{"id":632,"date":"2017-11-30T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-11-30T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/161.35.63.92\/index.php\/2017\/11\/30\/going-mobile-tips-for-writing-from-anywhere-any-time\/"},"modified":"2022-06-29T12:39:30","modified_gmt":"2022-06-29T17:39:30","slug":"going-mobile-tips-for-writing-from-anywhere-any-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/draft2digital.com\/blog\/going-mobile-tips-for-writing-from-anywhere-any-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Going Mobile \u2013 Writing from Anywhere, Any Time"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the past four days, my internet service provider (who shall remain unnamed) has had a major outage. It\u2019s impacting a large portion of the country, I\u2019m told, and there\u2019s no word on when it will be restored. And, by sheer coincidence, my laptop and phone have lost the ability to communicate with each other, which means even tethering is out for the moment. I\u2019m writing this post on my iPad.<\/p>\n

This is cool. No problem. Nothing to get steamed over. It\u2019s not like Ihaven\u2019t written from my iPad in the past\u2014I\u2019ve written entire books on this thing. In fact, writing from mobile platforms is kind of becoming my thing, these days, and for a lot of reasons.<\/p>\n

So for that, and for the fact that I\u2019m being forced to go mobile anyway, this week\u2019s post takes a look at going mobile with your writing, with a few tips, tricks, and best practices to help you get the most out of writing anywhere, any time.<\/p>\n

Time to rethink writing and publishing<\/h2>\n

Everyone has their preferred writing tools. I\u2019m constantly astounded by the number of authors I meet who still write all their books longhand. But there are even those who rely on \u201cantiquated technology.\u201d A lot of writers I know personally are enamored with the NEO AlphaSmart, for example, which is functionally a USB keyboard with a large buffer\u2014you write your pages, from wherever you happen to be, then plug the AlphaSmart into your computer and it \u201ctypes\u201d your book into the writing program of your choosing, a character at a time.<\/p>\n

That might sound insane to some, until you learn that George R.R. Martin still uses Wordstar 4.0\u2014a DOS-based writing application that is just about as basic as a word processor can get.<\/p>\n

If we\u2019re talking more modern fare, Steven Gould, author of \u201cJumper,\u201d writes using iA Writer\u2014an iPad app that has a very toned-down focus mode that covers just the basics. You can still do this stuff with modern technology, in other words.<\/p>\n

Talk to any 100 authors, and you may well get 100 different ways that books can be written, edited, and published. And that, friends, is fantastic.<\/p>\n

What it shows is that our definition of \u201cwriting\u201d is personal. It\u2019s a process that isn\u2019t defined for us, through some prescribed and stone-writ method, but is instead a fluid and evolving system by which we can tell and share stories, to inform and inspire and entertain.<\/p>\n

This fluidity is exactly why we must sometimes rethink what it means to write and to publish. Changes in technology often open up new paths for doing this work, and that means we can gain a new perspective and achieve new growth in our careers.<\/p>\n

The most recent advancements have been on the mobile front, and they\u2019re eye opening. Smart phones and smart tablets have made it possible for anyone, anywhere, to not only be connected and to have access to a virtual Alexandria of information at their fingertips, but also to express themselves and to reach audiences around the world, regardless of the writer\u2019s financial status or even even their level of education.<\/p>\n

New and emerging markets<\/h2>\n

In a talk given at the 2016 Smarter Artist Summit, in Austin, Texas, thriller author and podcast host Joanna Penn gave a presentation that was meant to create awareness among authors, to aim them at new and emerging markets worldwide. \u201cThrough mobile phones, new markets in regions of Africa, India, and Brazil are opening up, and readers are looking for new work to discover.\u201d<\/p>\n

As authors, we really need to consider this. For the first time in history, some of the poorest regions on the planet now have access to the same information and resources as the wealthiest people in the world. They have access to books, websites, videos, and more\u2014all of which were inaccessible to them, even just ten years ago.<\/p>\n

This is creating a boon in education and growth, and of course it has also opened opportunities for authors to reach a thriving and eager new market of readers.<\/p>\n

But it means something more, for the will-be author.<\/p>\n

In their TED Talk, \u201cThe Power of Mobile in Africa,\u201d Julian Pistons and David Steinacker observed that \u201c\u2026 many users in Brazil, or South Africa, or Tanzania [are] skipping the PC stage, and skipping the laptop stage, and they are going straight to mobile.\u201d Through new resources, such as micro financing and digital currencies (Bitcoin is one example) these regions are experiencing an explosion in entrepreneurial growth. And with that, some of them have started producing content of their own.<\/p>\n

If you think about it, that\u2019s incredibly smart, and equally as thrilling. These regions can offer a truly unique perspective, and one that most of the world has never had access to before, and they can share that experience with nothing more than a mobile phone\u2014a lightweight, energy-efficent device that connects them to the world in a profound way, while equipping them with all the tools they need to interact with and be a part of that world.<\/p>\n

Writing and publishing are now a viable means of generating income, and they require nothing more than a device that can be charged from a car battery or a windmill or a bicycle. That\u2019s powerful.<\/p>\n

A little experiment<\/h2>\n

I recently interviewed a good friend and fellow author, Michael LaRonn<\/a>, after he revealed something remarkable to me. While I was traveling for conferences, I had an issue with my laptop. So, as I am prone to do, I went onto Facebook and started asking people about ways they use their mobile devices to do various tasks. One of those, of course, was writing.<\/p>\n

I wanted to hear if there was anything new in this landscape. Maybe there were new tricks I could learn, to enhance what I was already doing on my iPad. Maybe there were apps I hadn\u2019t heard about yet, or services I wasn’t using.<\/p>\n

I got plenty of comments and feedback, but one of the most interesting and shocking responses came from Michael, who said, \u201cI write all of my books on my iPhone, using the onscreen keyboard.\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019m pretty sure there was an audible record scratch at that moment.<\/p>\n

I immediately questioned him, asked him how he was doing it, why he was doing it, why he\u2019d even considered doing it in the first place. And his answer was pretty simple: Writing from his phone made it possible to keep up with producing his books while he worked full time, spent time with his family, and went to law school.<\/p>\n

Yeah \u2026 he\u2019s a pretty busy dude.<\/a><\/p>\n

I immediately fell in love with this idea. I had written on my phone before, but I\u2019d always used a folding keyboard. I had, in fact, invested quite a bit of money in a search for the perfect folding keyboard. I wanted one that was small and compact, but could open to full size when I needed it. And it had to be easy to carry in my pocket, because I didn\u2019t always have my shoulder bag or backpack with me. And it needed to be convenient to carry all around, because I had a bulging shelf of these things that weren\u2019t in use, simply because they were a pain to keep with me at all times.<\/p>\n

But the phone \u2026 I always have the phone. The phone is a constant companion. The phone is with me, always. It’s like the Force, with YouTube.<\/p>\n

Was it possible that I might have had the secret to complete mobile success and nirvana with me, all this time, and hadn’t even realized it?<\/p>\n

So I decided to try a little experiment: How much work could I get done, using only my iPhone?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Over the course of the next three weeks of traveling, I left my (now repaired) laptop in my hotel room, along with my iPad and its nifty keyboard case, and I carried only my phone with me. I did everything using only the onscreen keyboard. And it was an eye-opening experience.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a rundown of everything I did, while on the go:<\/p>\n