Sunday, April 20, 2008

You and Your Computer

One of the computer’s greatest gifts can be its greatest curse: the ability to edit with ease. When you’re writing anything on the Muse Stream, the last thing you need is the temptation to edit. Once you begin editing, you encourage your critical, censorious self to take command and shut off the flow.

There is a time to edit and revise, a time to correct and clarify. That time is later. Now is the time to write.

If your computer beeps at you over poor spelling or grammar, turn off the beep. If it underlines questionable words, switch off that feature as well.

Disable any prompt that reminds you of anything that requires immediate correction.

If you can’t resist the temptation to edit, judge or second-guess while writing, turn off your monitor or dim or cover your screen.

If blanking your screen is not possible, type with your eyes closed. But be sure your fingers are on the right keys (to avoid typing gibberish) and that you save frequently and back up your files (in case you mistakenly delete what you’ve written).

Watch for tips to help you dodge other distractions in a future post.

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