Word Processing (WP) In a recent conversation I off-handedly said, "... before WP." At best, this was unintentionally vague. I meant before electronic or "modern" WP. To me WP is both creation and storage of words, ideas, and images.
We've been communicating for a very long time. Much of this was aimed at recording knowledge to share with future generations. A problematic notion as all parents know.
Early man recorded significant events as images on cave walls. This practice continues as graffiti and murals found today: along roadways, on barn sides, and on restroom walls.
Letters and characters are word components. Words are uttered, heard, recorded and read. Clumps of words describe objects and ideas. Words create mental pictures; bits of color and line, images on the canvas of our mind.
Before electronic WP, documents were stored on paper. Copies were made concurrently using sets of carbon paper and blank pages. This process was exacting; changes and corrections were difficult. Changes often required recreation of affected pages. Changing originals was an art form. A white correction fluid was applied to areas of change. Revisions were layered over the coverup. Correction artisans used Linen Thread Counters and finely plucked brushes. Original pages heavy with paint were never submitted. Storage was still on paper.
Technology chugged along producing electric typewriters and electrostatic photocopiers. Electric typewriters eliminated manual carriage return and offered changeable type-face balls. Long slender type keys were a thing of the past. Type cartridges allowed black over white over black revisions. And the photocopier eliminated carbon copies and painted originals.
Storage on audio cassettes (mag tape) caused a paradigm shift. WP systems lashed electric typewriters to simple processors. Some systems were capable of word-wrap and hyphenation. And with cassette storage, changes could be made and pages rerun without waiting for the paint to dry.
Mag card devices followed. Mag cards contained multiple magnetic strips and have been described as a step between punch cards and floppy discs. When this technology was coupled with a "correcting" electric typewriter a serious, dedicated WP system emerged.
Soon personal computer software offerings included WP. Storage media was 5 1/4" & 3 1/2" floppy discs, compact discs, flash drives, etc.
Two things before I wrap-up:
•   A "Cloud" aint storage. "Cloud" is: a metaphor; an internet
    connection to a st0rage service's file server.
•   Imagine a document's paper copy stapled to the floppy
    containing the WP file!  :<((