Most days by 7 am I’m done with the writing scheduled for the day, which then makes it easier to focus on other aspects of being a writer — author platform, promotion, social networking.

So it doesn’t become monotonous, I change it a little once in a while, and here you’ve given me something new to try — writing podcasts. What a great idea! Sometimes before I start writing, I read a little which can be challenging at 4 am. Listening instead of reading while enjoying my first cup of java sounds pretty good.

Thanks for the tip!

I am now officially ‘retired’ and have my own study, overlooking my deck and garden. Wonderful, stress free surroundings! I can see and hear the birds, and the garden is only a few steps away.

You’re welcome. I am planning to go to the Evernote presentation in Melbourne later this month. Should be helpful. There are just so many features to Evernote.

That is a great idea and reminds me of a tip I just read on another post – If you’re going to write in a coffee shop only bring as much money as you want to spend and leave your cards at home – or you may develop a very expensive coffee habit!

I haven’t used the email feature yet. I’m really trying to wrap my mind around all the features. I was using it to organize my Facebook habit. I would have a link I would want to keep and I would add it to a notebook or stuff I wanted to get around to (eventually). I will look into the email feature now that you mention it. Thanks!

I did a lot of comparison. I’m NOT a Mac person so I kind of threw that out the window right away. I compared most tablets and laptops and found the features of the Surface 3 fit what I wanted to do. It’s a real computer. It’s not a tablet trying to be a computer, or a laptop that has been shrunk down so it’s not really a laptop anymore. It’s a computer in a tablet. It runs Windows and some of it’s specs are actually better than my desktop! You can get all the way up an i7 processor, but you really only need that if you do a lot of video or photo editing. I’m going with the i5 with 8GB ram. It will be fast, and highly effective. The part I love about it the most as a writer is the integrated digital pen technology. It’s really as responsive as pen and paper. In addition it has buttons that do most of your navigating without having to drop your pen. It also has a button on top that immediately opens S Note, so if you wake up in the middle of the night with a great idea you just click the pen and start writing. It really in incredible technology. I also really like the keyboard which is actually magnetic and a cover for the screen as well. The keys are well positioned (unlike some notebooks) and they are quiet (which is huge if I’m working in bed while my family sleeps). It has a built in kickstand. It can also be dropped into a dock that has a full size monitor and hard drives attached, so at my desk (where the dock will be) it will replace my desktop entirely. I’m really excited about it (if you can’t tell). Hope I answered your questions!

I think we all get side-tracked from time to time, Veronica. 🙂 That’s okay. It’s true though, this post has some great tips. Shanan wrote this one. 🙂

Amy, I do believe you e described the ideal writing situation. What would we do if we had no reference tools, just our own minds to write from?

Thanks for reading.