What would be a great computer for an aspiring novelist? I confess to being a computer dummy.
The cheapest one you can buy of whatever you happen to prefer: Mac or Windows, Laptop or Desktop.
Writing text is almost the most basic capability of any computer, it doesn’t require any particular speed, sophitication, or processor distinction. Any computer made in the last four years should be fine, new or used.
So go with personal choice. If your choice runs to laptops, be sure to try it out for a while before you buy - some folks find the mouse/keyboard limitations on these to be frustrating, others don’t mind them.
Let me clarify 
If you could have a dream machine as an author, what are some features you would like?
Why, an original BeBox, or course.
Oh, wait, did you ask, "What computer would *I/I] write my great American novel on or, “What Computer I would recommend for someone who simply wants to write?”
Well, in that case, I would recommend the Mac Mini.
I predict this will go to IMHO, but…
I can’t imagine what would go into an authoring dream machine. You don’t need lots of RAM, CPU power, or hard drive space (unless you wrote a LOT. And I mean a fucking shit ton here, people.)
I guess the only thing really would be the software. A really good word processor with a great spelling and grammar checker. Also, it gives you ideas when you have writers’ block.
Well, again, the actual physical machine is far, far less important than the interface you use to actually do the writing. For writing my Staff Reports, I use MS Word 2003. The one bit of hardware that is important for a serious writer, especially if you spend a large amount of time at the computer, is the monitor. In this case, I’d spring for the largest and sharpest model you can find. Anything less than 17" is probably going to be hard on the eyes, especially at higher resolutions. IME, an LCD monitor is generally easier to stare at for long periods than a CRT, but as witrh most things, YMMV.
Thank you for your replies I’m getting together a grant proposal, and a new computer will be part of the package. Just looking for ideas as I have never really shopped for a computer.
Thanks again
I’m thinking you actually want the lamest machine you can find. The lamer it is, the fewer distractions it will offer.
And by no means should it have any internet connectivity!
You might also want to invest in a good keyboard. It takes a bit to get used to an ergonomic keyboard, but once you do, it’s much more comfortable to type on. Personally, I would consider this more important than the monitor.
The only other thing you’d want to make sure of (and this is actually the only point which would argue against using an Apple IIe or something similarly ancient) is that your computer can somehow communicate with the outside world. You’d want to be able to print, connect to USB devices, maybe burn CDs, and connect to the Internet. Even at this, these are all very common features on computers nowadays… I don’t think Apple even makes any computers without CD burners any more, for instance.
Especially since you are new to computers, I would say a good black & white laser printer would be money very well spent. You will probably be in the mode of printing out drafts, revising, and proofing quite a bit. Almost everyone gets better results doing that with a printout rather than onscreen, at least until they are very computer experienced.
Ink jet printers are better for printing color, photos, etc. but for printing text laser printers are much faster and in my experience less likely to require you to futz around with them to get a printout when you need one.
My choice would be an ultra-lightweight notebook computer with a huge battery. I used to have a Fujitsu notebook that was perfect for writing - battery life of 8 hours (actual use) with the optional extra-large battery, and weighed about 3 lb. Screen was small, but big enough for editing text. I wrote most of my Ph.D thesis on it. I don’t think Fujitsu makes anything like that now, but I think SONY does.
For my Master’s thesis I used a Windows CE notebook. HP Jornada 820. It didn’t have a hard drive, but it did have a full-size keyboard and battery life of 12 hours. Internal memory of 32MB was more than enough to hold all the text, and I could use a Compact Flash card for backup.
I’ll second the “MSWORD2003” and ergonomic keyboard (I love mine so much I have a harder time on regular keyboards).
I have my old laptop strictly because I can’t afford a desktop at the moment. I almost wish I had the stamina to cancel my home Internet access because it, along with TV, is a major distraction to writing.
One thing I will suggest that isn’t computer related: get a gmail account (or any other free email account with a load-de-butt of storage [gmail is currently about 2.8 GB]), set up two accounts for yourself, and constantly e-mail the documents from one to the other. There are several reasons for this:
1- It means you can always access your manuscript (isn’t it ironic that MS has gone from meaning manuscript to Microsoft?) from any net connection
2- If your computer ever crashes (as computers will) you’ll have a cybercopy to work on until your info is retrieved (if it’s retrievable)
3- If you’re ever telling anybody about what you’re writing and you won’t them to be able to read an excerpt, you can forward it quickly
And of course SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE SAVE onto CD or other external media as often as you can. My last computer died a year ago with tons of my writing on it and it would cost me more than $1000 to have it retrieved. I’ve saved the hard drive for when I have that much to spend on it, but it’s sickening to have to retype something when you know it’s little binary bits are on there somewhere.
The computer doesn’t matter in the least. The keyboard does, as people have said. And so does the monitor.
Some people like to use laptops. I abominate them in every conceivable way.
I use an ergonomic keyboard, with a split key design so that my left and right hands type at the proper angle. No laptops have this that I’m aware of.
I also use a tilt screen monitor which allows me to view pages in portrait mode instead of landscape mode. This makes a gigantic difference in readability and in simple viewing of text. Again, laptops have the worst possible screens for this convenience.
Other than that, I’ve had computers since 1984. Even the very first one (an 8088 with two floppy disks) was fine for writing text as a computer.
But let me ask you this: who in the world gives out grants for new computers to aspiring novelists?
If I had my druthers, it would be on one previously owned by a famous novelist. I’d choose Kurt Vonnegut, just in case some talent rubbed off on the keys. I need all the help I can get.
My office manager has a program on her computer that makes the damn think sound like an old typewriter. Keystrokes, the return, etc all have sound effects. I make her keep it turned off most of the time, but I would think that a writer might appreciate the sound.
Depending on how you like to work (whether its all typing, or if you still enjoy the feel of a pen in your hand) you could always consider a tablet PC. Pricey, but the handwriting technology is very good, the screen is easy on the eyes, plus they are cool. You could make all the other aspiring writers jealous with your cool toy!
I write on an iBook G4 with an ergonomic keyboard attached. That way I can still type/write on the go.
Though I use (and like) PCs, for a newbie you really should think Apple.
A typewriter. An electric one if you’re too much of a pussy to use a manual model. Lest you think I’m trying to be funny, I’m not – that’s a serious recommendation. No internet, no fonts to distract you, no formatting to fidget with, no constant self-editing every five minutes, none of that. Screw the typos and grammar; later drafts or your copy editor can catch those. Concentrate on the writing instead of the machine. I’ll stress again, it’s a serious recommendation.
I agree with the others that you don’t need a modern computer with lots of bells and whistles. I agree with Chronos that a good keyboard is a far more central consideration. I would add that a nice crisp monitor that you like looking at is also something you should put a premium on.
I disagree with everyone who mentions Word. Word in any form is the worst possible word processor imaginable. Better you should write your novel in Notepad or SimpleText! But you can do far better than any of those. WordPerfect is very pleasant. WordPro isn’t half bad. On the Mac, Nisus Express is decent, as is the wordprocessor in AppleWorks. (I haven’t used the one in iWord, the successor to AppleWorks). If you would consider an older Mac running OS 9 (or earlier), the original Nisus Writer is fantastic, and the last Mac version of WordPerfect 3.5e, is very pleasant on the Mac just as it is on the PC.
The best keyboard that money can buy is a used one: the “Saratoga” type Extended ADB Keyboard or Extended ADB Keyboard II that Apple put out for Macs about a decade ago. To run them on a modern PC or Mac, you attach them via a USB to ADB adapter. This is a true 110-120 WPM keyboard. I’ve never met anyone who touch-types who has tried one of these who is happy about having to type on anything else instead. (Not all ADB keyboards from Apple are “Saratoga” styles. They made some chintzy ones later on called AppleDesign keyboards. Stay away from those)
For monitor, I recommend a 19" or 20" Trinitron. Old fashioned CRT. Nice dot pitch, crisp, easy on the eyes for hour after hour. Available refurbished for a good price.
The computer itself should be at least a fast 386 runnning Windows95 or a Mac IIfx running late Mac System 7 or MacOS 8. Those are computers of well over a decade ago, so you almost can’t help but have more computer than you need. Any modern CPU is going to be way more than sufficient. It’s kind of like saying “I need a car that will take me down a paved road at 30 miles per hour, can you recommend one?”
Sink your money into redundant backups (you do not want to lose weeks or months of work due to a hard drive failure!), and put some into a good macro program (I heartily recommend QuicKeys for either Mac or Windows) so you can automate things you use often and assign keystrokes to those actions as you see fit.
Oh, and a nice adjustable chair with good back support. That’s worth paying for, too.
I’m a professional writer. I know dozens of other pros and have spoken with dozens more. Except for a very small number of elderly pros who became established decades ago, not one of them uses a typewriter. Some do write drafts in longhand or other means of directed prose, but all of them use computers.
Typewriters are not a serious recommendation if you really want to write. Computers do not get in the way of serious writing: they aid serious writing in almost every respect. Typewriters interfere in almost every respect in my experience and I did start writing long before personal computers became available, so I can make a direct comparison.
Obviously, writing is personal and there is no right way to do it. But I don’t know anyone who uses a typewriter and for excellent reasons. IMO it’s truly a bad recommendation. YMMV.
Some for software. I used MultiMate for years. I used WordPerfect for years. I’ve used Word for years. There is absolutely no reason not to use anything you feel like. Word is ubiquitous, and it’s the format that almost everybody else accepts. Don’t worry for an instant if you want to use Word.