To Mac or Not to...you know

The last few entries were a long but important digression to discuss how self-publishing in ebook form is a reasonable path to take with new fiction these days. I’ll talk more about what I’ve seen about that process, but for now I’d like to go back and spend some time on the writing/learning side.

I’d like to go into specifics now, regarding the tools I’ve been using. There are a lot of choices on the software side and a couple of key decisions on the hardware side, and I’ll explain why I chose what I chose.

For starters, I had to decide PC vs. Mac. A lot of creative types will say, oh, it’s no contest, of course get the Mac. The reality is that there are good reasons pro and con, as with most things in life. The Mac OS is supposed to be simpler than Windows to use—and I don’t want to get into this whole discussion unless someone really wants to argue it in comments—but I don’t personally find it so, for a couple of reasons.

These days Mac OS is a big old unix core with a GUI on top of it, which means it’s debatably even fiddlier than Windows under the hood. I certainly don’t have any idea how to tinker with it when something goes wrong. Also, I like to use keyboard shortcuts for everything, and some of the ones I use a lot on Windows don’t seem to have parallels on the Mac.

On the other hand, the icons are pretty.

Whatever; I think it’s a wash these days in absolute terms. The hardware is the same now and the operating systems aren’t very different, so you have to pick the platform that runs the software you want to use. It turns out that both operating systems are suitable for running a variety of writing software, and there is no wrong choice. (Except, there was a wrong choice, but I’ll get to that in a minute. Or actually, a day.)

I ended up picking the latest generation (as of this writing) Macbook Air 11, maxed-out version, for my own writing. I am not necessarily recommending it for others, but here were my reasons:

1. As a simple package with no moving parts except the folding of the monitor, it seemed a little safer to knock around and not lose what I had written. This has proven true.
2. It’s a pretty good size that I can cram into the pockets of some of my jackets and vests. This has been mixed, since at times I have wished for a bigger screen and longer battery life. I am not sure if I would make the choice of 11” or 13” or larger if I had it to do over.
3. I assumed the best choices of writing software would be available on the Mac. This has proven to be not entirely true, as I will expand upon later.
4. I also wanted to set up a pro-quality Logic-based music recording studio on it, which I did, though I haven’t had time to do much on it. There is no equal on the PC, so this is a strong point in favor, although for true pro use a more powerful laptop would be advantageous.
5. I wanted a machine on which I would run only writing software when I was writing, with no email or video games or other evil distractions. This part has worked out well. I have mail on it but never run it when writing. I do run Skype on it (when I’m on the internet at all, since writing often doesn’t require being connected) but I shut it down if it’s distracting at a time of concentration.
6. Finally, I really wanted to love the Mac, since everyone I meet thinks I’m a monster for not being in the cult, and it might be nice to not be an outsider for once, just to try it. I remember loving Macs as a kid and lusting hard for one in the late 80s. Never could afford it then. Nowadays with all the changes under the hood, there just doesn’t seem to be that same charm. But, whatever.

I was always worried about the chickletish keyboard that Apple seems to believe in these days. As a very fast touch typist, I am baffled by this keyboard design, which seems to be on all of their models and which has been imitated by some aftermarket products. After extensive use, this keyboard has proven to be a problem for me in terms of slowing my typing speed even more than a laptop normally would, due to the lack of a) meaningful tactile feedback and b) the usual boxing-in effect that helps you find keys fast without looking. Just use a full-sized external keyboard, you might say, but that gets into the topic of writing habits and the short version is, no can do most of the time.

In the end, it’s been ok. Mainly the hotkeys and the keyboard have bugged me, and I also am not a big fan of trackpads, but I can’t blame Apple over anyone else on that one. In any case, the hardware choice had been made. Next, I had to get the software.

Which software do you choose for writing fiction?