Writing is typically a solitary life. A profession where looming deadlines may mean one doesn't see sunlight for days on end, and in which the stacks of research books can grow until one can barely manage to navigate from door to desk without risking a major avalanche. Laptops can help you enjoy a change of scenery, but their portability is significantly limited by battery life and access to an electric outlet. On a stormy day with potential for lightning, valuable writing time can be lost when your computer must be shut down, for even with a powerful battery backup/surge protection system, there's risk for disaster.
Now...imagine enjoying cool, lakeshore breezes or the luxury of a sun-dappled "office" in a park, where you can write for hours upon hours, generating pages of new material or revising the old, or the luxury of continuing your work no matter how stormy the weather. Imagine, too, the ability to carry hundreds of pages of research information in the palm of your hand without ever dropping a dime in a copy machine. It's all possible, thanks to several electronic wonders that can fit in a purse or book bag!
A writer can choose from the AlphaSmart word processing keyboard, with over 700 hours of use on just three AA batteries, or it's younger, smarter sister Dana. With a host of new options including the capability to run over 10,000 Palm OS applications and a larger, brighter screen, the Dana will still run for 25 hours per recharge. From the Quickpad Technology Corporation there's the Quickpad Pro, which falls between the AlphaSmart and Dana in capabilities, and offers a 100 hours of use per recharge.
For even greater portability there are the handhelds/PDA's, which offer word processing programs plus the option of connecting to folding keyboards that can equal the size of a standard keyboard, yet collapse to pocket size. And as for collecting all that research in a small package, the C-Pen fits comfortably in your hand yet can deliver a host of amazing functions with just the touch of a button.
AlphaSmart
Lightweight, with extraordinary battery life, it won't crash and uploading text is a breeze. A wonderful little workhorse, it's more convenient than a laptop, without all the distractions of Solitaire, FreeCell, and the Internet to lead you astray. Many writers feel the Alphie's limited display helps them avoid their tendency for endless self-editing and pre-occupation with page counts.
"I love my AlphaSmart," reports Harlequin Intrigue and Berkley author Rebecca York. "I wrote 46 pages on it when we were in Norway last summer, mostly in the observation lounge of a nice cruise ship, floating past wonderful scenery. I was astonished at how much I'd written--as you can only see four lines at a time, so it's hard to check!"
Cait London, who writes for Silhouette Desire and Avon, says, "I don't write manuscripts on it, but have done so much periphery work, i.e. notes for articles, book ideas, letters, lengthy email, etc.. Something else that I've used it for are copyedit inserts and notes to the editor, away from the computer. I like its pop to life and save feature, and prefer it to my slower loading laptop. I wish I'd had it during my breaks and lunch hours at my day job years ago. "
Dana, Palm OS Laptop Keyboard
The Dana is a step up from the AlphaSmart--with far more data displayed, and more bells and whistles. It's still very easy to use, and has the same AlphaSmart durability and dependability.
Multi-published author Evelyn Rogers says, "Last winter I found myself facing two deadlines with a trip to Sicily already scheduled. The Dana saved my writing life. Without feeling the least oppressed, I sat on a hotel balcony outside Palermo, occasionally glanced at the Mediterranean, and wrote more than I would have believed possible. Later, at a waterfront table outside a Siracusa gelateria, I did the same thing. The Dana was wonderful. I even wrote on the plane."
Quickpad PRO
Approximately the same dimensions as the AlphaSmart units, with the same size keyboard.
"I have been extremely happy with the Quickpad because of its looks and flexibility," notes Silhouette author Shirley Jump. "I can take it to meetings or doctor's appointments. I use my Quickpad at least twice a day and write most of my first draft on it because I find that without the blinking cursor and big monitor staring at me, I turn off my internal editor and just create. It frees me as a writer and often, I find the work taking new directions I hadn't expected. I've taken it everywhere -- to the park while the kids played, to the beach, in the car, camping. I write in bed when I'm sick, on the couch. It's freed me in more ways than I expected for such a minimal investment."
PDA/Handheld and Folding Keyboards
The full-size keyboard word processors are lightweight and easily tuck into a bookbag or briefcase, but if you want even greater portability, a PDA and a folding keyboard might be just what you need.
"I carry my PDA and keyboard with me everywhere I go," says Leisure author Beth Patilla. I took my kids to the park one day, pulled out my PDA and keyboard, and practically channeled the first chapter of a new book. I don't do a lot of editing on it, as the screen is too small, but for new writing and brainstorming it's excellent. Definitely a must for the times when a laptop would be too cumbersome."
Julie Kenner, who writes for Pocket, Harlequin and LoveSpell, says, "When traveling, a PDA/keyboard is a wonderful alternative to a laptop, especially since all the security and carry-on regulations make traveling with a laptop more cumbersome. I keep my books in progress on the PDA, and with the keyboard, I can write or revise wherever. It's like having a miniature computer in my pocket. I will say, that the best bang for my buck, though, was the AlphaSmart. I can use it when my 18 mos. old is around (it, unlike the PDA/keyboard, can be held at odd angles to keep away from little fingers). It won't hold the entire book, of course, but for getting out a draft of a scene and moving the story along, it's great!"
C-Pen 800C
Here's another incredible advance in technology--a hand-held scanner! Lightweight and simple to use, this scanner has 8 MB of flash memory, 4 MB RAM, and will scan and store up to 2000 pages of text in eleven different languages, using an internal digital camera and OCR (Optical Character Recognition). Some of its functions:
Be sure to visit the C-Pen website and check out the "try it now" and the "interactive story" options to sample just what this unique tool can do.
Author and personal life coach Mary O'Gara says, "I used to take my AlphaSmart to the library, but the C-Pen does most of that for me now. The C-Pen paid for itself in one afternoon, taking notes from books that were available for scanning but not borrowing. I find myself using it as I'm reading. It's so easy to scan tin the line at the bottom of a magazine page that give me a source, then I scan the sentences I want--and the magazine can go in the trash. My bookshelves are full of books that have one or two pages I treasure...(and) that clutter will go, too. If a friend has an interesting book, I use the C-Pen to scan in the ISBN number or at least the author name and title. I use my C-Pen for research, the AlphaSmart for drafts...and my Palm to keep me organized...all for a lot less money than a good administrative assistant."
For the writer on the go--whether waiting for kids at the orthodontist, traveling, or just wanting to work outside under a tree instead of facing the four walls of an office--there are now some amazingly portable, convenient, and economical options for word processing. There's still the option of a trusty notebook and pen, of course, but that involves the added step of needing to type up all those pages later. And really, these technological wonders are a lot of fun!
ALPHASMART AND DANA: www.alphasmart.com or www.smartinput.com
QUICKPAD PRO: www.quickpad.com
C-PEN: www.cpen.com
HP Jornada: www.hp.com/jornada/
Toshiba: www.csd.toshiba.com
Palm: www.palm.com
Sony: www.sonystyle.com/home/dept.jsp?hierc=9684&deptid=9684