How things have changed. Writing on a computer or some other technological tool is de rigeur these days.
In the old days (like 15 years ago) I wrote on a typewriter, or legal pad. If I needed to communicate with someone, I wrote a letter or made a phone call.
But now, the computer is the center of this writer’s life. E-mail communication with the editor, copy editor, art department, publicity people and others is crucial. If there’s an e-mail glitch, most communication stops. Or I must revert to the telephone, which is a jangling intruder in other people’s lives. How effortless is the e-mail, while the telephone call is cumbersome.
Sometimes, the computer freezes, or some insane gremlin seems to have invaded the machine. Files get locked, a manuscript is inaccessible, words and sentences get distorted, and I have to suspend writing until my computer guru straightens things out. Now, I’m at the mercy of technology beyond my comprehension.
In the old days, I simply would have changed a ribbon.
Mark Rubinstein,
Author, Mad Dog House
