IPad for Writers: The Review, Part Two

See the Shiny?

About ten months back, I got an iPad. I wrote a review of my experience, with emphasis on how I used my iPad as a writer. So the indomitable Ian Sandusky challenged me (at the time) to write another review in 6 months to a year, after the initial shiny wore off.

So here it is…

I did revert to using a laptop. For quite a while, actually. However, now I'm back to using my iPad for the bulk of my writing. I think the issue was, it took me a while to figure out how to make the iPad work for me.

Most of the authors I know who write on the iPad use an external keyboard. I started out doing that, but hated hauling around a keyboard everywhere. Oddly, when I got back into using my iPad for drafting, I ditched the keyboard and started writing directly on the touchscreen.

On the touchscreen? Yes! Believe it or not! Apparently, I appreciate portability more than a full keyboard. Who knew?

Nowadays I'm doing most of my blogging from my iPad, and writing all my first drafts on it. I also do character sketches, outlines, etc. For a while there, I was a scrivener fan and loved outlining and writing in that program, but I'm not as into scrivener of late. I dunno– I can't tell whether the program isn't my favorite, or whether I just like to change things up and use different platforms at different times.

My favorite feature of the iPad is the same now as it was in the beginning– that you can only use one app at a time. As a social networking addict, I really benefit from not having the option of checking my email and twitter while I'm writing. Sure, I can close pages and check twitter on my iPad. But I can't be doing both at the same time. However much the touch-type keyboard slows me down, I still write faster overall on an iPad because I'm not multitasking.

How fast? Well, in the last couple days I've written 2000 words in about an hour and fifteen minutes. That's a pretty decent word count for me, and I doubt I could write any faster on my MacBook. It's all about real-life results. While I theoretically might be able to type faster in a laptop, I don't. I surf the interwebz, get drawn into Twitter drama, check my email.

So the verdict almost a year later: the iPad is my main writing tool. I still use a laptop for edits because of the track-changes option. I still use a laptop for Tweetdeck, busy social networking, and promotional stuff where I'm gonna want to cut and paste a lot.

But I write on an iPad. For now at least.