Meet Your Captains
The Writing Tech we can’t live without
With four writers guiding this ship, you can bet we have differing opinions on essentials.
Voila! Our fave Writing Techs for your perusal!
♠️ Unlimited Data
I love to travel. Mr. Kross loves outdoor sports. We often find ourselves in remote locations with plenty of trees and not great wi-fi. The best tech investment I’ve made was subscribing to unlimited data for my cell phone. We can be almost anywhere and I can work stress free, whether for the day job, for doing a bit of research, or backing up my latest writing to a cloud storage server, I’m covered.
One of my top Clifton Strengths (besides Strategic and Learner) is Activator.
You can make things happen by turning thoughts into action. You are often impatient.
Ouch. So true. Now, let’s go!
❤️ Noise Canceling Headphones
As a mom of a toddler in the Mommy-only phase of life, I cannot live without my wireless, over-ear, cushioned, forget-you’re-wearing-them noise canceling headphones. My writing time is sacred, and daddy is just as good as mommy, even if my almost-2-year-old disagrees. Pop my teal babies on and bam, I’m focused and present for as long as my writing time is scheduled. Plus, without cables or wires, I’m free to pace in my office as much as I like! Seriously, they’re everything to my success as a writer.
My Top Clifton Strength?Strategic Thinking:
You are constantly absorbing and analyzing information and helping the team make better decisions, continually stretching thinking for the future and what could be.
Yup. Gotta love the “what if” and “oooo, what about this” thoughts.
♦️ MacBook Pro
Cliché much, Ryley? Okay, I get it. I’m a walking writer stereotype with this thing. And no, I don’t write in a coffee shop. But you know what? As a PC gal for so many years, I needed to make a change. Many of the programs I use for publishing are optimized for Apple products, and I was getting to the point where I couldn’t squeak by with my previous setup. Besides, I was tired of my computer deciding to do things FOR me instead of WITH me--”You want to update Windows now? Like, NOW NOW???”--and I was ready for something that just...worked. I bit the bullet a couple years ago and, despite the learning curve, I couldn’t be happier.
My Top Clifton Strength? Intellection: You love to think, muse and reflect. Your powerful mental processing and intellectual activity empower you to clarify and explain, regardless of the topic or situation.
Because if it’s worth thinking about, it’s worth OVERthinking about. I’m only partially kidding. That MacBook? HOURS of research, despite knowing I wanted one.
♣️ Internet Research
I know, I know. Cheating. I’m supposed to talk about a piece of electronic hardware or something. But if I have to, I can use a stick to write in dirt. Or pencil on paper. Or a marker on the wall. I couldn’t write what I WANT to write without that beautiful, vast, growing universe of information at my fingertips. Know what I found out today? That elephants use names for each other. They “speak” in specific vibrations so low humans can’t hear them. Perfect information for my mammoths 🦣 in the De-Extinct Zoo Mystery series.
My Top Clifton Strength? Learner: You normally dedicate yourself to acquiring knowledge and gaining skills. You probably devote many hours to mental labor.
Yes. Yes I do. Hello, Internet. 💛