T h e I m p a c t o f T e c h n o l o g y typewriters and wordprocessors, then on to early desktop computers with applications such as WordPerfect and Microsoft Word and features such as WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) and spell check. These simplified the writer's task, but still chained a writer to an office, as the software and work remained behind when the writer turned off the lights and left for the day. Laptops changed all that. The widespread introduction of laptops has meant that writers can write anywhere, and they do. Planes, trains, taxicabs, home offices, conference rooms, even beaches and poolside lounge chairs are all now in play as venues for copywriting, and truly savvy tech writers can bang out manuscript copy from a BlackBerry. There's one low-tech medium that hasn't changed: the paper napkin—a time-honored place for noodling, doodling, scribbling down a nugget of an idea or a breakthrough headline. Somehow, despite all of our technologic innovations, the lowly napkin still holds a special place in the writer's armamentarium. 4. The Hard-Copy Manuscript Manuscripts of old looked like instruction manuals. Headlines might be in all cap letters, brackets were used to separate headlines from subheads, and subheads from body copy. Sophisticated writing programs today enable a writer to use boldface type, italics, or multiple font sizes to indicate the hierarchy of copy to an art director or reader. All of which is meant to 101
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