Recently I sent an e-mail to a bunch of friends which included links to apps for things like tracking your finances to finding a clean restroom near your location.  I received a reply back from one of those friends saying her phone was dumb but it would be worth getting a smartphone just for the restroom app.  She was joking, but it caused me to think about these so-called smartphones and the applications that are available.

As a writer, I am always looking for things that can be beneficial to me and my writer friends.  You know how it is, the latest high-tech gadgets that can help us fill the blank page with our wit and wisdom.  My two favorites are my electronic thesaurus and digital voice recorder (DVR).  However, I want to look at smartphone apps here.  And guess what?  There are apps for that.  I have plugged in various words and phrases to iTunes Store, Blackberry App World and Smartphone.net.  I will include links for some of the apps I mention at the end.  Since I do not have a smartphone nor an iPod Touch, I cannot comment on the accuracy or functionality of any of these apps.  Some of them are free while others seem to be a bit much considering price comparisons between the three sites.

When I searched the Blackberry App World for “writer” and “writing” I found mostly eBooks.  Very few tools to help writers.  They do have the standard thesaurus’ and dictionaries to help find just the right words.  I did find one eBook for getting started as a freelance writer.  For that, if you are able to read a book on your Blackberry, I suggest you try it out.  Smartphone.net and iTunes seemed to have an abundance of apps for using your own handwriting in e-mails.  This appears to be a tool to allow you to use a stylus to write your e-mail.  If you are like me this is NOT a good idea.  It is far more difficult to write on a smartphone or even a laptop (my laptop has a built in function for writing into documents like that) than on a piece of paper; and if you already have bad handwriting, it will be much worse.  However, it can be fun.

Each of the three sites did have a few apps for digital voice recording.  I use my DVR when I am driving or where I can’t readily get to pen and paper (even in bed) to record the thoughts I have and then return to them later.  You can download these voice files onto your computer and transcribe after.  This could be a handy tool for journalists and writers who interview people for various assignments and books.  Instead of carrying your DVR and your phone and juggling (I sometimes forget which pocket each is in in my briefcase) you can have only one instrument to manage

In both iTunes and Smartphone.net I also found apps for helping you write other languages.  While some were your standard English translation dictionaries, but others were apps to actually help you learn to write other languages such as Hebrew and Chinese.  There were also journal apps to help you keep a diary or journal for your personal thoughts and ideas.  Some of the most intriguing apps I found for writers were on iTunes.  On my laptop (aka: DL’s Brain) I have a program called Write It Now Novel Writing software.  I love this program as it helps you organize your thoughts, characters and storyline.  The apps My Writing Nook , Writing Help,  and Writing Toolkit from iTunes seem to be similar to this.

I also found apps to help people write poetry, music and articles.  You can even get an app to help with persistent writer’s block.  Now we have no excuses as writer’s anymore for not being able to practice our skills where ever we are.  Unless you neglect to recharge your phone of course.  But I am the only one in the world who does that.  Find the app or apps that fit you and download them today.  Half the fun will be playing with the new toys and getting to know them and understand them.  Then you can let them help you produce magnificent works of art.

Final disclaimer, no apps were used nor were any smartphones harmed in the writing of this post.  And since there are no apps for showing affection, remember to hug someone and tell them how much you care about them.

Smartphone.net – Writing ~ http://www.smartphone.net/en/usd/search.html?order=18&qry=writing&=Search+now&cat=0&advs_language=8&rating_start=-1

Blackberry App World – http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/

iPhone – http://www.apple.com/iphone/apps-for-iphone/

My Writing Nook – http://ax.itunes.apple.com/us/app/my-writing-nook/id332503036?mt=8#ls=1

Writing Toolkit – http://ax.itunes.apple.com/us/app/writing-toolkit/id345490233?mt=8#ls=1

Writing Help – http://ax.itunes.apple.com/us/app/writing-help/id329400915?mt=8#ls=1

Basics Of Song Writing – http://ax.itunes.apple.com/us/app/iguides-basics-song-writing/id346212463?mt=8#ls=1

Writer’s Block Buster – http://ax.itunes.apple.com/us/app/writers-block-buster/id329389227?mt=8#ls=1

Professional Woman: Writing Assistant – http://ax.itunes.apple.com/us/app/professional-woman-writing/id329411570?mt=8#ls=1

Music Composer – http://ax.itunes.apple.com/us/app/music-composer/id302221931?mt=8#ls=1

Article Writing – http://ax.itunes.apple.com/us/app/article-writing/id328018783?mt=8#ls=1

Let’s Write Poetry – http://ax.itunes.apple.com/us/app/lets-write-poetry/id324539422?mt=8#ls=1

I Need A Muse – http://ax.itunes.apple.com/us/app/i-need-a-muse/id360166218?mt=8#ls=1

Short Story Writing – http://ax.itunes.apple.com/us/app/short-story-writing-a-practical/id367761127?mt=8#ls=1

Love Writing – http://ax.itunes.apple.com/us/app/love-writing/id362088247?mt=8#ls=1

Oxford American Thesaurus – http://ax.itunes.apple.com/us/app/oxford-american-thesaurus/id348773557?mt=8#ls=1

To me, research is as natural as breathing. You don’t learn if you don’t seek and ask questions. Since being thrust into a life of freelance writing I have learned something new about myself and about research. Generally, I look at research as a way to learn about something that interests me. Now I see it as something so much deeper. When I wrote my book, Through God’s Mercy, I just sat and wrote. The research I conducted was first of all finding an empty spot in the ocean to place my island country. The rest of the research was using French/English, Spanish/English and Portuguese/English dictionaries to create some words for usage in this country. My newest book has taken me into the research of the history of Ireland as well as watching Irish movies and seeking out those who live in Ireland to get a better grasp on the verbiage and speech to use.

I still don’t consider this outrageous research. It isn’t even rating near the kind of research I may do to find out about doctors and lawyers I decide to hire. However, I have been doing some research lately that has taken me to a whole new level. I embedded so much of myself in TGM that at times when I read it I have to stop and shake myself off because I am so attached to the dept of it. I am currently working on some research that has given me the same feel. I love history and museums. I determined that as a freelance writer I would write about museums and historical events. Now the fun begins.

I wasn’t interested in writing the usual things that the whole world already knows. I wanted to find the hidden treasures. The little nuances that are not widely known. I knew that The Crockett Tavern Museum would be my first. I used to live just a couple miles from this museum and had visited there before. Then in July just past, I learned a hidden gem about Mr. Crockett and was given permission to use it and create from that. I knew I would be doing research, but I did not know then, how deep this would take me. I have begun to feel an almost intimate bond with an American legend that is bigger then the state he gave his life for. And yet, I know that even as I read his words and examine his prized rifle, I am hardly scratching the surface of who he really was. But this research has shown me that until I get inside the heart, mind and very essence of the one I am researching (much like I got into the minds of the adolescents I used to counsel) my research will be utterly incomplete. If the research is incomplete, the story cannot be told in a satiating manner to fully fill those who read.

I quit writing in July of this year. Too many things were happening and I couldn’t keep with it all. Being without a job and not being able to find anything in the writing field. My health and dealing with the residual effects of Meniere’s Disease. People being more critical of my work than requested (i.e.: telling me my book is technically not published due to the publisher). Just too many things pressing on me that I quit. However, John Lennon would not allow it to remain so. I was having sleepless nights and nights of tossing and turning due to dreams that occupied my sleep and waking hours. Then the end of July I read a quote by John Lennon and he related about song writing and I equated it to my writing. He said it’s not a song til it invades even your sleeping dreams and keeps you awake. Then you know it has a life.

Well, Mr. Lennon was actually briefer in his quote, but that is what I got from it and started paying attention to what was going on. I told my friends about this and they wagged their fingers at me and said “Told you so!!” I am meant to write. It fills my being from my heart and soul outward. It encompasses me. Writing is the breath in my lungs, the blood in my veins ~ Writing IS who I am.