Writers all have one thing in common: procrastination. Surprised? Then you're not paying attention. Today, more than ever, a writer has to fight temptations and addictions to actually sit down and write.

Remember the old adage about the blank page? Today, it's often more the filled screen that writers must fear. For with a million addictive distractions dinging, ringing, and knocking for our attention, how do we fight back?

The answer is as simple as what empowers our writing, imagination!

What fires your imagination? Does typing on a computer keyboard inspire you? Or speaking into a microphone? Pen and paper? Find that single tool that not only allows you to fill the blank page but ignites your imagination as your wife does your passion. “Writing without passion is only good for outhouse walls.” Voldane Pelt 2024.

For many writers being able to write when and where inspiration strikes is critical. JK Rowling once said she wrote out the ideas for the Hogwarts houses on an airplane sick bag. Now, that is a strong inspiration to write indeed—the idea obviously not the sick bag.

Write with your best friend, the one who knows your story’s world as well as you do!

Writing is personal and private for most of us. We share what we have written with a few trusted souls at most. At least in the beginning. That means we also need to have a good friend to talk to as we write.

For many authors, the clickety-clackity sound of keys striking fuels their writing and fills the silent room as it fills the page. JK Rowling once said, “I had an old typewriter and a big idea."

She is far from alone in her big ideas, and anyone today can find an old typewriter and make it their trusted best friend. After that, all they have to do is supply the big idea. There is something amazing about seeing a machine that has one purpose: to write.

If our job as writers is to write, can all the editing, surfing, AI, and social media be anything other than a distraction?

“I recently lost an entire chapter of a book I was working on. The autosave did not save my work from the power company's hiccup. It was just gone. I have now rewritten it three times, and none of them are as good as the one I almost remember that was lost. I am sure of that.” Voldane Pelt about Magic Happens and why the sequel is late.

Dannielle Steel is another author who writes on manual typewriters because she fears losing her work on a computer.

Look at a modern CPU, all lights and flash.

When you look at a computer, does it inspire your imagination? Honestly, even the most state-of-the-art computer today, with all the lights and colors, has become commonplace. It is hardly the awe-inspiring sight it was in the 1980s when the Commodore and Apple 2 were exploding into homes.

When I sit down and write I know all the stuff I could be doing. But there is something special about a typewriter writing with no electricity, no wifi, just the steady staccato sounds of the keys striking as my assailant's bullets rain bloody revenge into innocent and guilty with abandon.

What inspires YOUR imagination?

When shopping for a writing machine, ignore the words you, as the writer, will add in due course. Instead, look for the one that fuels your imagination. There is no one-size-fits-all answer. Especially today, when there are more choices than ever before.

Jack London wrote as a war journalist on a Columbia Bar-Lock 10 typewriter. This early typewriter featured multiple keyboards that had different characters. It was actually his second wife who was tasked with typing his reportedly easy notes and ideas. She used a Remington Standard typewriter for this.

As you can see, the typewriters were different, as were the people who used them.

The thing about the The Prince of the Oyster Pirates (Jack London) was that he loved adventure. It was in the middle of the Klondike gold rush that Call of the Wild was born. It was his own sense and need for adventure that fired his imagination.

Much like JK Rowling and her airplane sick bag, writers need to write when ideas strike. For many of us, that is not always the case at a desk or office. It can be on a camping trip, a train ride, or locked in a closet under the stairs while a tornado mimics a train whistle outside. At least if you live in Kansas, that last one is not uncommon.

Tips to select the writing machine best suited for you!

Does it call to you like a lighthouse guides ships safely to shore? Let's face it: You will be spending copious amounts of time sitting and telling this machine about your deepest, darkest dreams, ideas, and fears. It needs to inspire the same confidence in you that a lighthouse does for ships on foggy nights.
Will it work where you are when ideas strike? Laptops and tablets are portable and can be used almost anywhere. At least as long as their battery lasts or a plug-in is handy. For many, a notepad and pen are great backups. Manual typewriters can also be included in this list.
A writing machine should also be a gatekeeper. When I started out in direct sales, one of the most challenging tasks I had to accomplish was getting past the gatekeeper. The one who protected the decision maker, the boss, and the head honcho from distractions like a salesman. Look for a writing machine that can act as your gatekeeper, and you will face far fewer salesmen while writing, as well as other distractions.
Beware the copycat. Did you know that you cannot do anything to get compensated for the works you wrote unless you have them copyrighted first? Which usually only happens when they are done. Yes, technically, everything we create is protected, but no court will hear the case without first filing a copyright. And even then, you are looking at an expensive journey to reclaim what is yours. Choose a writing machine that will keep your work private from hackers and data thieves until you are ready to click publish.

Parting thoughts.

At the end of the night or day, we all have to find that writing tool that works for us. It is not as easy as it once was. For me, I had to accept that there was a very real difference between writing and editing.

I struggled to get from page to page because of constant editing. That amazing grammar editor is great when I am done writing, but before that, it is a pesky nuisance!

I love writing with pen and paper, but no one, including myself, can read half of my scribbles. Growing up, my teachers told my mom that I was destined to be a preacher or a doctor. The handwriting was why they predicted doctor.

Before all, be brave and remember that while every subject has been written about and every story told, have you written all of your stories yet? If not, you better get started!

Voldane Pelt

Apple, PC, Tablet, Dictation, pen & paper, a Manual Typewriter, which is the best to write on?