Portable Office For Writers

March 17, 2009 by Chris
Filed under: Writing Tip

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Perhaps you’re visiting the relatives–without your computer. Or maybe you’re traveling. Won’t it be nice to have your own desk with its dictionary and thesaurus nearby, everything as you want it? That’s when a portable office can be a lifesaver for writers.

I work on a desktop. When we’re traveling, I’ll use my husband’s laptop. Without the programs that I usually use or the bookmarks in my browser, I’m lost. To keep my work with me, I set up my portable office. It works like this. I use a 8 gb USB drive on my desktop. Applications that I need most are loaded onto the USB drive. Using a platform like PortableApps, I have a mini operating system on the drive.

The platform comes in alone, with a light version, and the complete standard version. Since I wanted to select only the applications that I would use, I downloaded the platform only version.

Many applications have portable versions, so you don’t always have to do without your favorites. If not, many application forums post tweaks to make it work. Here are the applications in my portable office.

Q10
This simple application is built for writers. Some of its writer friendly features include a timer alarm for timed writing sessions, target count to help you reach your writing goals, and spell check. It even has typing sound effects to give you that Hemingway kind of feel. Free.

FireFox
Yes, Virginia, there is a portable version of FireFox. No more be without your bookmarks and customized desktop. Since I have my version of FireFox tricked out for what I want it to do, a portable version is a godsend.

Thunderbird
Just as my bookmarks are vital, so is my email client. My important emails are at my finger tips as is my contact list. With the Lightning extension, I also have my calendar with me.

PNotes
Some days I need a reminder or I’d never remember to pick up cat food. PNotes is a simple program that puts sticky notes on your computer screen for those tasks you can’t forget–and it doesn’t fall off your computer screen.

It’s not the end of the world if you can’t be at your own desk. With a portable USB drive and the right applications, you can write anywhere.

Tags: computer

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