Sonia M. Rompoti, MSc, Bsc

If you’re an indie author, you’ll get this: my computer is basically my entire brain. My Scrivener drafts, my KDP dashboard, my Canva covers, my Pinterest boards of mood inspo, my TikTok edits—it’s all in there. Without it? My whole author life collapses like a house of Jenga blocks.

But let’s play this out. (Hey, it is Halloween month afterall.. we need to start thinking of scary things…)

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The Meltdown Phase

First thought: my files.
Second thought: my deadlines.
Third thought: how do I even tell anyone I’ve lost everything if I can’t open Gmail?

I’d probably pace around like a Regency heroine waiting for a letter from a long-lost suitor, except there’s no letter coming, only the sound of my Wi-Fi router blinking in vain.

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Old School Writing

Then reality would set in. I’d grab a notebook, one of those ones I buy for “aesthetic” purposes and never use because hey, Word docs don’t smudge.

The first few sentences would feel clumsy. My handwriting is worse than a doctor’s prescription. But there’s something raw and grounding about it too. The story wouldn’t stop just because the screen did—it would find its way onto paper, messy ink and all.

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The Marketing Blackout

Here’s the killer, though: without a computer, my connection to you—my readers—is gone.

No Instagram reels. No MailerLite newsletters. No TikTok “POV: your curvy heroine just fell for a billionaire.”

My stories wouldn’t reach the world. And that, more than anything, feels like losing oxygen.

Because being an indie author isn’t just about writing. It’s about showing up, connecting, building little sparks of “me too” moments across a screen. Without my computer, those sparks would stay locked in the dark.

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The Secret Relief

But… and this is where I surprise myself… part of me wonders if I’d breathe easier.
No analytics to refresh. No endless Canva resizing. No “maybe I should have posted that reel at 3 p.m. instead of 6.”

Just me, my words, and the page.

It’s terrifying. And it’s freeing. Both at once.

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Would I Survive?

Probably. Writers always do. We’ve survived quills and typewriters and broken laptops. The stories always find a way out.

But if my computer disappeared tomorrow? I’d miss you.
I’d miss our little digital world. The comments, the shares, the quiet “same” whispered behind a like button.

And that’s the part I’d fight hardest to get back.

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✨ So tell me—if your computer vanished tomorrow, what part of you would you miss the most?