Okay, there’s no real shortcut to writing, per se. Writing requires you sit down, collect your thoughts, organize them, and turn them into text.
But as a writer, I sometimes wonder what button or link I inadvertently touched that made my computer do something wacky and unexpected.
Then I realize my knowledge of a set of shortcuts on the keyboard may help me get out this mess. These shortcuts may not be known to other writers, so I share them here.
CONTROL Z. If you hold down your control key and hit the Z key, you will UNDO whatever it was that just happened.
Here’s a whole list of shortcuts. How many do you know?
Control A = Select all.
Control B = Bold.
Control C = Copy.
Control I = Italics.
Control P = Print.
Control T = Open new Tab in your browser.
Control U = Underline.
Control V = Paste.
Control X = Cut.
Control Z = Undo.
If you use a Mac, these short cuts are virtually identical – just substitute the Command key for Control and you’re good to go.
Do you know any other keyboard shortcuts that would help writers on their computers? Please share.
Writing and Listening — an Interview with Brooke Randel
As a young girl Brooke Randel knew little about the Holocaust—just that it was a catastrophe in which millions were murdered, and that her grandma Golda Indig barely escaped that fate. But her Bubbie never spoke about what happened, and the two spent most of their time together making pleasant memories: baking crescent roll cookies, playing gin rummy, and watching Baywatch. Until an unexpected phone call when Golda said, out of the blue: “You should write about my life. What happened in the war.” What results is a fascinating memoir—about one woman’s harrowing survival, and another’s struggle to excavate theRead more…