Confessing My Technology Addiction: The Curse of the Modern Writer

The room is like any other church hall or community centre. Plastic chairs scrape across lino as the circle of nervous and twitchy group members form a circle of desperate hope. As the strip light flickers with an annoying hum, a stressed and agitated figure rises slowly.

“My name is Jonathan Crossfield and I’m a techno-whore. It has been 48 hours since I last bought a gadget.”

Batman Syndrome

Yes, I’m addicted to technology. My daughter refers to my ‘utility belt’ as I walk around with an ipod, camera phone and pda strapped to my body in nice leather pouches.

Not that I use everything continually, you understand. But I like the comfort of knowing that wherever I am, I can fire up a Word document or listen to my entire CD collection or view a video; whether I actually do any of those things or not!

Technology to Free the Writer

Part of this obsession with portability came from my last job that required very long commutes. The time on the train could be better used working on a script instead of reading another magazine, and so I started becoming interested in portable technology.

I tried using a laptop for a while, but carrying around 2 kilos of extra weight didn’t fit my vision of true portability. Because of the size and weight, the amount of use it was getting meant it also got more than its fair share of bangs, knocks and scrapes.

I knew that some writers had begun extolling the virtues of the Treo 650 as a solution to the ever-present need to push out pages whilst sat in the pub. Warren Ellis, a particular hero of mine, has trumpeted the wonders of portable writing technology for years. He regularly updates his readers on the latest bit of kit that allows him to post his blogs and write his scripts while sitting in a bar impregnating his body with enough Red Bull and nicotine to have made Hunter S Thompson think twice!

Inspired by the new freedom given to me by technology, for a while I couldn’t leave the house without my Tungsten T5 Palm pda and Targus fold-out keyboard. Sitting in the pub, I could still rattle out pages and I could even fit these in my jacket pockets when done. Also, with the wonders of bluetooth, I could upload files to my blog through my mobile phone, so I could satisfy my writing urge pretty much anywhere.

But they were fiddly to operate on a train and the time required to set up the keyboard interface and clip together the pda into the holder meant this solution wasn’t very practical if I wanted to quickly write a note on the run. Spending a few minutes before I could type into Word meant I would have to get off the bus before I’d hit the first key.

I even took to walking around with a Belkin voice recorder for iPod in my pocket. But you soon realise how self-conscious you can become when you try to dictate notes on how vampires reproduce when you’re walking through a public place.

But now I have a new love. Elegant, small, light but infinitely flexible.

Feeding the Beast Inside for a Little while Longer

Yup, this weekend I bought an Asus Eee, and it’s already threatening to become ‘the other woman’ in my relationship as my fiancé has to put up with me skulking off into the other room for yet another little play.

The keyboard will probably be the first thing to stop working if I can't get the drooling under control.

This thing boots in seconds and runs very fast, due to using Linux as the OS. There is the option to install XP on here, which I am considering so I can install Final Draft, but for now, I’m happy to write in Word and convert the documents into Final Draft on the desktop PC.

Wireless, I can access the net from anywhere. But more importantly, I can access my home network when my daughter insists on hogging my desktop PC when she is convinced one of her Sims families is about to have a baby.

Of course, what this means is that I really have no excuse not to finish the script I’m working on, as I can always have a keyboard ready to go within seconds.

Modern technology has revolutionised the way we write. The thought that just twenty years ago I would have resorted to typewriter ribbons and tippex makes me go cold. Imagine carrying a portable typewriter to the pub and not annoying everyone around you.

The modern writer has embraced technology and the convenience of being able to "just add words" as the Final Draft slogan says. But what all this technology does is completely remove any excuse I have. Formatting isn't an issue 'cause I have the software. Time or access aren't issues 'cause I have a PC in my pocket. Networking isn't an issue since the creation of the internet and the wonders of blogging.

My failure or success now rests entirely with me.

Bugger.