Sitting down at my desk to edit yesterday was a terrible, excruciating ordeal. Not for the editing part mind you, but… for all the rest! Spring is at our door and the sunshine is tugging on my sleeve, trying to get me outside and start getting ready for gardening season. My two young daughters, feeling just about the same about being stuck in the house, were teaching me the new meaning of “sibling rivalry”. And finally, well… I was out of coffee.
I’m not the most techsavvy woman, but I like to think that I can hold my own and be resourceful when needed. So I turned to my most trusted resource: my husband. Having equipped our household with more electronic devices than I could count (smartphones, tablets, laptops… where do I stop?) he surely would know of a way for me to be more efficient at editing without needing to be shackled to my desk chair.
And so dawned the age of Cloud Computing in my house.. or my writing anyway. I had barely finished asking him that he had Google Drive installed on my android smartphone, our tablet and our laptop. “This way”, he said, “you can start editing at the computer, then grab your phone and edit on the go, or use the tablet to edit anywhere in the house”. Wow! You mean, I can edit outside on the tablet while looking after the kids? Or, edit on my phone while in the car or…. ANYWHERE?
So without further to do, I uploaded my manuscript to google doc, bid my computer farewell, and headed for the sunny deck where I carried on my editing in a much better mood!
The truth is, cloud computing is now available to almost ANYBODY with access to a smartphone, tablet or computer and an internet connection. Between Apple, Microsoft and Google, you will be able to find the software or platform that works best for you. The documents are saved on the “cloud”, allowing access from almost any similar platform (with Google Drive for example, any android system can access the data, as well as through your Gmail account or the Google Drive program for Windows).
This allows any writer or editor to easily catch up with their work without being tied to a computer, and, in my case, greatly improving productivity!
If you are using cloud computing, I’d really like to hear about your experiences, tips and tricks, and if you find it more productive. Leave a comment here or on facebook!
Remember, cloud computing is now available to almost anybody, anywhere. Take advantage of it! Happy writing!
Pen Dragon 
April 3, 2013
My Writing Posts