Today, I’m thinking about the internet.

I’ve been without access to the internet for a couple of days. At the time of writing this post, I’m not even sure I’ll be able to upload it, or contact anyone to let them know if I can’t.

My original article has been put on hold (because I can’t get access to the internet to do the research it requires), and instead I’m thinking about the internet.

As many of you know, I live in rural Australia, where the intense heat and humidity seem to make the wi-fi melt out of the air, leaving me unable to connect to anyone or anything outside my own house. (Yes, I know that’s not how the internet works… But I don’t have a better explanation for why I lose internet on hot, humid days.) So, while I hear/read lots of writers talking about ways to get off the internet to enable them to concentrate on writing, I often find myself with the opposite problem in the summer months.

I’m old enough to remember a time before the internet was really a thing. To remember the early days of ICQ chats and message boards and image-free webpages that took upwards of a minute to load. But I’m also young enough that I reach instinctively for my phone when I find myself wondering who that actor is, or where I’ve heard a phrase before, or who sings that song that’s stuck on infinite repeat in the back of my mind.

Without the internet, I feel somewhat lost. Not just in life (although, that too) but in writing.

I’m not just thinking about the internet. I’m thinking about the often surprising ways I use it to improve my writing. [Read more…]