I love them and I hate them.
One of the advantages of a computer is that I don’t have to retype an entire manuscript just because I change something in the middle. It also has proven, through the Internet, to be a valuable tool for many things, research being one of the most important.
As an example, in my newest, yet unpublished, series (I’m halfway through with the first book), I needed to find out about various practices of the 1940s, specifically 1945. I knew the Hit Parade existed back then and Googled it. Not only did I learn what was popular, but found a month-by-month listing complete with the name of the singer or band.
Then there’s the online organizations devoted to writers. Of prime importance to me is Romance Writers of America and its chapters. Currently, I belong to several groups, including KOD, HHRW, Elements of RWA, Outreach, and Chicklitwriters, as well as the critique groups KOD and HHRW offer. I also take advantage of the very helpful classes many of the chapters offer.
My life has really changed due to the computer and the Internet, and when something goes wrong I’m totally lost. This last Tuesday I was on my computer, accessing one of the hundreds of emails I get, when my monitor emitted a blast of light and then went totally dark. It died. I then turned off the computer the wrong way by pushing the button on the tower, and then turned it on again. The computer went on—I could tell by the sounds it made—but the monitor did not turn back on.
Well, all was not lost because I have a laptop. It’s a very nice laptop and I have to admit it’s much easier to see and read than my old PC. However, I’m not accustomed to using it, typing is more difficult, and I’m not real familiar with the updated Word program. It’s taken me the last two days to become acclimated, and I’ll admit I’m actually getting to like it.
I now have a nice replacement monitor (uninstalled as yet), but have made a promise to myself that when it is up and working that I will use my laptop at least once a day. But you know how promises are, much like the resolutions we make at the end of a year. I’ve been making diet resolutions for more years than I care to admit. But there’s always hope. At least I didn’t have to resort to pen and ink to write.
As I write this, something just occurred to me. The new series I referred to involves a young woman who finds herself back in 1945. There’s no computers, no cell phones, no plastic anything, no electric typewriters and cars do not have automatic transmissions.
Good grief. Has someone arranged for me to experience that first hand? Will I wake up one morning and find my TV replaced by an old Philco radio?
One thing is for sure. I am going to quit complaining that I can’t go back in time to do my historical research. It would just be my luck to get stuck there.
Joan K. Maze
Writing as J. K. Maze
http://sleuthingwithmollie.wordpress.com
http://homicideandmayhem.wordpress.com
Murder By Mistake, book 1 in the Mollie Fenwick Mystery Series, available as an ebook from Red Rose Publishing, B&N, Fictionwise and Amazon
Murder By Mistake, book 1 in the Mollie Fenwick Mystery Series, available in paperback from Amazon
Murder For Kicks, book 2 in the Mollie Fenwick Mystery Series, available as an ebook from Red Rose Publishing, Fictionwise and Amazon
Framed In Fear, romantic suspense, available from Red Rose Publishing, Fictionwise and Amazon
Murder By Spook, book 3 in the Mollie Fenwick Mystery Series, in progress
