Spoonie Writer: Writing In Hospital
I have always said that one of the good things about being a writer in addition to having conditions that mean I spend time in the hospital is that I can pick it all up and take it with me. I have my book notes, I have a tablet (and before that, I had a laptop) and as long as I'm feeling well enough, I can write from anywhere. The same can't be said for many other professions. As someone who spends a lot of the time stuck in a bed attached to a variety of machines, it's a blessing on its own that I can write because it gives me something to do to fill the monotonous hours of plain old boredom.
I have become quite the expert at preparing my entertainment during hospital visits. Due to the severity of my conditions and the fact that things can change in a heartbeat, my carer and I have developed a good plan for what needs to be packed into my hospital bag and taken along with me whether I travel by car or ambulance. Here are my four tips for things a spoonie writer should try to take with them when they have to spend time in hospital.
#1 - HAVE TABLET, WILL WRITE
I know that when I first go into hospital, I'm usually not well enough to even think about writing, but having a tablet that is highly portable and loaded up with all my files and information means that when I finally do feel better, I can write bits and pieces here and there. It also means that I can play games when I'm bored and stay connected to the outside world with Facebook and Tumblr. I have a bag that is solely for my book stuff and has a special padded tablet section which means I can keep it all to hand, plus those over-the-bed tables are perfect for such a reason.
#2 - BOOKS, BOOKS AND MORE BOOKS
Before I had a Kindle, I would have to limit the number of books I could take with me, and my carer would be in charge of replenishing my supply during her daily visits. Now that I do have a Kindle, I can read as much as I like without the worry of not having something to turn to when I finish the last one. It's also a good way to take a break from all the stuff happening surrounding you and it gives you a chance to slip into another world where you don't feel awful.
#3 - CONNECTION WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD
Other than the obvious reason, having a phone with a 3G connection is essential for when you're in hospital. You need to be able to call a friend when you're having a bad time, but you also need to keep up to date with everything else happening beyond the hospital perimeter. As I said in a previous piece, the world does not stop because you're sick. In terms of writing, it means that you're able to fact check pieces as well as update your Facebook page, and keep in touch with other writers and groups that you're a member of.
And finally, #4 - THE MUNDANE CAN BE DONE
If you're too sick to write, but not so sick that you just sleep all the time, you can get some other, more boring parts of writing done. You can do some research that's easy to dip in and out of. You can compose emails (though don't send them until you're sure they're not full of gobbledygook!) and you can think about plot lines that you've yet to use or that may be coming up in future chapters. All of the stuff that you wouldn't normally have time to do because you're too busy actually writing!
Of course, all of this is dependant on how sick you are, how long you're going to be in hospital and loads of other variables, but this is my essentials list. I also have a portable DVD player and some DVD box-sets that I have seen over and over but can still enjoy because when I'm too sick to concentrate it's nice to have something to fill the quietness without needing me to engage my brain too much. If you have any of your own tips, add them to the comments :D
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Pen, Keyboard, Tablet: The Many Ways To Create A Book
In the twenty-first century, there are many ways to write. You can use a pen and paper, a typewriter, computer or even a tablet. I don't think any one of these is better than the other because the end result is the same. There is also the fact that some of these options are more portable than the other. Pens don't rely on battery power. Many typewriters also don't require a power supply, but they're not the easiest thing to lug from one place to another. Tablets can be small enough to slip into your bag, but big enough to not need an additional keyboard and the same can apply to some laptops. The best way for you to write can be a mix of these, or perhaps just one or two.
THE PROS & CONS OF PEN AND PAPER.
The obvious pro is one I have already mentioned and that's the fact that they don't require any power supply. The worst that can happen is that you run out of ink or paper to write on, and they are so cheap and easily available that it's not hard to replace them when you need more. The majority of people have the necessary skills to use a pen, but there are some drawbacks. I have Fibromyalgia and because of the way it affects my hands, I can't grip a pen for longer than about thirty seconds, which makes writing by hand either a really long process at best, to nigh on impossible. There's also the problem that it can be difficult to write down things fast enough to keep up with the thoughts in your head. This is a drawback for all methods of writing, but the pen comes with the additional problem that if you can write and keep up, then your handwriting may not be the easiest to read and if you can't read what you wrote, then you can't type it up. That's another disadvantage of the pen: the majority of publishers require work to be typewritten. If you're an indie author, you will need to be able to upload your work into cyberspace and that means it needs to be transferred to your computer at some point. However, despite these cons, there is something that I do miss about handwriting my chapters and that's the simplicity of it all. When I first started writing, I would hand write a chapter a day. Those were the days before the Fibro had caused my hand issues and I would then type it up in the evening and edit as I went. I did that up until I started writing my seventh book, at which point the pain from writing was so bad that I was starting to avoid writing and that wasn't a path I wanted to go down.
THE PROS & CONS OF TYPING ON A TYPEWRITER OR COMPUTER.
I've put these two together because they have similar results: you end up with neatly typed work and it allows you to send your manuscript off to a publisher without the added hassle of having to decipher and type up what you've already written. Typewriters and laptops are somewhat portable and while the typewriter doesn't generally need power, the laptop does and although batteries are improving all the time, you don't want to be sat in Starbucks writing and the battery die and end up losing all the work you've done. But in the age of email, typewritten work is less likely to be accepted and you're once again faced with the issue of somehow having to put everything on the computer so that you can send it to an editor. There are some editors who will be happy to accept the hard copy, but many others prefer to work on a computer. There is also the issue of typewriter parts, which are getting harder and harder to find and can get quite expensive. So if you do manage to get a lot written, and the ribbon runs out, then you're stuck. There is also the issue of mistakes. It's harder to correct these on a typewriter while keeping the work neat enough to be read by or submitted to someone else. Computers don't have that issue, you can edit as you go, change words, or even delete a whole section without it having an effect on the presentation. But they can crash at the worst possible moments and lose the work you've slaved over. There are also the issues of computer viruses and the worry of being hacked, all of which don't apply to a typewriter.
THE PROS & CONS OF USING A TABLET.
Tablets are very portable and there's an ever increasing range of word processing apps out there. There's also a large variety of cloud storage apps available, which allow you to transfer files easily between people or computers. I use the Dropbox app for a number of things, such as getting edits from my editor and swapping graphic files with my artist. However, you
once again have the issue of battery life. Many cheap tablets have a
crap battery life, but it's not in everyone's budget to pay a lot
of money for something that's still often thought of as a luxury extra. There is another drawback that some tablets don't have a large enough screen to be able to type very well with the onscreen keyboard. They are easy to make mistakes on, but again that is easily fixed without affecting the presentation of the final piece. I
have a 10.1 inch tablet and I find it very easy to type with both hands
on the keyboard. There is always the option of buying a separate keyboard that will connect to the tablet with minimal effect on the portability of the tablet. I have not tried to edit a whole book on a tablet, but my editor uses her iPad to do the actual editing and she seems to find that easy enough, albeit a little slow. The ease of transfer and email mean it's pretty easy to use the tablet as your main writing tool without the need for another computer - be that laptop or desktop. I personally prefer to have both, but if in the future I am without a computer and the means to get one, I would feel comfortable just relying on my tablet. The
only downside I can see to that is that a tablet does not yet have
the processing power to do video and graphical editing. However, technology is moving faster and faster
and it wouldn't surprise me if tablets become the norm for
the majority of writers in the near future.
So however you choose to actually write, there are a number or pros and cons for each method. It really is just about finding what works best for you and many writers will use a combination of all three, whilst others find one that works for them and sticks with it. In the age of email, apps and e-books, it is becoming more common for people to use a computer or tablet to do the majority of their work.
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