Switching to Google Docs for my writing?

 I recently watched this video by Sarra Cannon about Google Docs. She's used it for years for her writing and swears by it. After watching this video, I've been seriously considering making the switch from Microslop--I mean Microsoft--Word to this bc it looks so freaking cool, plus it would solve some problems.

Why did I just call Microsoft "Microslop"? Bc they have been fixing what was never broken and shoving AI shit into every crevice they can find. They even renamed Office "Microsoft 365 Copilot App." UGH! They had already done away with the "Office" name before this, but no one noticed bc they still used it. But several YouTube videos brought it to my attention, so that's how I know now. It's the height of stupidity! I hate it! You can't even start a new document in Word without that shit popping up. And if you try to turn it off, the next update turns it back on again--IF you get updates. My home computers are Windows 10 and cannot be upgraded thanks to their hardware "requirements" for 11. That's a whole other can of worms. At this point, I'm risking being hacked bc I can't get the extended security updates to work. I'm supposed to be eligible for them, but every time I try to install them, I get BS. So fuck it. I'm just doing the best I can with what I got bc I'm broke. I'll eventually upgrade, but only when I can afford it or absolutely have to.

Meanwhile, there's Google Docs. The only downside to it that I see is that it's completely online, but even so, there are workarounds. I can download copies of everything as Word docs, so I could technically use both. The coolest part is how you can organize your docs. They have this Tabs feature that allows you to save multiple docs in one. So, for example, Sarra uses that feature to divide her books into chapters or episodes, depending on whether she's doing a novel or serial. The only issue she runs into is when her books get over 100,000-120,000 words--at that point, Google Docs starts to slow down. However, she says that the Tabs feature has helped to reduce the occurrence of that, and she also suggests separating your work into parts to alleviate it as well. Sounds simple enough.

She offers a template in that video, so if you're a writer and want to try it out for yourself, you can click the link in the description and sign up for her newsletter, which will give you access to her free resource library. I highly recommend it bc she keeps a LOT of useful stuff in there, all free!

I grabbed the template and have been playing with it here and there. I may or may not use it for my WIP. I haven't decided whether to use it or start a fresh doc of my own. The template has a lot of cool stuff in it like a storyboard--btw, she also shows you how to use Canva for some of the stuff she included in it, and Canva integrates with it really well--book cover mockups, character sheets, etc. I might use the template for notes and stuff like that, then do a separate one for the stories. But it is kind of cool to have it all in one doc, at least for now. That really appeals to me. You sure as hell can't do that with Word! It reminds me of the way Scrivener works. But unlike Scrivener, this is free!

This is the second post I've written today. I was first inspired by a different YouTube video to post about my current notebook ecosystem. That started as a comment on that video, but it turned into a post here bc it got ridiculously long. I also got an idea for a post about my writing notebook and my history with writing notebooks, so I may do that next--it's in the drafts for now.

I guess that's all for the time being. I need a break! Bye for now!