Fear of Technology

It seems that most of my discussions lately have revolved around writing.  Go figure.  That's what I have been spending most of my time doing; writing.

Computers are all around us.  If you are reading this, you are doing so via some incarnation of a computer.  Chances are, your car operates because of a computer.  Modern flat screen televisions utilize computers.  Your cell phone is a computer.  When you withdraw money from your bank account, you most likely do so through the use of a computer (ATM).  Cash registers have evolved into computers that make that nostalgic cha-ching noise.

So why so scared?

I work around a bunch of scared little people.  They have to interact with computers on a daily basis in order to complete their jobs, yet they want nothing to do with them.

Myself?  I embrace technology and wonder how I can make it work for me.  I constantly write programs to make my life, and others, easier.  That is just one of the many things I get paid to do.  So it only makes sense that I would seek help from a computer to improve my writing.  Right?

Wow, don't bring that up in the writing workshop forum that I was formerly a member of.

The computer is only as intelligent as the programmer.  As a programmer, I teach the computer to do what I need done so the task can be performed reliably and efficiently.

In the writing world, what needs to be done reliably and efficiently? 

Editing.

I just felt several people from that workshop cringe.  Get over it.

Editing software does what I do (and will continue to do) reliably and efficiently.  I promise you, it will catch "now", when I meant "know" more often than I will.  Or how about "through" and "threw"?  I can edit a piece of work, much like my editing of Diplomat Elanya this last weekend, and still miss things.  When I dump it off to my editors, they will catch things and make notes, but they too will still miss things.  It is the way humans work; we are glorious imperfect beings.  We can scan a document and look specifically for "teh" and miss it a hundred times, a computer will catch it every time.

Editing software is just another editor.  I had three editors, now I have four.  Guess what?  I can ignore number four just as easily as I ignore numbers one, two, and three.

I don't want everyone's prose to be the same...

Seriously?  This is an actual line from a concerned writer.  Really?  This isn't the Jetsons where Elroy feeds an essay into a computer and the computer spits out an edited sterile dissertation.  Editing software offers suggestions (like a human editor) based upon data and algorithms created by a human.  You can accept the suggestions and make corrections, like you would with a human editor, or you can ignore the suggestions, like you would with a human editor.  The choice still remains with the writer.

By no means am I saying that every writer needs to use editing software.  I am saying that it is another tool available that has the potential to help you grow.  Just as Frank from Edits R Us can be another editor to use in your process, so can the computer.  It doesn't replace the human factor, it can't.

But, don't let your fear of technology hold you back.

And don't name your editing software Frank.  I already named mine that.

Shameless plug:
My short story The Leaf Pendant is available for free at most e-book sellers (except Amazon).  My book Blood of Two is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, Smashwords, and a multitude of other e-book retailers.  You can also pick up the paperback (though it is a bit pricey) at Amazon.  Read it, rate it, review it, and most of all, enjoy it.