Words on a page

When most of us think of spreadsheets, images of number crunchers and bean counters probably come to mind. They usually conjure those images for me.

While spreadsheets don’t have a lot to do with actually writing, they’re more than a financial tool. Writers can use spreadsheets in some interesting and very useful ways. So useful that they can increase your productivity.

What can writers use spreadsheets for? Here’s how I use them:

• Track queries and submissions
• Keep on top of earnings
• Record the progress of a larger writing project, or one on which you’re collaborating with others

Intrigued? Read on.

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Once upon a time, writing was simple. I just turned on my electric typewriter, put in a sheet of paper, and started typing. Later, my Smith Corona word processor and put fingers to keys. Sometimes I miss those days.

Now, things seem a bit more complex. And while I have more options with which to do my writing, I also have a lot more flexibility.

For those who are curious, here’s a look at my writing setup.

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As part of a larger personal project, I’ve been shifting more and more of my day-to-day computing to the Web. Aside from the project I mentioned in the last sentence, there are a number of other reasons why I’m doing this. Reasons that I won’t go into right now.

But one thing that I’ve noticed (and which I’ve known for a while) is that the Web isn’t your computer desktop. And a number of developers of Web applications have realized this too. They’ve created some simple, but fairly intuitive applications. They’re easy to learn, easy to adapt to, and are easy to use after only a short period of time.

I’m going to take you through a short tour of some of my favourite Web applications, and look at why I find them to be effective. And, yes, I use them in both my personal and professional lives.

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Thanks to the beneficence of a very trusting friend, I have the use of an iPod Touch. At least until that friend comes back to Canada at the end of May. And if you’re wondering why he’s not carrying the device with him, said friend is travelling while carrying 10 pounds of less, a la Tim Ferriss. My friend’s iPod is one of the things he decided not to pack.

Anyway, I’ve been doing more with this device than just listening to music. I’ve been experimenting with incorporating the iPod Touch into my writing workflow. It’s been an interesting experiment, to say the least. I’ve found a number of applications that enabled me to do that.

Here’s a quick look at a few of them.

Note: I won’t be looking at the pros and cons of using the iPod Touch as a writer’s tool in this post, or the specific strengths and weaknesses of the device and its software for this purpose. Maybe in a future post.

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If you’ve been reading this space for any period of time, you know that I use a variety of desktop and Web applications to do my writing. That combination gives me the flexibility I need — when working from home, or when working on the road or at a co-working space.

Lately, though, I’ve become reacquainted with an old friend: index cards. They’re a decidedly low-tech way of working on an article, blog post, or any other writing project. But the humble index cards are a very useful and very flexible tool. In fact, I’m surprised that they’re not a part of the toolkit of more writers.

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