Well, today was a red letter day. In preparation for NaNoWriMo (in which you write every day to complete a novel in a month) in November I ordered an Alphasmart Neo. I am unable to use laptop computers (the keyboards give me carpal tunnel) and the Alphasmart has a full size keyboard, which means I can write remotely. At last! Type remotely, that is...as in type quickly and do word counts, upload and download to a computer. In coffeeshops...outside...anywhere! Those of you with laptops may take this for granted, but I'm new to this so it opens a whole new world up to me.
The Neo is a sturdy word processor for people who want to do volume writing without a lot of editing; you're really supposed to do that on a regular computer where you can see the whole screen. It does autosaves of every word, is light like a calculator, and goes 700 hours on 3 AA batteries! If you purposely do not want to edit your writing and just produce---quickly and easily---and you don't want to spend a lot of money, the Neo is something you might enjoy.
I found out about it by reading Chris Baty's "No Plot? No Problem!: A Low-Stress, High-Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days" a book I highly recommend for NaNoWriMo participants.
I made a deal with LoveHubbie that if I complete NaNoWriMo, he'll pay for the Neo, but if I fail to complete it, I'll have to pay for the Neo. More support for me in actually doing this :) I love this deal.
Then..then...Amazon sent me an email offering me a free...as in totally FREE...Flip Camcorder in order to do video reviews for them. I thought it was a joke at first. At last those 1433 reviews (as of today) I've done on Amazon are starting to pay off :) I'm intrigued by all of the creative possibilities of doing video reviews.
Reviewing books, kitchen appliances, music, tea, movies, electronic items, bedding, and pretty much everything else I've ever bought on Amazon or elsewhere is my #3 hobby, behind reading and walking. So I'm so thrilled to have this opportunity. I've never had a video recorder or camcorder before, so it's pretty, pretty cool.
~Pictures by LoveHubbie Mark from Lahaina, Maui
7 comments:
Nothing like some sexy technology to get us excited about creating.
Doing reviews for Amazon would be great fun. It's good that you are being rewarded.
Wow! Congratulations! Another example of flow - how just following our passion will lead us to places we never even imagined. Good luck!
Thanks Patti and Angela...I do like the mystery of the unknown and happy surprises...it does get me more excited about creating. Thanks for your support and well wishes, for visiting and celebrating with me :)
Neato bandito! Do what you love and the camcorder will follow. :)
Oh, gosh, Kelly, you are TOO funny! Neato bandito is going to be my new favorite expression now.
It is true. I just write reviews for the pure love of it. I love to share about books I read with people who care (and the people reading a particular review for a specific item will care) and other good products, too, and to help others in this way. And indeed the camcorder followed :)
Thanks for the inspiration, K!!
Wow Olivia, that is unbelievable. Congratulations!! And what a wonderful time for it to come along. Just in time to lift your spirits and give you some wonderful inspiration.
Good luck with your novel!!!
Annie
xxx
It is, Annie, isn't it? And it certainly did lift my spirits. Thanks so much, and have a good week on your trip...will be thinking of you, O
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