Chromed....

In my attempt to write more, even though we have multiple cruises booked this year (in fact, I am on one right now), I purchased a small Chromebook. An ASUS C201 11.6 Inch Chromebook, to be exact. It was $230 when I bought it in September. Now it's down to $190 (maybe you want to snag one?).

I love the weight and size - I traveled the country on my motorcycle back in 2005 with an 11" windows laptop so the screen size and keyboard are doable for me. I don't feel cramped with it. I have added a small optical mouse, a USB memory card reader and a small case (have to have a carry handle and this one also has a pocket for the adapter and accessories).

I have dabbled with it, installed several Chrome apps, but while I am on this current cruise, I will be playing with it a lot more in an attempt to write. No Internet (okay, there is, but I'm not paying their exorbitant rates) should mean no distractions.

When I'm writing my mystery novels, I often need research. But on this trip I hope to be finishing up my middle school short story series, Seven of 7. No research needed since they are fantasy driven. This should be a good test.

Some of the Chrome apps that I can use offline are:

• Cookies (editor)
• Google Docs Offline
• Text
• Writebox

Here is a screen shot of all the apps I have installed in Chrome (they are accessible on my MacBook as well).

What do you do to keep Internet distractions away? Have you ever bought or used a different device, just for writing?