My husband is looking for ideas for me as to what to get me for Mother's Day. I'm not the sentimental sort: I'd rather have something practical. Given that I'm a writer who finds it increasingly difficult to get anything done with my 10-month-old Kung Fu Panda, any suggestions for things that might make my life easier (either to expedite my writing or to shortcut housework to give me more time to split between my little guy and my work)?
I did discover that I could take him to a park with a notebook and jot down the occasional thought while we were playing on a blanket. That's going to get less doable, though, as he gets more mobile, so I'm looking into the possibility of getting Dragon Naturally Speaking Professional with a voice recorder (I can dictate while I'm out and then let the computer transcribe it for me to give me a working file). Ideas along those lines are very welcome! Or maybe there's a time-saving device you use yourself that you'd like to recommend.
I did discover that I could take him to a park with a notebook and jot down the occasional thought while we were playing on a blanket. That's going to get less doable, though, as he gets more mobile, so I'm looking into the possibility of getting Dragon Naturally Speaking Professional with a voice recorder (I can dictate while I'm out and then let the computer transcribe it for me to give me a working file). Ideas along those lines are very welcome! Or maybe there's a time-saving device you use yourself that you'd like to recommend.
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alycewilson- alycewilson
- Alyce Wilson, Poet, Writer and Editor
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My best recommendation for entertaining the baby is siblings, which isn't exactly practical for you!
When he's engaged with his toys or (like right now) staring at the cat, who's sleeping safely out of reach on the back of a chair, I can type away. The problem is when he gets clingy and wants to either hang on the tray table where I have the laptop or sit in my lap and either squirm around or try to hit the keyboard.
I'm wondering if I should look into a more compact notebook, something about the size of an ipad or a little bigger (although it has to have a keyboard for maximum functioning). I've seen some writers with them but don't even know if they make them anymore. I'm not sure it would help, either, but it would definitely be easier to carry around. At this point the jury is out as to whether it would be a help.
What about getting someone in for a couple of hours a week? Or finding a school kid looking to make a few pennies who could come in for an hour after school to play with him so you have an hour of focused writing? I've been able to find people to give me an extra pair of hands very cheaply in the past and that would probably be a better investment than more electronics.
Just...the recommendation I can offer. ^^