Writing without a Laptop by J. Paulette Forshey

Eight days ago I was happily typing away on my laptop, then one of the nastiest storms in our towns history hit southeast Ohio and we went into pioneer mode. No electric. No air conditioner. No cell phone service. No INTERNET! No calling up my latest work in progress and working on it in the wee hours of the morning when the house is quiet and asleep as I'm usually do. The first couple of days were fun; it was like camping out, by day three not so much fun. I was itching to write. The grandchildren that live with us, a four year old and his two year old sister, were hot, tired, and cranky. It was taking all our energy to entertain the sweethearts, but with no breeze and a swimming pool with water warmer than the bath we were failing fast. When I found the two year old sitting on the sofa frantically pushing all the buttons on the T.V. control I knew something had to be done. After some smoke signals our son convinced the children's mother, who had electric, to take the children for a few days.
Ah, blissful quiet.
Now what to do?

I spent a couple of days reading, because the electric had to come back on soon, didn't it?

The heat each day kept climbing, the nights didn't cool off until three in the morning, so I'd given up on sleep, and my characters began whispering in my ears.

Day six, I needed to write, the vacation was over, that need to write, to sink myself into another world and find out what my characters had been up to gnawed at me.

I wanted to start up my laptop again, but worried about running the battery out since by now, the local paper wasn't even giving 'guesstaments' of when we might have electric again. Great news our wonderful local library was open and had juice! But no internet.

I didn't despair I charged the computer and called up my current WIP, did a quick read from start to finish, and then turned the laptop off. I went home and dug through my desk and found several yellow legal sized note pads. I began writing long hand everything I knew needed to make the piece complete.

Writing in the shade of our yard, writing in the late night early morning I added and improved my story.

Day seven I ran to the library, plugged in the laptop and started adding all the handwritten notes and completed scenes. It felt fantastic!

Day eight sitting in the yard sipping a lemon-aid and deep into the world I'd created I could all most forget working up the courage to wash my hair with ice cold water. Or washing my clothes in the bathtub and hanging them out to dry on the fence. Or going to the refrigerator, only to remember the food/drinks were in the coolers filled with ice. Or remembering if I wanted something cooked we had to start up the charcoal grill.

I almost forgot all about this and then they drove by. Wonderful men in hard hats, with neon orange vest and the magical words 'electric company' gleaming in black on a white truck. I dropped the legal pad on my chair. I danced. I promised them beer and pizza if they would just bring back that wonderful thing called air conditioning!

Today is day nine, I have electric! I have hot water. I have a stove to cook on. I have fresh food in my refrigerator. I have my laptop plugged in for extended hours of pleasure and blissful writing! When I connected to the internet my wonderful publisher had waiting for me the proof of my next cover!

These last few days have taught me I can go back to the days of old, for a while, and I can go back to writing by hand, but it taught me I sure do love my internet friends and my laptop.


J. Paulette, award winning author, lives in a small Ohio town with her husband, and a Basset Hound, who thinks she's a princess. Her mornings belong to her writing, her days are spent loving her five grandbabies, and her nights belong to her husband, the inspiration for her heroes. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, Central Ohio Fiction Writers, Southeast Ohio Novel Writing Group, Northeast Ohio Romance Writers of America, and the Fantasy, Futuristic & Paranormal Chapter of RWA. She also writes under the name of Genevieve Delacroix.

http://www.jpauletteforshey.com/
paulette.forshey@facebook.com
Twitter @ForsheyJ
July 13, 2012 - The Estate can be purchased from http://www.whispershome.com/ and Amazon.com'


Blurb: The Estate

Night after night Cuilean Kelley's dreams are haunted by an exotic woman. His days are preoccupied searching for a set of rare books. Clues to the mythical tomes lead him to a tiny parish outside of Savanna. He unearths not only the volumes, but discovers the woman of his dreams is real, and being held in a spectral prison guarded by an ancient lost civilization. Her freedom depends on Cuilean and the books connection to a ghostly southern estate.

*Edited by Teresa Crumpton*