Adventures in Writing: Have Laptop, Will Travel

Writing & Traveling

I have a Toshiba Satellite laptop that I use primarily while I’m sitting in my recliner with Peanut’s paws wrapped around my right arm trying to coax me into petting him instead of writing. At this moment in time, he’s got one paw resting on my forearm with his claws poking out just enough so that I can feel them. Anyway, about the laptop. The battery in this laptop is kaput. I can’t take it anywhere because it’ll die a few moments after I boot it. I could get a new battery, but hauling this thing around is like carrying a rectangular sack of potatoes. Which is why I went on the hunt for something much more portable with a great battery life that I could toss in my purse and go.

I was at odds of spending a considerable amount of money on a Windows machine vs. a Chromebook. I only wanted it for writing, social media, and little things. I still have the main laptop to create covers on and even with its age, it runs pretty good. I use it when I’m at home sitting in my recliner. If I am cooking dinner, I use the Chromebook. Going upstairs to hide away? Chromebook. Laying in bed because I just want to be wrapped in my comforter? Chromebook.

Now, I can’t do a lot of things on the Chromebook, but I can write, read, use social media to market my wares and chat with my writer people. I wanted something with less distractions than the full laptop. On here I have Sims 4 and while I don’t play nearly as often as I used to (every time I open Origin there’s an update…) I will open it, start something, save, and then close the game. I go back and forth doing that sometimes.

Procrastination at its worst!

This past weekend my daughter and I visited the lovely city of Pittsburgh and we had a grand ole’ time! I took my Chromebook thrilled to my toes about all the writing I would get done while she was working at the office Friday. How much writing did I get done? Not nearly enough. I piddled around on social media. I wandered the hotel. I had technical difficulties during the trip and while I was able to access the hotel wifi, I could not get to the internet.

Nothing I tried worked. Rebooting. Clearing history. (You know how much I hate clearing history!) Disconnecting and reconnecting the wifi. Praying to the Gods of Technology, (this doesn’t work unless you have something to sacrifice to them, fyi.) I finally gave in and, Le Sigh, powerwashed the machine to it’s factory basics. I lamented doing this but I didn’t think I had a choice, so I did it. And, it worked.

The ability to reach out to the intrawebz thrilled me to no end. Unfortunately, due to the powerwash, all of my bookmarks and shortcuts and apps were all down the river. I tried reconnecting and syncing with Google but for whatever reason, it would not happen. In order to avoid wasting even more time not writing, I gave in and took the long way around. I did finally get some writing done in the Public Sex/Cheating Bundle. I think you’ll like what’s coming in that bundle. I honestly can’t wait to finish it. I have the last two stories started and I know where they’re going. Then I have to clean up the full-length version of Porked in the Park to add that.

What do you travel with to write?

Just your phone? Did you know that there are people who write novels on their iPhones? I used to write on my Galaxy all the time, but with every update it got a little more difficult because now when I use the Word Online App, the letters will just start capitalizing themselves while I’m typing a word. I’m not sure if I type too fast for it to realize I’m still on the same word or what.

Tonight, I finally got my bookmarks and so forth to sync on the Chromebook. I did another Powerwash and after going back and forth between the two machines, it clicked. I don’t know what I did right, but hey, something worked!

I hope that if you’re looking for a new machine to write with as you travel, you’ll look at the little Asus Chromebook I bought. It’s the 11.5″ model. I think it’s an excellent addition to my gear.