Writing On Your Palm

Getting Writerly

19 April 2004

Sometimes, accessories make the writer. Or at least, mix things up enough to break out of a block.

I've been blocked for weeks. Part of it is the worst depression I've been in in a very long time (and for those of you that wrote to me, I'm doing much better now, and thank you so much for the concern!), but that wasn't all of it.

When I came to write, it just didn't click. I wanted to want to write, but I didn't. I'd start on a column and watch it peter out at about 300 words. Fiction didn't even last that long, rarely going on for more than a sentence or two before I was just too tired, bored and disinterested to continue.

At some point I want to investigate the link between mood disorder and creativity, but this isn't that column. At this point I'm just going to cover one technique I've learned for dealing with both depression and writer's block.

Change.

Someone once told me that the definition of insanity is to keep doing something that doesn't work and expect different results. In other words, if what you're doing isn't working, do something else. In the past week I've changed a lot about myself (shaved off my beard) and how I work (see below). The results have been refreshing.

The first thing I changed was my word processor. I had been using a combination of Documents To Go 6 and pedit, both of which are pretty good, but something wasn't clicking. I hate to admit this, but I like things that look good, and the text in those applications is... blah. I also like simplicity, and pedit definitely isn't simple. It has more power than you can shake a stick at, but I was starting to get tired using it. Physically tired.

So I switched to WordSmith. The latest version of WordSmith fully supports 32k memos on the Tungstens T3 and E, so I can still start columns there and then easily convert them to RTF files when I'm ready to publish. The resulting RTF files are quickly and easily editable in WordPad on my desktop and I can open them up in OpenOffice.org if I need more powerful editing or conversion to HTML.

WordSmith also supports FineType fonts, which look far better than anything else on the Palm, at least until Cobalt finally arrives. I do all of my work in Georgia, and it's more readable than text in any other application. That means less eye strain and more useful working time.

I also switched my information manager to Agendus Professional, replacing the Palm Calendar, Contacts and Life Balance. Agendus gives me the ability to quickly and easily link a contact to a task, call or appointment, and quickly create a contact if they're new. I can bring up histories for each contact that show every event or task associated with them, and I can create and send new emails straight from my contact list. For someone in sales, this is a wonderful application, and I'll go into more detail in how I use it in a later column.

I feel like I should explain in more detail why I stopped using Life Balance, given how much I hyped it so recently. I still think it's the best thing out there for organizing and maintaining your "stuff," but with the depression it was just too much for me to maintain. Life Balance can work miracles, but it takes dedication and meticulous work to keep it up to date. It's only as good as the data you put into it. For the time being, I'm going back to the lower-pressure alternative of keeping my project lists in memos (which I can review in WordSmith) and using pToolSet to create new tasks from there, which I can review in Agendus. I might return to Life Balance when I feel more "in control."

I also replaced my ancient and dying laptop with a cutting edge (as of eighteen months ago) desktop PC. It's an AMD Athlon 2100+ with 512MB of RAM and an 80GB hard drive. Finally, I can rip CDs without deleting other stuff first! This beast is running Windows XP Pro, OpenOffice.org and as little other Microsoft software as I can get away with. I toyed with installing Linux on it instead of Windows, but too many of my Palm applications require Windows for their conduits to work. It's been years since I've had a desktop PC with a full size (and ergo, yet) keyboard upon which to type, and this gives me a nice change of pace from pecking with Fitaly or even typing on my Palm Wireless Keyboard.

Finally, I ditched both my aluminum hard cases for the Tungsten E and bought a nice leather case, specifically the Palm Slim Leather Case for the Tungsten E and Zire handhelds. The E slips into a leather yoke on the right side of the book-style case, and the left side holds three credit card pockets, to SD card pockets and a large back pocket for money or business cards. Rather than tacky Velcro or credit card hostile magnets, the case uses a simple tongue and loop closure, which holds pretty well.

I know this is going to sound weird, but I really like this case. It feels writerly, somehow. I know it's something of an anachronism, given how my life is dominated by the digital, but I like the feel of carrying around a little leather-bound "book" that has all my stuff in it, and writing in it with a "pen." Something about this arrangement has stimulated my muse, because not only am I writing columns again, but I'm leaping headlong into fiction and I'm actually pretty excited about it. The "black dog" has been put back in his kennel, and I'm writin' up a storm.

Jeff Kirvin
Jeff@writingonyourpalm.net
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Jeff Kirvin is available for consulting on mobile technology. Email me today!