There probably should have been a ribbon-cutting ceremony and champagne popping last night. Instead, I switched on the computer and simply stared at the words: 900GB storage.
It feels as though I’ve opened my own creative studio and finally upgraded from sitting on the sofa with a PC balanced on my lap to a computer with the storage I've never had.
When I first started creating Pen & Paper Girl Audios, the files and editing process were relatively manageable. Over the past two years, however, they have developed into much fuller audio dramas, with longer stories, more music and bigger sound effects. While the stories grew, the storage on my old PC never grew with them.
If we're talking superhero style, Tony Stark had an advanced armoured suit and JARVIS helping him run the entire operation. I have a new computer and enough storage to make my audio dramas without constantly deleting things (but we all have to start somewhere!).
I may not be building armoured suits, but I am building worlds and it feels like my own version of stepping into Tony Stark’s workshop and finally having technology that can keep up with the ideas in my head.
I’ll now spend endless hours sitting at my desk talking to the computer as if we’re working together to save the world...alongside editing another Pen & Paper Girl story from the comfort of my own home.
Until now, I had become stingy with storage. Files had to be deleted or moved onto memory sticks to make room for the next production. It made each new audio slower and more complicated than it needed to be. There is already a lot involved in creating an audio drama independently, so constantly worrying about whether my computer had enough room added another unnecessary stage to the process.
Now, suddenly, I have 900GB! I feel like a grandma who has finally emerged from the digital dark ages.
I have to admit, it also takes some of the pressure off my photo storage, which has had no time for me either. Although I won’t sing the computer’s praises too loudly just yet!
It's like a genuine milestone and an important upgrade for Pen & Paper Girl Audios. Ten productions have already been written and released using the limited setup I had before. Having equipment that can now grow alongside the project makes me excited about what I might create next.
Of course, it is still just me creating at home. There isn’t a separate cutting room or an assistant arriving with coffee. There is still one desk, a kettle brewing another cup of tea and a cat who considers themselves senior management.
But Pen & Paper Girl finally has something resembling a proper studio, a home with enough room for all its characters, gore and endless story telling.
Pen & Paper Girl Studios is officially open! JARVIS...put the kettle on.
The Pen & Paper Girl
XOXO