Do you have a writer’s disaster plan?

As writers, we must let nothing deter us from our mission.

Sometimes that is easier said than done. One major deterrent in this age of gadgets and computers is our dependence on electricity — especially when the power goes out. I’ve endured a power outage during a frigid winter when a wind storm blew trees over and knocked out power lines in my neighborhood. For eight days, I scavenged for hotel rooms and went to the library for wireless Internet access.

So when the recent destruction caused by Hurricane Irene blew out power for thousands, I could sympathize with everyone who suffered from outages and flooding.

Chicago Sun Times columnist Andy Ihnatko (@Ihnatko), who went for a full week without power, wrote an informative column about how he navigated the outage and still managed to write.

“Common household storm advice can be found pretty much anywhere, and it’s all good stuff. But there’s a modern layer of preparation that incorporates the digital dimension of your life,” he wrote. “If you need to evacuate, then really all you care about is getting yourself and your loved ones to safety. Second on the list are those preparations for being stuck in the house for days, or without access to the grid.”

Ihnatko’s column offers some very helpful advice for technology preparedness in a power outage. Find out what he did to weather the storm and what you might want to do to create or refine your writer’s disaster plan.