In a previous post, not too long ago no less, I mentioned that I was an old-fashioned sort of girl, the kind who likes to sketch out first drafts of a story in longhand. Whilst that is true, for me, there are practical considerations to be made, especially with a toddler to take care of. I consider myself lucky, both as a writer and a parent, that I have a day job in a secondary school. This gives me the maximum amount of hours for both my novel writing and my child, considering I work only 9 to 3 on weekdays and have 8 weeks off for summer when school is closed. Last year, my laptop blew up. Since then I had struggled to think of a practical replacement for it. The laptop itself wasn’t really convenient: too much temptation for a tot’s hands and the cord was a trip hazard. But writing in a notebook meant having to spend hours that I don’t have typing up what I had written. The solution? Time for a tablet.
A novelist friend said that typing on her ipad with a wireless keyboard was handy for her. Generally I had heard that tablets and ipads weren’t convenient for writers as they were slower than laptops and PCs. But for me, slow output is better than no output. Something lightweight and more portable than a laptop appealed to me too, not to mention toddler-friendly.
I got myself a tablet in May and I haven’t looked back since.
I can honestly say, getting one for novel writing was such a good decision that my only regret is not having bought one sooner!
Leilanie Stewart 