"Where" do you write?

[samhasstories]

I write on Word through onedrive, just about exclusively on my computer. I can't stand writing on my phone. I only do that if I find myself particularly inspired when my computer is not at hand.

 

[Mastered_again]

I've been using WORD for so long, I wouldn't want to use another program. (Old dogs and all that)
Plus I need to rework and correct a lot of stuff because in the first pass, I just write, punctuation and grammar be damned, letting the story flow (hopefully anyway). Then I edit, trying to make things cleaner and more precise/efficient. Of course, the dialog always needs work, trying to make it memorable and illustrative. Good banter can replace miles of descriptive prose, from my perspective/style anyway.
Mostly I work from my laptop and save on OneDrive. That way I can also edit on my tablet if the need arises.
I've played Google Docs fleetingly. It can do some weird stuff with formatting, so it never passed muster to replace Word.

 

[LonRivers]

Literotica is the only place that I submit stories to. And I write on my laptop in the living room, watching television with my cat and my dog beside me. Little pervs that they are.

 

[RachelPost]

Being that I have only written 5 stories, three of which were good enough to share on Lit; this is the only place I share my erotica. All my writing is done in Libre Office. I may port to Google Docs to use Grammarly but then port it back.

 

[Stimtheone]

I write in google drive, though I used to do it in libre office, and Lit was the first site to find for such stories. But I plan to post to a certain archive.

 

[LonRivers]

LibreOffice is a lot better that Microsoft Office in my opinion. I currently keep it on Dark Mode since I write mostly at night.

 

[elizaloo]

I'm a Microsoft Word person myself (old dogs indeed).

I'm half-blind, so writing on my phone would be incredibly difficult and I don't have the time or inclination to learn a new program. I have used Google Docs to share back and forth with other authors...I'm not 100% sure how to use it and they probably laugh at my efforts..silently..and then fix what I managed to f*ck up.

eta: I write sitting on the couch next to hubs - he knows all.

 

[LonRivers]

I'm a Microsoft Word person myself (old dogs indeed).

I'm half-blind, so writing on my phone would be incredibly difficult and I don't have the time or inclination to learn a new program. I have used Google Docs to share back and forth with other authors...I'm not 100% sure how to use it and they probably laugh at my efforts..silently..and then fix what I managed to f*ck up.

eta: I write sitting on the couch next to hubs - he knows all.

I myself find using LibreOffice easier to use. It loads faster and is less draining in my laptop's resources. It's also more secure and private and doesn't "phone home" to the programs designers.

 

[Devinter]

When not at home, typing at a coffee shop is a fun, pleasant experience. Gives me a chance to people watch and perhaps get struck by inspiration for my story.

Name and title checks out.

I write erotic content exclusively on the computer at home. A lot of my other fiction and non-fiction writing I do by hand - the first draft - before typing up digitally. Primarily due to being able to accomplish some of it on the go, and I'm not fond of carrying a laptop with me everywhere when moving about for work, and greatly dislike writing on the phone. Plus there's something special about the feel of a fountain pen sliding across high-quality paper - and the scent of the pages of the journal as you open it.

 

[RejectReality]

Physically putting down words? At my computer desk. That's the way it's always been. Writing on a phone or a tablet is for masochists. Using Wordperfect for many years now, ever since my first editor bought it for me to make passing drafts back and forth easier for him.

Where is it getting developed and plotted? The many slow points of my day at work, where I don't need my brain for anything. As I'm drifting off to sleep. Dozing in the car on lunch break. Sitting around with some instrumental music playing. ( JRPG soundtracks usually )

I may have flashes of inspiration while I'm in front of the keyboard, but most of what I write jells somewhere else.

 

[ChloeTzang]

Where do you do your writing?.....

I started out using Word on my old Laptop, but over the last 2-3 years, I've switched to using Google docs pretty exclusively. It's easy to share with my editor and my publisher, and we can work together at the same time. Don't have to worry about my laptop going bzzzzzzzz and losing stuff - I do however save my finished stories locally and on a USB drive as well. But that's just backup. I do all my writing at home using my laptop, so I don't have to worry about different devices or anything like that - I like to keep it simple and straightforward.

 

[LonRivers]

I started out using Word on my old Laptop, but over the last 2-3 years, I've switched to using Google docs pretty exclusively. It's easy to share with my editor and my publisher, and we can work together at the same time. Don't have to worry about my laptop going bzzzzzzzz and losing stuff - I do however save my finished stories locally and on a USB drive as well. But that's just backup. I do all my writing at home using my laptop, so I don't have to worry about different devices or anything like that - I like to keep it simple and straightforward.

I store my stories on a secondary HD on my laptop. If my laptop takes a crap on me I have others that I can rebuild that I can transfer them to.

 

[jsmiam]

I’m inferring, perhaps incorrectly, that others in your household have physical access to your computer? Or is it phone, or both?

Computer: Don’t overlook an encrypted usb stick. Assuming you unplug it when not using, it’s pretty darn secure. The length of the password is up to you, but over 20 characters long would be extremely secure. If you leave it plugged in, the features vary from one brand to the next in whether you’re prompted for a password each time you log in.

Office online is slightly different to office 365, free, and stuff is saved to the cloud, but not googles cloud. And if you’re vigilant and never agree to any other way (using an installed version of word on your computer, which often ends up with a virtual OneDrive folder on your computer) you can use its web based interface exclusively, with much of words power. (I use this approach, taking it a step further to only use Firefox, not edge, to help make sure nothing unintended ends up saved on the computer through overzealous connectedness. (Clarification: create a different Microsoft account than your main one, assuming there is a main one.)

Libre office is good too, a nIce throwback to the software being yours, and not trying to steer everything to the cloud every step of the way.

 

[LonRivers]

I’m inferring, perhaps incorrectly, that others in your household have physical access to your computer? Or is it phone, or both?

Computer: Don’t overlook an encrypted usb stick. Assuming you unplug it when not using, it’s pretty darn secure. The length of the password is up to you, but over 20 characters long would be extremely secure. If you leave it plugged in, the features vary from one brand to the next in whether you’re prompted for a password each time you log in.

Office online is slightly different to office 365, free, and stuff is saved to the cloud, but not googles cloud. And if you’re vigilant and never agree to any other way (using an installed version of word on your computer, which often ends up with a virtual OneDrive folder on your computer) you can use its web based interface exclusively, with much of words power. (I use this approach, taking it a step further to only use Firefox, not edge, to help make sure nothing unintended ends up saved on the computer through overzealous connectedness. (Clarification: create a different Microsoft account than your main one, assuming there is a main one.)

Libre office is good too, a nIce throwback to the software being yours, and not trying to steer everything to the cloud every step of the way.

It's just me and my wife here (not counting the dog, cat and chinchilla) and she doesn't get on the computer. If she did I would just throw together one for her so that she could have her own. I keep my laptop protected and use USB sticks to transfer files. I always format the sticks after just to make sure that they are clean and ready to be used again or if someone needs to borrow them.

As far as passWORDS...I don't use them unless I have to. I use passPHRASES instead. Something like "JohnJumped!overthe!m00n" is much harder to crack than a simple word. And I never use anything familiar to me.

 

[darkride]

I’m inferring, perhaps incorrectly, that others in your household have physical access to your computer? Or is it phone, or both?

Bingo.

If I lived alone, I'd not have this issue - I would be using Word. If I could turn back time, I'd be using Word 5.1a. Damn nice word processor that one. Before Word became a overstuffed goat of an app.

 

[M_K_Babalon]

Bingo.

If I lived alone, I'd not have this issue - I would be using Word. If I could turn back time, I'd be using Word 5.1a. Damn nice word processor that one. Before Word became a overstuffed goat of an app.

That's when you learn the glory of the seperate accounts that God Bill Gates gave us, for we are the chosen users.

 

[M_K_Babalon]

What did I start writing on? A desktop.
Where online? My [still active, but no time to mess with] blog; Leviathans Cave.
Actual first website? Probably Poetry.com when it was still a scam site.
First story dedicated site? Either StoriesOnline or Writing.com

I use Word on my phone, I have a writing laptop, but it crapped out, that I used for doing old work that started on pc. I have another that has that new office crap, I begrugingly will use, or tried to with varying success. I had used it to copypasta some old work, so I can then work with it on my phone. As far as writing on my phone, if it gets tOo HaRd, it's a Motorola Stylo, not to be confused with the LG Stylo. I actually ended up downloading WPS Office on that one laptop, but ain't used it yet.

 

[Codoc24]

I'd never write on a phone, I make way too many mistakes. Exclusively, I use a PC and usually Word to publish on Literotica. When I publish on Amazon or Draft2Digital, then I use a program called Atticus. It has its drawbacks. But it is pretty nice for writing ebooks. You can also do print books but I've never used it for that. It is pretty much only for writing my ebooks. The file is stored on their cloud. For my Word files, I use a service called iDrive. It works like a cloud server, but you can also use it to auto-backup whatever files you configure it for. Like photos, software, configuration files, music, etc. I also have files stored on OneDrive. I also have a USB drive that I back up my hard drive with every month or two and keep it stored in my bank's safe deposit box. So I have about 3 or 4 copies of everything. A little paranoid you say? I worked in the IT field for 25 years. And as the old saying goes, if anything can go wrong, it will go wrong and at most worst possible moment. I always scolded my users who weren't using the features we offered to back up their data by telling them an old saw in the IT field. "It's not a matter of 'IF' your hard drive will fail, it's 'WHEN' it will fail."

 

[darkride]

I'd never write on a phone, I make way too many mistakes. Exclusively, I use a PC and usually Word to publish on Literotica. When I publish on Amazon or Draft2Digital, then I use a program called Atticus. It has its drawbacks. But it is pretty nice for writing ebooks. You can also do print books but I've never used it for that. It is pretty much only for writing my ebooks. The file is stored on their cloud. For my Word files, I use a service called iDrive. It works like a cloud server, but you can also use it to auto-backup whatever files you configure it for. Like photos, software, configuration files, music, etc. I also have files stored on OneDrive. I also have a USB drive that I back up my hard drive with every month or two and keep it stored in my bank's safe deposit box. So I have about 3 or 4 copies of everything. A little paranoid you say? I worked in the IT field for 25 years. And as the old saying goes, if anything can go wrong, it will go wrong and at most worst possible moment. I always scolded my users who weren't using the features we offered to back up their data by telling them an old saw in the IT field. "It's not a matter of 'IF' your hard drive will fail, it's 'WHEN' it will fail."

Yep. And, when you add in 'user error' (deleting important files by mistake, or moving a folder / drive worth of data and not double checking it all copied correctly before deleting the original...) - having multiple copies becomes very important!

I don't have multiple copies Oh well - kind of... But... Yeah... I'm terrible.

 

[EroticFriction]

I write on my laptop using my novelist wife's license of Scrivener, which is amazing and lets you install on three separate systems. I used to use word and google docs which are also nice, but I like Scrivener the best. Laptop gives me the privacy I need in my situation.

 

[Brutal_One]

I write primarily on iPad Pro. I use word which these days has some tools akin to grammerly to trap spelling mistakes and correct grammar issues and at times provide better vocabulary to improve story. Once complete I submit and proof read on Literotica. These days there are tools to help people create and write good stories and above all help you exercise your creative potential. Brutal One.

 

[LonRivers]

I have finally dumped LibreOffice! I still have it just in case I need to transfer files, but so far I have not had to. OnlyOffice seems to work much better. I can still zoom the pages in and I can open multiple documents at once within the same tabbed interface. Unlike other office suites that force you to open a secondary window. With OnlyOffice I can open my story or several stories as well as open my Spreadsheet notes document in the same tabbed window.

 

[jehoram]

+Computer: Don’t overlook an encrypted usb stick. Assuming you unplug it when not using, it’s pretty darn secure.

I did this with a program called (I think) Folder Lock, but gave it up for some reason. How do you encrypt a USB drive? Is there a way built into Windows or Mac? Or do you have to get another app for that?

 

[shelleycat1]

If you need to encrypt a USB drive. Get a program called Veracrypt and make an encrypted partition on the USB drive. A long password or passphrase is needed to be secure. You can copy the encrypted partition around and it is still reasonably secure. It claims to be good encryption and they even did some evaluation a while back.

Remember: Make backups on different USB drives! Then make more than 1 backup. Any drive can fail.

Your editing program, and Microsoft Word is pretty bad for this, can and will make other copies of your text. Someone/some agency has to work pretty hard to find it, but assume that if you are writing text on an unencrypted laptop or desktop that copies of that text may still be around and findable. If a serious agency is interested in you, they will find it. You really want a separate computer if you are that worried about it.

 

[BrightShinyGirl]

I write my first drafts on my phone in Word, so I can lie on the couch and masturbate while I do it. I do my best work at 2am. Editing is on my laptop in the light of day.

Everything is on Dropbox so I can pass files back and forth and they’re always backed up.