Too Much.
One of the most frustrating aspects of being a writer is the portability of the project that you are currently working on.
If you are using traditional pen and paper methods, you must remember to have your trusted notebook along with you at all times to record the little bits of inspiration that come to you at the most random times in your life.
Similarly, using an electronic system that is based solely on local storage on your work PC can be quite constricting. Not having access to your notes, sketches and drafts can make you lose motivation with your current project, and even dampen the enthusiasm you have for your work.
I have attempted to use many systems over the years, including carrying a small notebook around with me, lugging a laptop around, and even writing ideas on my hands when I am not prepared for the inspiration that comes. Each of these systems can be flexible enough to work, but in reality they are also as restraining in their inability to be omnipresent in a significant way.
Just like using Evernote to organize my thoughts and basic ideas, I have come to rely on Dropbox as my trusted system for keeping my writing portable.
What is Dropbox?
Simple Cloud Storage
Dropbox is a personal storage system in the cloud. When used with a personal desktop computer, files placed into your Dropbox folder are automatically synced with the cloud, allowing you to edit files and folders anywhere that you have internet access.
I work with many PCs in my daily routine, including my wife’s Macbook laptop and my own personal work desktop computer at home. Using Dropbox, I can keep all of my projects in sync, which allows me to work in a more platform-agnostic way. Where I would have previously used a USB storage device to carry my work with me, or rely on the local file storage of each of the computers, Dropbox gives me the functionality that I need to get things done without all of the hiccups associated with these other methods.
How Does Dropbox Help?
Instead of carrying around a small storage device which is easily lost, put through the laundry, or randomly corrupted, I am able to rely on both a local copy and a copy located in the cloud for backup.
When using a personal PC, it is simple to open a local file, and have the saved changes pushed into the cloud, having an instant backup.
However, when I am working on a public PC, I do not necessarily have the luxury of installing my own software. What is great about this situation is that Dropbox has a web client, where I can access my files easily and get down to business.
Rather than having to remember to bring the laptop, or to sit only in front of my desktop PC, I now have the freedom to work on projects outside my home, as long as there is internet access available.
I started using Dropbox only a short while ago, but already it has changed my perspective on how I use a PC as a tool for writing and other related projects, such as designing graphics for my blog posts.
The Road to Dropbox
I have tried all different manner of keeping my files in a place that is easily accessible:
FAIL
- Carrying a USB flash drive - A USB flash drive is portable, cross-platform and can hold a serious amount of data. But they are prone to destroying themselves in an instant without warning. At one point, I even setup bash scripts to detect when my flash drive was plugged in after a day at school, and automatically backup the files. This turned out to be an overly complex system that did not stick, and afforded me at most 24 hours of backed up files in the event of catastrophic failure. I have learned to distrust USB flash drives over the long haul, after losing multiple chapters of my novel to the digital void.
- Using my web server to access files remotely – Once again, this turned out to be an overly complex system which relied on me having access to tools that can remotely connect to the server to get my data. This meant carrying around a USB flash drive with portable applications with SFTP functionality. Not always a good choice when dealing with locked down Windows systems at my college.
- Setting up a personal wiki – Having a personal wiki was an interesting experience. Setup is a breeze, and the ability to hyperlink to other topics inside a document is actually pretty fantastic. But we hit the complexity wall once again, having to learn new syntax to properly use the system.
- Relying on Wordpress to store and organize my writing – While Wordpress is a wonderful blogging platform, it was truly not created with the long drafts of a novel in mind. Dealing with plugins, unnecessary spam comments, and the other aspects of keeping your Wordpress installation up to date detracts from the tasks at hand. A Wordpress installation can quickly become bogged down by the myriad modifications needed to create a proper writing platform.
- Trusting my work to a strictly cloud-based service such as Google Documents – I thought this was the perfect setup: get Microsoft Word
-like editing ability, coupled with the security of storing your documents in the cloud for access anywhere in the world. Although it does not happen often, Google Documents does occasionally go down, leaving everyone who relies on it without access, which creates all kinds of repercussions. I found out the hard way that Google is not as reliable as I would like, and I was left without a local copy to edit at will.
It was not until after trying all of these methods that I discovered Dropbox, and signed up for an account. Where these methods were overly complex, I made the resolution of keeping my system as simple as humanly possible, so that it would not fall by the wayside as so many others have in the past.
My Dropbox Setup
I do not profess to be some networked software guru, but I do know my way around a modern computer. In my years of being a technology consultant, I have found that the simpler the setup, the more likely someone is to stick with using it.
Omnipresence
All of the PCs that I work on daily have the Dropbox client installed. The client keeps a local folder in sync with the cloud service, which creates a shared backup of the entire folder. I am currently using Windows 7, Mac OS X 10.5 and Ubuntu Linux with the Dropbox service, and things could not run more smoothly. The Dropbox client software requires so little upkeep and direct interaction that I rarely even think about it running in the background.
If I am on a PC that I do not normally use, I simply point the web browser to my Dropbox account, and I am good to go. No need to install any extra software.
Compatibility
Good Ol' .txt
Using all three of the main operating systems can become a bit of a hassle when one is working with certain types of files. Text files edited in Notepad on Windows use a different kind of line break mechanism than the Unix counterparts.
Banking on having Microsoft Word, Open Office or iWork
Due to these two factors, I lean only on the most basic format that I can use for my writing projects: plaintext.
I can write my novel snippets without having to worry about formatting.
I can keep my HTML skills honed while writing blog posts by simply adding the tags in by hand, rather than using a richtext editor to do it for me. When a post is done, I simply copy and paste into the Wordpress window, and make my tweaks after writing. There is something elegant in the idea of focusing on the content of the article, rather than worrying about the presentation.
Plaintext is so simple that I rarely run into any problems.
Simple Folder Structure
Keep It Simple
Going overboard with the folder structure can create problems when a writer is attempting to find a certain snippet of text. I have found that if I cannot explain to another person the structure of my folders in one short sentence, I am distracting my brain too much when searching for a piece of text.
Each blog that I write for has its own folder, and the text of the post is in an appropriately named text file within that folder.
Each novel that I am working on has its own folder, which is inhabited by simply named text files.
The easier your storage system is, the less resistance you will run into when you get started working.
Try Dropbox For Yourself
It is nice to have someone spout on about their writing system, but it is another thing to get out there and try it yourself. I recommend if you have run into any of the problems associated with the other storage plans, go out and try Dropbox right now.
The basic plan is free, and gives you 2Gb of storage. 2Gb is a whole heap of plaintext files.
Do you use Dropbox?
Do you use Dropbox to help with your writing projects? Leave a comment here explaining how your system works, and if you have any tips for the amateur users.
