If I had to think about the 3 best inventions from the past century I'd find it very difficult to keep it down to 3. Heating and dish-washers spring to mind, among many other cons.
I may dream about the romantic atmosphere of the late 18th century I've pictured in my mind, but the truth is, I wouldn't give up all my comforts to live in a cold mansion with Mr. Darcy and no TV, phones or cars. I think I'd be asking for a divorce after a week and packing my bags to come back to this century.
I may dream about the romantic atmosphere of the late 18th century I've pictured in my mind, but the truth is, I wouldn't give up all my comforts to live in a cold mansion with Mr. Darcy and no TV, phones or cars. I think I'd be asking for a divorce after a week and packing my bags to come back to this century.
However, the invention I most appreciate right now is the Internet. I can't begin to imagine the time translators and writers must've spent in libraries before the Internet.
Now, if I need to do research on 16th century armours, on wind-driven generators, on 18th century cures, on 2-core processors or on how to put someone under a curse (don't worry, I haven't had the need for that yet) I just go about clicking my mouse and typing in a few words from the comfort of my home and voilà.
Now, if I need to do research on 16th century armours, on wind-driven generators, on 18th century cures, on 2-core processors or on how to put someone under a curse (don't worry, I haven't had the need for that yet) I just go about clicking my mouse and typing in a few words from the comfort of my home and voilà.
I've learnt so much about writing these past months just by reading blogs. And each blog leads me onto another one, it's like the little boy who tried to count the stars, to think about the amount of blogs I'm missing is quite overwhelming.
But also, I get answers to all my questions by email or twitter in only a few minutes. If I had to wait for a courier on a horse to bring me the answers, I'd probably be 90 by the time I finished a book.
I love our era. Which invention do you most appreciate and which one has helped you with your writing?
The computer first and the internet second. I used to type pieces for magazines on my little portable, then a computer/word processor, and now, writing novels, if I come across a fact that needs checking, as you say, I just type something into a search engine and bingo - time wasting for hours!
ReplyDeleteYo no escribo, pero estoy de acuerdo que el ordenador e internet han supuesto un cambio radical para los que sí lo hacen (y para muchas otras personas también, obvio).
ReplyDeleteLesley, as you say, although we save lots of time on research, we can get lost in the web and click ourselves far away from the target research!
ReplyDeleteGaby, even if you don't write, the computer and the Internet has changed our life. Just look at our shopping habits, shopping with one click makes our life so exciting and dangerous!!
I agree that the Internet has certainly empowered writing. Most people before just wrote journals in the privacy of their own study. Now the world can be their platform.
ReplyDeleteHi Paul C. Yes, at least you know (or hope) someone will read your work. That's another benefit of the Internet.
ReplyDeleteElectricity- imagine where we'd be without it...still lighting fires and burning candles in the dark
ReplyDeleteYou're right Eeleen, without electricity we wouldn't have any of the above either.
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