You hate tech. All you want to do is write, but lately, that requires a Masters in Geekery. Your word processing tool of choice always seems to break when you are on a roll–the computer freezes, system crashes, document disappears, an error code pops up that wants you to do something with ten syllables or lose all your files. None of it makes sense and you long for the world when the worst problem was a broken pencil.

Before you say words your children shouldn’t hear, try these six quick solutions:

Is Power on?

When you’re talking to tech folk, their first question always centers around whether your computer system is getting power. Surprisingly, this is often why it doesn’t work–I know, who would guess? Clear this as a reason before moving on by making sure all the working pieces are getting the power they need. Here’s a checklist:

• Are…