what is a good laptop for writing stories?

try one of the newer Google machines, as long as you can deal without Microsoft Office.

else- I can recommend dozens, but you may not have the same prices/stores - or it could be sold out.

I -strongly- suggest that you go to a few places and get a feel for the machine;

each of us has different sized hands, so a tiny bit of keyboard difference can mean comfort or cramps. Each of us has grown comfortable with a certain type of key feel.. some keys provide stronger resistance than others, some have a positive feeling "click", while others are softer, or even "mushy" (or pilllowy- if you like that).. the key clicks can also be a factor; if you are typing a lot, do you want to hear that click-clickety-clack [backsp+backsp+backsp] clack ...

or so you want something softer or silent?

I like a firm feeling key, I can take or leave the actual click-feel, but I don't like keys that are cushioned. I like some sound, because when I type, it adds to the feedback that I actually hit the keys (I'm 'that old', I learned on a manual typewriter). I also like to use keyboard shortcuts, so a keyboard needs to allow me most 3-key and some 4-key combos. If I can get a kb with programmable macros, even better.

** lots of keyboards will "ghost" or not see many 3-key combos, demo at 1st link, checks almost any keyboard.

Also, you'll be looking at the screen a lot. do you want larger for easier viewing of pages or paragraphs, or can you look at small type and just a few lines? Large screens usually have a direct relationship - the rest of the computer will be the same 2-d size as the screen, so larger means heavier. ( some Sony/Toshibas are micro-thin, so not so bad)...

Bigger screen also (generally) means more power draw/ shorter battery life > and perhaps heavier battery to compensate.

Glass/screen treatments , resolution.. cheaper monitors don't offer much; for basics like you state, you don't really need anything fancy. But, if you work near a window or outside, then a glare filter / polarized screen cover will be a big help. Do you take interest in layout or just get the words down and let someone else deal with layout later? Low-res screens may not give you an accurate WYSIWYG (what-you-see-is-what-you-get) representation of fonts, or even paragraph spaces and page breaks.

Again.. I say spend some time tinkering with a number of laptops, and see what you like/ don't like. If you get machine info, you can lookup the kinds of keyboard, screen, other features and try to find one machine with all those things.

I recommend at least Windows 7 32 bit (64 bit if possible) with at least 4GB RAM for a smooth experience without long painful slow operating boot and software loading times such as older XP machines would have (even more so when not maintained). Technically almost any 2nd hand XP machine would meet your requirements for both word processing and Spotify. But if you want to run the latest Microsoft Office you will need to meet at least the minimum system requirements listed here http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee62435...

I also advise against buying netbooks (though again a netbook would meet (if not exceed) your requirements) but as I am a power hungry person when it comes to tech I recommend you get more.

But if you plan to buy a new Laptop from a retailer, buy the cheapest available as they will all meet your requirements though you may get stuck with Windows 8 which is an awful operating system so I recommend you source a Laptop with Windows 7 again any laptop that runs windows 7 will meet your requirements

you can basically get any laptop you can afford, since writing stories is not demanding. even the lowest end parts can do it with ease.