Writing while driving

[SpecterNecter]

I was continuing a story in my head yesterday when I realized I was quite farther down the highway then I remembered being. Authors may need a no writing while driving law.

 

[TheLobster]

Just go where the plot carries you.

 

[StillStunned]

That's the risk of being a pantser.

 

[NuclearFairy]

Glad I can't drive then.

 

[SinclairGroupLLP]

I was continuing a story in my head yesterday when I realized I was quite farther down the highway then I remembered being. Authors may need a no writing while driving law.

I had to do a five hour drive two months ago, and managed to outline like five chapters of my story in my head. Only thing that kept me awake, lol.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

On longer drives, I have paired my Android phone with the car's audio system so that I could use the microphone to dictate as I drive. It gets captured onto an app on my phone and then transferred to my computer later. Once the device is paired and the app launched, there are no distractions unless a phone call comes in.

 

[Rob_Royale]

You just described my afternoon commutes perfectly.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Once the device is paired and the app launched, there are no distractions unless a phone call comes in.

Except what's on the road. If you're talking to a gadget while you're driving, you're distracted from driving, by definition.

Can you imagine what happens when two drivers are doing that, and lane drifting as they do so? It's a dangerous practice, talking on car phones, even when they're hands free. Far more so than talking to a passenger - because they can see the same road and shut up when they need to.

Here in Oz they're considering legislation to use GPS technology in cars to turn phones off while the car is in motion. The problem, I suspect, is multiple phones in the same location, how do you know which is the driver's?

 

[Wonderer67]

I have written some dirty stories and role-plays while driving to and from work.

Using voice to text and then I copy and paste it into a word document.

 

[glynndah]

Years ago, I "wrote" my Halloween story from start to finish whilst waiting at a red light. It was just there in my head. When I got home, it was a very simple process to sit down at the computer and transfer it from my head to the screen.

 

[Voyeurkenneth]

I was continuing a story in my head yesterday when I realized I was quite farther down the highway then I remembered being. Authors may need a no writing while driving law.

I know the feeling! Thank god for newer car technology like collision warnings, lane assist, and adaptive cruise control.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

Except what's on the road. If you're talking to a gadget while you're driving, you're distracted from driving, by definition.

Can you imagine what happens when two drivers are doing that, and lane drifting as they do so? It's a dangerous practice, talking on car phones, even when they're hands free. Far more so than talking to a passenger - because they can see the same road and shut up when they need to.

Here in Oz they're considering legislation to use GPS technology in cars to turn phones off while the car is in motion. The problem, I suspect, is multiple phones in the same location, how do you know which is the driver's?

You are implying that simply talking is a distraction, and maybe to some people it is.

Can you imagine car rides where the driver and front seat passenger couldn't hold a conversation, or a lone driver couldn't sing along with the tune on the radio? Talking doesn't blind a person to his or her surroundings. In fact, it can keep them more alert and aware.

 

[jaF0]

^^^ It is. It definitely is.

 

[jaF0]

So, Sonny, exactly how did you end up here crosswise of this dark train tunnel?


Well Occifer Stadanko sir, see it was like this ... I was mindwriting a dirty story about banging my Mom ....

 

[StillStunned]

Driving under the inkfluence.

 

[ElectricBlue]

You are implying that simply talking is a distraction, and maybe to some people it is.

Can you imagine car rides where the driver and front seat passenger couldn't hold a conversation, or a lone driver couldn't sing along with the tune on the radio? Talking doesn't blind a person to his or her surroundings. In fact, it can keep them more alert and aware.

No, I'm not implying that. A passenger is situationally aware, so can shut up when necessary, and can also react to a drowsy driver. Someone driving solo, imagining their latest erotic fantasy, isn't fully focussed on the road.

Have you never driven a road you're very familiar with, and found yourself miles down the road, and can't remember driving it? It's scary, finding that you're running on automatic, not fully aware.

All I can say is that many Australian companies with employees doing long distance driving, especially in the outback, prohibit using phones while driving. I guess they've found it reduces the accident rate, keeps their staff
alive.

 

[jaF0]

Have you never driven a road you're very familiar with, and found yourself miles down the road, and can't remember driving it? It's scary, finding that you're running on automatic, not fully aware.

Pretty much every time I drive to town 20+ miles away. I can only hope I would have reacted to something had it happened.

 

[SimonDoom]

No, I'm not implying that. A passenger is situationally aware, so can shut up when necessary, and can also react to a drowsy driver. Someone driving solo, imagining their latest erotic fantasy, isn't fully focussed on the road.

Have you never driven a road you're very familiar with, and found yourself miles down the road, and can't remember driving it? It's scary, finding that you're running on automatic, not fully aware.

All I can say is that many Australian companies with employees doing long distance driving, especially in the outback, prohibit using phones while driving. I guess they've found it reduces the accident rate, keeps their staff
alive.

I gotta say, this sounds kind of daft, and Big Brotherish, to me. I've spent countless hours in the car day dreaming, listening to music, having hands-free conversations on the phone, etc., etc. Sure, there's some risk, but that's the case even if there's no music or phone. Is it wrong to listen to books on tape in the car while driving? That seems absurd to me.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Pretty much every time I drive to town 20+ miles away. I can only hope I would have reacted to something had it happened.

Precisely.

I hope you react, too. It gets to the point, sometimes, that I deliberately take another route.

 

[jaF0]

Problem here is, there is no other route. Literally only one road from here to town. And only one to the other town in the other direction.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I gotta say, this sounds kind of daft, and Big Brotherish, to me. I've spent countless hours in the car day dreaming, listening to music, having hands-free conversations on the phone, etc., etc. Sure, there's some risk, but that's the case even if there's no music or phone. Is it wrong to listen to books on tape in the car while driving? That seems absurd to me.

I've read in many places that car designers are being pushed to figure out how to disable phones while driving.

The issue is the active conversation with someone who isn't there, not the passive listening to music or spoken recordings. The mind engages differently, apparently.

Businesses wouldn't do stuff like that if there wasn't a good reason. Phone distraction is one of the biggest causes of road accidents here in Oz.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

I’ve written whole chunks of story while driving. The main problem is trying to hold paper, ink bottle and quill,pen while still not dropping my coffee cup.