Which came first – AlphaSmart or NaNoWriMo?
The AlphaSmart or the NaNoWriMo?
For me, it was the AlphaSmart.
I bought my first AlphaSmart in 1998. Saw an article about it in a local computer pull-out, and knew immediately that it was the tool for me. There was contact info at the end of the article, and I wasted no time getting in touch with the distributor to purchase a unit.
I’ve been a happy AlphaSmartie since then.
Since that first AlphaSmart in 1998 (the 2000 model), I’ve upgraded to a 3000 (courtesy of the AlphaSmart Community Center’s monthly contest for which I was the April 2001 winner), followed by a Dana. I was invited to be a moderator on the Community Center, for which I was given the Dana and recently, the Neo, to use and be familiar with, so as to be able to answer questions posted on the Community Center.
Mind you, I’m singing the praises of AlphaSmart products not because I get to use them for free, but because I really find them to be good products. If I didn’t believe in the products, I wouldn’t have accepted the mod job.
As for the NaNoWriMo, I first heard about it in 2002. It was just days before the challenge began, and I signed up, jumped in, stumbled and came to a halt two days into the challenge.
I signed up again in 2003, this time with a better plan, one that included using the Dana to write as much of the 50,000 words as I could. I spent a lot of that month writing in different places. Apart from on my bed in the middle of the night, I wrote in quite a few cafes, mostly at the shopping centre near where I live (One Utama, lah, for those of you who know).
With the Dana, I succeeded in finishing my 50,000-word NaNovel in 2003.
2004 – same story. Signed up for NaNoWriMo when October that year came round and was ready at midnight, 1 November 2004. This time, I wrote exclusively on the Dana (2003′s NaNovel was written on the Dana and my desktop computer). And I succeeded again.
Yes, I’ve just committed to another NaNoWriMo this year. Once again, with my Dana.
Over at the NaNoWriMo site, the forums include a NaNo Technology section in which participants discuss what they will be using to write their NaNovels. It’s amazing what they use. I’ve done my share of “turning” them on to the AlphaSmart, and have succeeded (whether directly or indirectly; probably the latter) in some of them purchasing the AlphaSmart to use for their NaNovels.
For me, the best writing tool for NaNoWriMo is the AlphaSmart. Take your pick – Dana, or Neo.
I look forward to the day when I see an AlphaSmart Loaner section at the NaNoWriMo site.
