Start a letter, and not lose it

Open a blank page, write a letter on it, and save it somewhere you could still find it in two years.

People do not lose letters because they are careless. They lose them because for the first ten minutes of its life, a letter is not a file at all — it is only a thought the machine is holding for you.

A word processor is a program for writing things that have to look like a letter. It opens a blank page and lets you type. What it does not do, until you tell it to, is write any of it down.

Key points

Open a blank page and write on it.
Save a letter with a name that will still mean something next year.
Close a document without fearing what the question means.

What to remember

Blank page, type, Save, name it, choose Documents. Six presses, and none of them can go wrong.
Closing never destroys your work quietly. There is always a question first, and Cancel is always one of the answers.

Try this

Open your own writing program and press Blank page. Type one line — anything at all — then press Save, choose Documents, and give it a real name. You can throw it away straight afterwards. The point is to have done it once without anybody watching.

Practice: Start a letter, and not lose it. Your first lesson is free, with no account or card; the rest are part of a Lantern plan. Interactive lessons require JavaScript.