A clinically obese man gave me a FREEWRITE for Christmas

[skb]

Well? And? So? Therefore? Don't leave me hanging!!!

I'm really interested in how you're liking your new tool, Dr Drib. I've been arguing with myself for years about buying a Traveler and so I'm eager to know what you think of it (I know it's a full Freewrite but still...).

[Quoth]

Jota (a free Android App), bluetooth keyboard and Likebook Mars works for eink based writing. Text file easily transferred by MTP or WiFi to laptop.

[skb]

Okay. It's been a while. What's the verdict? Inquiring minds want to know, Dr. Drib!!!!

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by skb

Okay. It's been a while. What's the verdict? Inquiring minds want to know, Dr. Drib!!!!

The keyboard is great, as most owners aver.

The unit works as advertised, and I haven't really had any problems with it.

In my opinion, if one does NOT like to move all over one's text - amending, expanding, deleting, moving text around and creating holes for further development - then I think a FreeWrite would be great.

I attempted to write a novel, something that came to me, and I quickly wrote two chapters. But the chapters needed heavy editing in order to get them to where I would be satisfied with them. So I had to then put them into Scrivener (a program I've been using for years; I have a love/hate relationship with that software), and get them into shape. The commitment of time=results would have been better spent, I feel, if I had simply started out in Scrivener.

I'm working on a book of (literary) poems right now, and I'm using Scrivener and my 3-week old MacBook Air M1, and I'm thoroughly enjoying the writing and editing that must be done as I expand/delete/create new pieces. (I've been working on this for year. (My stroke three years ago put that effort on hold for a couple of years. But now I'm back working on it with a vengeance!) So, when it comes to writing poetry, I see NO WAY could this type of writing work for me.

Also, there is the 'laggy' situation that one must understand and learn to deal with, if one is to thoroughly adapt to using the FreeWrite. For me, this is not exactly a problem; it's something I can get used to. But this CAN be a problem for some people...so keep that in mind if you (or anyone else) is considering the purchase of a FreeWrite.

To be fair, the FreeWrite correctly advertises itself as a way to write without going back and constantly editing one's writing. It took me a while to realize that I don't create in such a fashion. I'm constantly moving around in my text. You might ask: "Well, why did you buy the damn thing?" A fair question. I wanted to approach my writing in a different way, so that I could analyze the results and to see what changes marked the flow of my words. But for me, having to then take some pretty raw creation and then insert it into another tool (Scrivener) was - for me - a disheartening experience, because it made me see how much FURTHER work was needed before I could be satisfied to then release my writing to 'the world'.

Nevetheless, there is something extremely seductive about the FreeWrite that I'm still attempting to understand. What is it about it that draws me to it? I don't know that I can definitively answer that question, although I've asked it of myself many, many times. Here are some answers: I like the way it sits on my knees. I like the way I can sit out on our terrace and put it on a table and just start writing. I like the light that can be turned on or off. I like the retro look of the thing. It was an expensive experiment (I had to pay additional costs to have it shipped to Peru), but I don't beat myself over the head about it. I'm glad I bought it, even though I hardly use it. The fact is, I have so many writing projects I want to complete, and I'm a slow and methodical writer, and that I don't exactly have the luxury of time on my side. (I'll be 70 years old in November!)

They have a Traveler unit, but it unfortunately does not have a back-light. I think that if that unit had one, when I initially considered the purchase of a FreeWrite, that I would have gone with that smaller, portable unit.

I'm still intrigued by these things. They are, however (in my estimation), too expensive. Yet, I bought one!

Let me know if you have additional questions. I'll be happy to answer them to the best of my ability.

(Throughout this text, it should be 'Freewrite' and not 'FreeWrite'.)

[skb]

That's pretty much exactly what I expected Doc, thank you. I find the whole idea of them so seductive. I love using (my now defunct) Neo for a similar reason. When I win the lottery, I'll buy one.

[Quoth]

Jota Text Editor (free & no adverts, but there is a "pro version") on Boyue Likebook Mars. A €4 book stand (for cookery books?) for the Mars and a decent €14 inc shipping medium size BT keyboard that's best I've used. Not as laggy as trying to type notes into a Kindle or Kobo. Nearly as good as the 10" LCD tablet.
Basic editing, plain text in PC or Linux format paragraph/new-lines.
Auto-save if you exit / power off etc.

On desktop or laptop:
Wordstar / Neword / home made editor (1982 to 2002, in a Console Window from 1993), MS Office 2002-XP (2002 to 2014), LibreOffice Writer.

I'd tried also Wordperfect & MS Word for DOS, StarOffice, Wordpad, Open Office and others over the years.
I use KATE to organise text files (multitab), replaces Notepad++. Also Gnumeric for timelines and other spreadsheet stuff (previously Excel, then LO Calc which I use for "real" spreadsheets). I used a local copy (on the attic server) of MediaWiki for a while as an aid, but backups, editing and upgrades are too much of a chore. With actual Wikipedia someone else is creating/editing and maintaining.

I did have an Epson tablet / portable computer in 1980s with a small letterbox display and real keyboard. Storage and file transfer was an issue. So I used a desktop computer. First laptop in 1998.

[GlenBarrington]

I've found writing on my 10-inch Android tablet to be pretty good (Samsung A10 2019), provided I use the keyboard folio case and BT mouse. There is some good (and atrocious) novel writing software available, AND both MS Word & Google Docs.

It's no desktop device, but it can get the job done in reasonable comfort, and I can waste time with the best of them when I need to.

[AngryD]

I can't see the need to spend the same amount that I spent on my first motorcycle to get an electronic device with the same functionality as a typewriter you can get for half the price (if you buy it new) on Amazon. I mean, I'm all for distraction-free writing (John Scalzi thinks he's the greatest writer on earth but openly admitted in the author's notes to the Collapsing Empire series that he didn't bother to redraft the third book because he couldn't stay off Twitter long enough to actually do the job he was paid royalties in advance to do. This lead to a particularly weak ending after two and a half books of build up.) but don't you think writing on an iPad with a Bluetooth keyboard and a copy of Freedom would accomplish the same thing for a fraction of the cost, and still allow you to watch Netflix on the device when you're done writing?

[rcentros]

You can get an idea of the FreeWrite "experience" by trying their online Sprinter app.

https://sprinter.getfreewrite.com/

It would drive me nuts not to be able to correct typos I discovered a few lines up, but I understand the basic principle. You're supposed to just pour out the words in a creative flow and produce what they sometimes call in screenwriting, a "vomit draft."

Something like Freedom wouldn't work for me on a device capable of getting online, because, when I'm writing on a computer I'm in the habit of doing research as I go — even looking up the meaning of a word can send me on a three hour "journey." I used to look up a words in my dad's 1913 Webster's Unabridged (India paper) dictionary and would still be leafing through it hours later — one definition leads to more definitions and then the origin of the word and "Oh, I didn't know that... what about...?"

That said, I would never be able to justify spending the kind of money it takes to buy a FreeWrite, especially since an Alphasmart Neo does the job AND allows you to edit that typo three lines up.

[AngryD]

Originally Posted by rcentros

Something like Freedom wouldn't work for me on a device capable of getting online, because, when I'm writing on a computer I'm in the habit of doing research as I go — even looking up the meaning of a word can send me on a three hour "journey." I used to look up a words in my dad's 1913 Webster's Unabridged (India paper) dictionary and would still be leafing through it hours later — one definition leads to more definitions and then the origin of the word and "Oh, I didn't know that... what about...?"

That said, I would never be able to justify spending the kind of money it takes to buy a FreeWrite, especially since an Alphasmart Neo does the job AND allows you to edit that typo three lines up.

Ha! I know that feel. I joke about being on Wikipedia and starting on "Emperors of Japan" only to look up four hours later from "History of Cufflinks" with a confused expression and no memory of how I got there.

All kidding aside, though, writing is a unique and individual process. Every person approaches it differently and has different requirements. My editor has to outline and write everything by hand on a clipboard like some kind of damn animal. Me, I wrote two non-fiction books entirely in MS Word, then switched to Evernote to write my first novel, and then switched to Scrivener for my follow on. You gotta do what works for you and if that means you buy a $500 e-ink typewriter, by all means don't let me talk you out of that.

Oh, and I'm the same way about researching as I go. I write martial arts fiction with a contemporary combat/military flavor, so if I'm discussing that a character is carrying a modern sniper rifle, I should probably know the basics about it.

[Moonbase59]

Originally Posted by Quoth

[…] I can type “ and ” using altGr v and b, also ‘ and ’ is Shift AltGr V and B.

The only thing I need special character input for are prime and double prime (hours, minutes, feet and inches). I could remap « and » as I don't write in French or other languages that use those as outer quotes. I even have Greek via Compose G <letter> or Compose g <letter> […]

I like people who care about good typography. It’s great to use Linux and a well-composed .XCompose file, isn’t it? I sacrificed my CapsLock for Compose btw.

My everyday keyboard (4 machines):

[Quoth]

I've been replacing Caps Lock with Compose for years. It was invented as Shift Lock because of the weight of a mechanical typewriter carriage. Makes no sense on a computer. There is little sense to Tab except to go to the next field in a form.

I suspect the Kobo Elipsa is good for distraction free writing and notes as the script/handwriting to text recognician is superb.

[GlenBarrington]

Originally Posted by Quoth

There is little sense to Tab except to go to the next field in a form.

Actually, it's quite useful in outlining and notetaking apps. I'm a fan of Taskade. The thing I've stopped paying for is the numeric keypad. It takes up room, and I never use it. I love the tiny-ish keyboards that result.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by Quoth

There is little sense to Tab except to go to the next field in a form.

I've been using the Tab key many times per day for decades for command and filename completion.

TSV is also far superior to CSV for field delimination.

(And going to the next field in a form or any input dialog without leaving the keyboard is justification enough for the Tab key.)

[Quoth]

Forgot about command line completion, which I did twice today!
I did agree that forms need it.

I've seen accountants use the numeric pad. But they could use add on ones (USB and wireless ones exist).