I cleaned my desk today. It was the result of a cascade of cleaning, beginning with my computer files.

I recently had to reset Windows 10, and OneDrive swooped in like an invading spaceship and hijacked my files and has been syncing and copying huge volumes of data since. It’s nuts. Our internet literally came to a crawl as soon as I booted up. I had to do something.

I was fortunate that my nephew (he has a great podcast, Cosmic Castaway) built my computer with a separate Mass storage drive. Everything got moved there and, of course, it was agonizingly slow because I couldn’t pause the sync, or the files I was trying to move would disappear into the cloud, completely inaccessible. But I got it done, then I backed it all up to my external drive. No more OneDrive! Which means I’ll have to transfer files to my phone and laptop some other inconvenient way. Microsoft… please… let us take back control of our own files!!

Anyway, as I cleaned my desk, totally neglected since I started writing novels two years ago and piled with stuff I really didn’t need (aka trash), my attention was drawn to my monitor stands… and I got pensive.

Does anyone else use nice chunky old reference books to raise their monitors like me?

As I dusted the still beautiful tomes, their undignified state got me thinking. I once believed having information at your fingertips meant owning a thorough reference library, arranged handsomely and conveniently on shelves. I loved collecting dictionaries, thesauruses, and encyclopedic volumes. But now it means bringing up information instantly on a screen, fingertips dancing over a cold, plastic keyboard, instead of rifling through warm paper that smells divine (more like musty these days).

One thing still remains true, however, whether it be books or computers. It all needs dusting!

If you like my blog and have comments about the woes of OneDrive and memories of hardback paper reference libraries, please drop me a line. While you’re at it, check out my other blogs for more thoughts on a Writer’s Life, and find your way to my riveting paranormal/fantasy romance fiction series on My Books page. I’d love to stay connected!