Writers: We Are Never More Than 12 Hours Away From an Electrical Socket

This was supposed to be an insightful post about developing writing routines for producing lengthy texts. The stamina required for writing books is an extraordinary skill. Unfortunately, technology has failed me twice while delivering that message, so I’ve changed its direction.

The discussion must now include device usage, power supplies, charging leads, batteries, and automatic software updates.

Suppose you’re a writer who likes to ply your trade while on the go; you’ve got a few challenges to face. Let’s talk about a simple thing like electricity.

Once upon a time, writers lived and died by a typewriter. These mechanical machines didn’t require electricity. Thousands of books were written by authors who never needed a single drop of power to do it. Later, electricity was used to drive computers. The creative part of the process was still simple, but an electrical cord was used with each idea. We’d sit at desks and write while tethered to a wall socket.

Then, those stories were packed into a tiny computer called the e-device. They were compact, lightweight, portable and came with a rechargeable battery. They accessed a worldwide web of information, could spellcheck, take pictures and even make phone calls. We could take our writing with us and pop our unfinished ideas into our pockets, take them to Guam and continue our thing there.

Guam?

What kind of electrical socket do they have in Guam? Do they even have phone services there?

The e-device lured writers away from their desks by promising portability. There’s a problem with that. A battery’s life isn’t forever after it’s disconnected from the all-important electron stream. When it dies, the creation ends. That means most of us are never more than 12 hours away from an electrical socket.

So, no, this post isn’t about adopting a new writing habit. It’s about finding new ways to recharge batteries and keeping our e-devices alive because there are times when a charging socket isn’t available. It’s about knowing how much electrical power we have to get through a portable writing day — before e-death arrives!

That was wordy. Sheesh!

Just take a look around the average airport lounge floor at the poor souls trying to suck energy from wall sockets. They haven’t even reached their planes and are desperate for some precious electron juice.

Go ahead. Try and write your next novel while camping in the woods. 🙂 . See how far you get.

I compromise with my writing practises and change tactics. I carry power banks and turn my screen way down, shut down all non-essential apps, switch off auto-updates, cloud backups, WIFI, Bluetooth — even the phone service is turned off (if it’s needed to conserve power.)

(Updates consume extra power while consuming time — a triple whammy.)

I fire up a simple .TXT Writing App and use that alone.

Those practices translate to about an extra day and a half of writing before the black screen of death turns up. (Camping trips are when I employ this extreme level of energy conservation.)

My portable writing kit is suitable for creating drafts and compiling preliminary ideas. Major editing occurs later, at my office, on a laptop, when stable power is guaranteed.

There you go — one more bit of wisdom from me for your writing journey. Enjoy your day, and don’t forget to get a copy of my free novel below. –M

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‘Forman’s writing style is artful, with the protagonist Mitchell’s warped thought processes masterfully exposed. The author has a powerful and vivid command of language and his word pictures are stark and disturbingly real.’

Linda J Bettenay, author of ‘Secrets Mothers Keep’ and ‘Wishes For Starlight’