The other day when I got interviewed about my latest book, The Devil Took Her, on RNZ, they introduced me as a 'Whanganui writer'. I'm actually a Whangārei writer, but hey. Only two letters and 600 kilometres difference.
The point is, geographical distance shouldn't hinder creative writing in these digital days. If you want to get some wonderful words into the world, I recommend these handy tools to make it easier for you to get inspiration on the page, easier for readers, and easier for your editor and publisher.
Cool tool: Cellphone notes
How does it help me write?
All mobile phones let you write notes. Whenever you're struck by a profound idea which will help with whatever you're composing, jot the idea down immediately on your phone. Trust me, if you don't write it down ASAP, you'll probably forget it. What's the advantage of cellphone notes over paper, you ask? You can copy, paste and email cellphone notes to anyone — and easily edit them later when you realise you spelled something wrong. Or is it wrongly?
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Advertise with NZME.Cool tool: Basic-arse voice recorder
How does it help me write?
If you're out walking, driving, jogging, cooking, or in the bathtub, you won't be able to type terribly well. Instead, mutter your profound words into your recording device. Later, type the memo out.
Cool tool: Substack
How does it help me write?
Substack is an electronic messaging service combined with a blog/website. A creation of Silicon Valley, Substack was founded by Kiwi writer Hamish McKenzie. Many of its most famous users are well-known writers — George Saunders is on there, so is Chuck Palahniuk — even Salman Rushdie. Substack makes your writing look beautiful on the page, rewarding you with pride in your work, AND it sends your writing directly to followers. Plus total strangers can stumble upon it, or you can send the link to whoever you want to guide towards your work. Think this stylish, nifty, popular and renowned publishing platform will cost heaps? Nope. It's usually free.
Cool tool: Twitter
How does it help me write?
Twitter should help inspire you (if you can steer clear of all the arguing). Type your ideal genre into Twitter (yes, even dinosaur erotica — which Chuck Tingle specialises in). On Twitter you should hopefully find a couple of people who'll become true fans. When you feel appreciated, you're far more likely to write the next thing … and the thing after that … all the way to a major prize, hopefully.
Cool tool: Google Docs
How does it help me write?
You can hand your writing over to somebody important and if there are typos — because Google Docs offers live collaboration with instant updates — you can fix them up (hopefully before the recipient notices). It's helpful for when you need to urgently share a piece of writing with somebody. Added bonus: It's all in the cloud, so no hassles about software not working on Mac or PC, Android or Apple. Plus you can write on your document through your phone, say if you've got 10 minutes to spare while you're waiting for a movie to start. All updates are automatically saved.
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Advertise with NZME.Cool tool: Distrokid
How does it help me write?
That mixture of envy, admiration and inspiration you get when you hear somebody reading on Audible or AWA FM or YouTube, that could be you — admired by the public. If you have ambitions of recording your words and broadcasting them over the interweb, pay a few bucks to use Distrokid and they'll publish your recordings on Spotify, Apple, Amazon, TikTok, YouTube, and more. Audible is a little hard to get your work published on, so Distrokid gives you short, sharp wins, plus the feeling that your creative writing is important and influential. That should keep you inspired — all the way to the Ockhams.
Michael Botur is an award-winning writer whose work covers a variety of styles and genres. His latest work is a novel, The Devil Took Her.
