December 6, 2021

I've tried all kinds of techniques to facilitate and ease the writing process. From well-organized three-ring binders (quite awkward to carry around) to pocket-size notebooks (I constantly lost pens). Currently, I'm trying what I learned from Hugo Award Winner Connie Willis - composing early drafts with a pen (still misplacing) and yellow legal pad.

(Side story: I used to work at a Kinko's [now FedEx Office] near the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley where Ms. Willis was an instructor. It's a sad reality that a renowned, best-selling author had to supplement her writing by working the grind like the rest of us. Anyway, she was a regular customer and would purchase stacks of Kinko branded legal pads and grab as many free Kinko, blue ink pens as she could carry with which to write her first drafts. We even gave her a whole box of pens once as a gift, which she simply loved.)

But get this, there's a new product out. It's called a typewriter. An Astrohaus Freewrite Traveler Typewriter, to be specific. It allows an author to create anywhere without being encumbered by a heavy laptop, the internet, e-mails, games or any number of distractions to the writing process. All you can do with it is type and save. What a concept!

Snarky-ness aside, I kind of like the idea. It simultaneously appeals to my old school proclivities and attraction to shiny tech-gadgetry. Managing my time to write has always been a challenge and has become even more so of late, mostly due to an obsessive interest in guitars and music. Having a keyboard and screen small enough to fit into a backpack pocket readily available at any time is very appealing.

The downside is the price, so I don't see me getting one anytime soon. A cheap Chromebook could be bought for the same cost or less. Or one could invest in a lot of yellow legal pads and blue pens.

Gordon Gravley

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