Whew. It’s been a hot minute or three since I wrote one of these. How time flies. So, if anybody out there is actually interested, here’s a rundown on what I’m using these days – in both hardware and software – while I’m writing. I used to write these as sort-of-annual updates on what I was working with for National Novel Writing Month…but since I stopped doing that a few years ago, and recently learned that the organization self-destructed, I’ll just slap on a new title and roll on.
Hardware:
The last time I wrote one of these, I was doing most of my writing on a 2017 Surface Pro. That venerable piece of hardware now hangs on the wall behind my desk, running MyRadar Pro all day. Which is honestly pretty cool. All I have to do is turn around to see what the current weather conditions – complete with radar imagery – are.
Which is a distraction from my writing, but still a cool use for an older piece of technology. I highly recommend it.
Anyway, these days I do all my writing on one of two devices: A Dell XPS tower, and a Framework Laptop 13.
There’s not a lot to say about the Dell XPS tower. It is what it is: a solid, no-frills Windows box, that’s been reliable enough to outlive even its extended warranty, and I’ll use it until it falls apart or can’t run Windows anymore.
The Framework Laptop 13 (https://frame.work/laptop13), on the other hand, I could write an entire article about on its own. It is far and away one of the best laptops I’ve ever had the pleasure of using, from its excellent matte screen (hallelujah), to its hot-swappable expansion ports, to the fact that every component of it is user-replaceable. They even marked each component (down to the power cable) with a QR code that will take you right to the appropriate page to find troubleshooting guides and purchase a replacement if needed.
I’ve had no hardware issues with it at all in the year I’ve had it, and no quality control issues either. It’s as solid as a rock. The battery life is equally impressive, lasting 8-10 hours of use with my usual batch of writing software, and holding its charge within 3-5% over two weeks of not being used or plugged in.
My only complaint about it is that even after a year, the keyboard feels a little stiff under my fingers. That might be as much as side-effect of my choice of keyboards these days, as it is their hardware.
These days, I’m doing much of my writing (when not on my laptop) using a Keychron K5 Pro (https://www.keychron.com, that particular model is currently out of stock) with Brown (tactile) key switches. Yes, I’ve converted to low-profile mechanical keyboards, and my hands feel so much better now. I can type for hours without the kind of stiffness and ache I used to get (and still get) on membrane keyboards. I’m not saying they’re for everybody, and it took me several tries to find one I was this comfortable with (I must’ve tried and returned a half-dozen low profile mechanical keyboards before settling on these), but it’s been a real revelation.
Software:
I continue to use Literature & Latte’s Scrivener (https://www.literatureandlatte.com/) for most of my writing needs. It’s deceptively easy to learn to use with a depth of function that’s entirely predicated on how much time and effort you want to spend learning to use its advanced features, and fits my weird workflow perfectly. Version 3 of Scrivener has been available for a few years now (I’ve been that lax about keeping my blog updated), and it runs perfectly. Well worth the one-time fee. Heck, if they switched to an annual subscription, I’d be willing to pay it (I still hope they don’t).
I also added Literature & Latte’s mind mapping application Scrapple to my workflow. I use it to rough out and organize ideas for a new story before starting to write instead of outlining. I’ve considered trying more sophisticated mind mapping applications – Scrapple is pretty bare-bones – but I’m worried about getting lost in the minutia of designing my mind map and making it look cool vs. just getting it done. My brain has a bad tendency to get distracted by form over function.
I no longer use FocusWriter (https://gottcode.org/focuswriter/) very much, doing most of my actual writing in Scrivener itself, but I still have nothing but praise for the program. It’s just that my workflow has grown beyond distraction-free interfaces…I actually find it more distracting to have to switch programs when I want to refer to my notes than to have my notes in a side-by-side window with the chapter I’m working on in Scrivener.
Microsoft Word (I’m not putting a link here, I’m just not) remains a core part of my workflow. The easiest way to interface with Royal Road (where I publish my stories) is to output my content to Microsoft Word and copy and paste it into their interface, preserving the formatting. I’ve tried other office productivity suites, but have found them either lacking in features (most critically being able to handle .doc and .docx files) or just suffering from poor performance. LibreOffice…get your act together! You’ve got a solid product, but it runs like crap.
For print publishing (through KDP these days), I use Atticus (https://www.atticus.io/) to assemble my book, format it for print, and export it as an EPUB for uploading. Excellent software, fairly intuitive, excellent customer service. I know some people use it as a writing platform, but its interface is still just clunky enough that it would drive me nuts.
Music:
Whoo boy, my music for writing is all over the place these days. In general, when I need to focus and I’m having a hard time, I turn to one of LoFi Girl’s (https://link.lofigirl.com/m/music) streams on YouTube or Spotify. I find the genre of music very soothing and that it improves my focus. It also just generally makes for good, non-intrusive background noise, and I’ve even been known to sleep better with their Sleep Ambient Radio or Synthwave Ambient Sleep streams running. Good stuff, I highly recommend it.