GHOST IN THE VEILS progress and computer
I am now on Chapter 7 of 21 of GHOST IN THE VEILS. Almost 1/3 of the way through the rough draft. I’m not sure how many actual chapters there will end up being since I might combine or split some, but my outline has 21.
I’ve also made significant progress in setting up my new desktop computer, enough that I’m now writing on it today.
A few people asked why I got a desktop instead of a laptop because laptops are more portable, more energy-efficient, etc. Two reasons!
1.) Screen size. Fifteen years ago, I loved the whole concept of a netbook, a small 10-inch laptop with an SSD. I wrote big, big chunks of SOUL OF SERPENTS, SOUL OF DRAGONS, SOUL OF SORCERY, GHOST IN THE STORM, and GHOST IN THE STONE on an 11-inch ASUS netbook that ran Ubuntu. In fact, I distinctly remember in 2012 writing about 6,000 words of GHOST IN THE STORM on that laptop while sitting in a folding chair in my new apartment waiting for a couch to arrive. Naturally, the couch arrived very late, which was annoying, but at least I got a lot of writing done.
Anyway, that was a long time ago, and staring at text on a small screen has lost its appeal. I have a big 28 inch monitor plugged into my desktop, and I write and edit on that with the text size in Word zoomed up to like 200%. It’s very easy on the eyes to read. This isn’t to say I don’t write on laptops any more – I do, quite a bit – but my default preference is to write at my desk with my giant monitor and zoomed in text.
Screen size provides a convenient segue to my second reason.
2.) Graphic design. I do way more graphic design than I did when I bought my last desktop computer in 2020, and while I wouldn’t call myself an expert at it, I am good enough to meet my needs for cover design and social media graphics (like the one of Caina attached to this post). My main tools for this are Photoshop and DAZ Studio, and both of those applications are hungry, hungry beasts.
You can use Photoshop on a laptop, though it’s not a great experience in my opinion and the processor fans are going to stay at maximum.
If you tried to use DAZ Studio on a laptop, I suspect the laptop would catch fire and melt through the table.
Anyway, it is a better experience to do graphic design on a desktop with a big monitor. Photoshop files also tend to take up a lot of space, which can become a problem on a laptop, which usually have room for only one hard drive. My new desktop has three internal hard drives, all of which are in use.
Obviously everyone’s computing needs will vary, but mine are specific enough that I really do get a lot of use out of a powerful desktop with a lot of storage.
One thing I did realize – I should have gotten a new keyboard a lot sooner. The new one is so much nicer! If I got my old computer in 2020, that means I typed like 40+ books on that keyboard. Maybe I should put a yearly reminder in my calendar to replace my keyboard every year or so. 🙂
-JM