This one popped up in my feeds and hit me like a nostalgia bomb. It probably doesn’t help that a week ago I was struggling to get a version of Windows running on my Mac Studio so that I could retrieve AskSam files containing journals that I wrote in 1997. So, I’ve been working to access antiquated technology (and writing) that I have fond memories of, but would rather not have to contend with all of the problems and limitations that those technologies imposed on this user. Granted, because my CP/M Kaypros and later Windows PCs required constant attention and tweaking, I gained a certain expertise at working with these expensive devils, even though the whole point of this endeavour was based on the idea that writing using a micro-computer with a word processor was way better using a manual typewriter. Ha, no thank you, I like my technology just fine, as long as it doesn’t get in the way of getting the job of writing done. But that’s kind’a the point of why these authors prefer their “disconnected” computers which are solely set up to just run their word processing software.

It’s easy to forget that there was a time when computers didn’t do graphics and all you got was green text on black screens with no visible control of fonts and certainly no embedded images. In those days, composition of text and page layout were entirely separate tasks and that limitation was on purpose. Then the Apple Macintosh told everyone that they they could use any font they wanted and they called it Desktop Publishing. I have more than a few journal entries where I selected a “cursive” font because my own natural handwriting was only slightly more illegible. 

I don’t know what I was thinking. If the point was to write something that others would want to read, why put it in a font that guarantees that no one will get past the first line of text? Yikes. I love the notion that George R.R. Martin sees no need to update his writing rig because it gets the job done and he’s not interested in having to master a different interface. Being someone who has always chased the “latest and greatest” tech, I understand the decision, but then, because the tech was so challenging to use, I felt the need to stay up to date with whatever tech advances were happening and never settled into something that I felt was “it” as far as my ideal writing or creating rig. 

I definitely hit an interesting point when I switched from PCs to Mac, in that I found myself digging less under the hood tweaking things and spent more time doing the actual writing (and video editing) that I got the computers to do in the first place. It wasn’t perfect, but I was definitely doing less “computer support” and more writing. But I do sometimes wish that I hadn’t sold my old Kaypro or anyone of my old PCs. Then I remember that during the summer break I’d often take home one of the ancient Macintoshes, but because they were so limited, even then, not able to connect to the Internet, I never spent any time doing anything with them. Having read through my journals, beginning in 1985, when I got my first Kaypro, through 1998, when I’m not writing about being frustrated with some missed romantic connection, the other 50% of the time I’m equally frustrated by my technology not cooperating. Is there a pattern here? 

2007-12-27 PC Recycling - adding drives to my blue lucite PC case and boring beige case
2007-12-27 PC Recycling – adding drives to my blue lucite PC case and boring beige case

I get why some writers clamor for “distraction free” writing environments. Hell, there are more than a few writers in my weekly meetups who are working long hand with pens and notebooks. Yeah, I’ll pass on that method, but I get that whatever setup works for you, that’s the one to keep and not be distracted by the promises of technology sales people who want to make it sound like the only thing between you and that book award is your writing setup. Ha, not likely. Anyway, these things make for great memories and stories, but I’ll keep writing using my writing apps that sync on all of my devices, DayOne (for daily journaling) and Scrivener (for the longer projects). Enjoy. JBB

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Tags: tech nostalgia, technology distractions, the best tool for the job, video Mondays, Writing tech

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