I have spent most of my writing life hashing it out in notebooks and in MS Word. A lot of the time I mix the two mediums, using had written notes to help me plot and arrange ideas for “actual” writing, but I always end up in Word when it’s time to get the words out. Until recently, it never entered my mind to try something new.
Yes, I’ve looked at Scrivener– but wasn’t sold. It felt like spending a lot of money on a program that doesn’t really fit my writing process.
I even checked out a free program called yWriter– but couldn’t find one that would work on my Mac. My Mac is old.
Once, I had MS Office for Mac on my computer, but as I’ve stated, my Mac is old and the software was old and it was causing more problems than helping me follow my train of thought. (aka listen to the voices in my head) Like a small child, the voices wanted to be kept some place secure, and not live in fear of accidentally being deleted because I changed formats.
Most days, I write on an old laptop unencumbered with an internet connection. This keeps me focused and on point. I don’t go to Facebook or check my Twitter page, because I would have to physically move to another computer our get my phone. This seems idea, but technology upgrades more rapidly than germs during flu season.
So, now I’m trying something new. I am writing a story in Google Docs. The jury is still out on how I feel about this, but with GD being online, it will update for FREE (my favorite price) and it won’t bog down my old (ancient) computer.
Is this brilliant or plain crazy? I’m not sure… but I will find out.
How do you write? What is your process? Are you 100% digital, or do you still use pen and paper? And, if you do use specialized writers software, which is your favorite? Do tell!
Best,
Aryn
Word Junkie 
I write on a laptop with the internet turned off. I used to write on a laptop that was so old, it didn’t work without the cord plugged in, and I saved on floppy drives, lol. I’m much happier with my little Dell now. I just use Word–the basics are all I need since I move in and out of notebooks with pre-writing and some drafting.
I’ve used Googledocs a lot with my students this year, and it’s very, very useful. I still keep documents saved on my personal computer, but I could see how the Drive makes opening documents from a cloud on other devices and continuing to write very easy!
I’ve decided, since writing this post, what I like the most is “auto save.” This is my VERY favorite feature.
BTW, I was the same with an old laptop. I still have it, and the only reason I don’t still use it is because the screen died… lol. It’s big and clunky and perfect. Though, I’m sure it would cost more to have the screen fixed then buy a new one.