. I put it on a folder box, making an impromptu standing desk. Sitting too long is unhealthy and standing burns more calories. I also think better when I pace around.

Yes, I have a new saying, "Writing while walking around." :D
 

kennyc

Inkling
The only thing I am disappointed in Libre Writer with is that it does not have a Reading Level function and the spelling/grammar checking is horrible. :)
 

kennyc

Inkling
I use a Dell Laptop for writing. I put it on a folder box, making an impromptu standing desk. Sitting too long is unhealthy and standing burns more calories. I also think better when I pace around.

From Writer's Almanac:

"Nabokov wrote standing up, at a lectern, taking careful notes on index cards, which he then arranged in order and gave to his wife, Véra, who typed them out into manuscript form. Vera also served as his manager, bookkeeper, and agent. He thought her the best-humored woman he’d ever met and once wrote to her, “You turn my life into something light, amazing, rainbowed.”

Happy Birthday Vladimir Nabokov.

Hemingway too wrote standing up. :)
 

Ireth

Myth Weaver
Well, only now am I back in front of my computer and able to take a look. What I'm seeing is that all it takes is to click 'Insert' from the top menu bar. Choose 'Special Characters' from the drop down (third item from top on mine) and then choose the special character from the array/table and click 'Insert'

I'm not even seeing an "Insert" option. o_O
 
I'm writing on whatever is available at the moment. Usually it's my trusty old desktop, but also increasingly my new laptop. I use cloud to share my unfinished works between everything connected to my wifi network. I don't like writing on tablets, so those are for quick notes at most. One dream that I have, and which I will make a reality sometime in near future, is to write a short story by using a real quill, ink and paper. I've been planning that for my wife to have as a small special gift. Granted, it's awfully slow to write on paper, I very much enjoy doing that occasionally. I always do my early drafts, designs, character sheets, maps and so forth on paper. It just has a feeling you can't get from glowing screen and a always-so-convenient keyboard.
 
I don't get to sit at a desk and write, so I need something mobile to write on.

What do you guys write on? Am I the only one who has to confine their writing to bus rides and the couch? How do you pull it off?

I'm on a macbook pro (think I must have trod on the screen once, so it's a weeny bit ropey).

I sympathise with your dilemma about where to write. I'm always on the sofa and I think it's playing havoc with my back and neck.

Bought an iphone 6 plus the other day so that I could do some writing on that, but still figuring out the best programme to use with dropbox so I can actually use it!
 
I do a lot of commuting and in the train I like to write on paper. For that I use homemade notebooks. At work, people have this horrifying tendency to print tons of things they forget, or don't care, to pick up from the main printer, so I make notebooks with that paper. I just select the printouts that are single side it. Then all I need is an stapler and done, I feel like a hero to a bunch of trees when writing.

At home, and for transcripts, I use a Mac book pro. Software wise I use Word or LaTeX.

I like that you re-use the "one-sided" papers. I do that myself whenever possible. Environmentally conscious decisions are good.
 
I've tried a few times and it never completes its download, neither will its mirror sites. I've asked for help on their site several times and never got any responses. So I've stuck with Google Docs.

I'd like something I can use offline though, things would go far faster and I wouldn't need to depend on a connection. I would probably still use Docs though, because I can share it with people.


I'm a Software Engineer here. Do you have the 32-bit version of Windows on your machine or 64-bit version? LibreOffice has both of those versions so see which one you're downloading. If that fails, have a friend download it on USB and "stick it in your machine"! ;)
 

Slartibartfast

Minstrel
Lenovo X220 - the last compact laptop they made with a 'proper' keyboard on it with a RAM and SSD upgrade. Docked to an extra display when in my office. Ubuntu 18.04, Zim for world-building notes and Manuskript for writing.
 

Insolent Lad

Maester
I took the Tolkien-esque approach of writing my first novel on the backs of used papers. And half of my second novel. Then I discovered computers!
 

MrNybble

Sage
I use Google docs for the draft part. Gives me the ability to access the document from any machine including tablet and phone. Edits are done on the desktop with Microsoft word where. Prowriting Aid helps find certain problems when I first start reviewing a chapter.
 
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