Michael Jecks's Blog, page 13

Another Review: Pilgrim’s War

[image error]Many thanks to the Puzzle Doctor for a brilliant review!

Pilgrim’s War is the first in a new series, which is always a challenging book to write, but fortunately it’s getting some great reviews from professional reviewers. Many thanks to those who have enjoyed the book and taken the time to write about it!

You can read the review here.

 

 

Pilgrim’s War by Michael Jecks

A brilliant first review for Pilgrim’s War, and many thanks to Kate for reading the book and then being kind enough to put up such a strong commentary!

For winter nights - A bookish blog

Simon & Schuster | 2018 (8 February) | 552p | Review copy | Buy the book

It is March 1096 and the people of Sens in France gather to hear the crusading call of Peter the Hermit. The Holy City of Jerusalem is in the hands of the Saracens, the Christians within persecuted, the places and rituals of Christ forbidden. The Emperor of Constantinople and the Eastern Empire is begging for help from the west and, in return, the Pope has promised that the sins of all crusaders shall be forgiven. Among the crowds who hear the call there are many who stand up to follow it, including Sybille and her husband who sees earthly riches at the end of his pilgrimage, not heavenly ones. Likewise, brothers Odo and Fulk have their different reasons for taking the cross – Fulk sees opportunity and adventure while Odo feels the stirrings of…

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A New Year, A New Style

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This month’s reading for basics. Other books in the TBR pile!

Those who have kept up with my recent blogs will know that I have tried a number of different approaches in recent months.

First I had the brilliant idea of going to first principles and writing long hand with my fountain pens (thanks, Dante del Vecchio and Visconti), but although I was very keen on the idea, there is no doubt that it was a much slower method than my old one of simply typing things straight to computer, and I have to admit, I find that my thoughts and writing flow much better with a keyboard. Ideas and planning is better with a pen and paper, but actual writing, for me, is best on screen.

My new approach involves using my Astrohaus Freewrite. It will be much faster to type, and with luck the fact that I can take it with me everywhere will help. Not that I mean to take it to cafes or restaurants (that’s not time- or cost-effective), but the fact that I can sit here in my kitchen with the pup means I can do more writing, and that in itself is a big improvement.

If you’ve read my reviews, you’ll know that I absolutely adore my Freewrite. However, one thing that is not good about the Freewrite is the lack of a cover. The box it comes in is good, but the unit cost of a moulded plastic lid would be so tiny compared with the cost of the machine itself that I really do not understand why the clever chaps at Astrohaus don’t do it as a standard. Be that as it may, I’ll make a leather case when I get some time.

But before I can do that, I have a book to write. This one will be using the Freewrite as the main input device, my iMac as the editing machine using the latest version of Scrivener, and then Nisus Writer Pro to track changes and amendments coming back from the editor, copy editor and proof readers.

It’s going to be an interesting project. Wish me luck!

In the meantime, I have a new series starting shortly. PILGRIM’S WAR is the first in a gritty tale about the First Crusade. This first story tells the tale of the long march of the followers of Peter the Hermit. The next book will take us to the capture of Jerusalem, and subsequent stories will tell of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from the point of view of a Knight Templar. I hardly need say that I’m really looking forward to getting back into medieval mode!

PILGRIM’S WAR will be available from February 8th, but you can order your copy now. It’s in hardback first of all, so if you want a copy, put in your order soon. There’s only a limited print run, and I don’t want you disappointed!

After PILGRIM’S WAR, I have another book out in May/June, which will be the third in my BLOODY MARY series. As my readers know, this is my holiday series. Not for you to take on holiday, no. It’s for me. I haven’t had a holiday for a couple of years, and the nearest I get to it is writing a fun tale.

This series is more of a humorous romp, and for me, it’s a little relaxation after the harder effort of the Templar, Vintener and Pilgrim stories. Why? Well, the characterisation, plotting and research take as much effort, but the lead character is fun to write. It’s a bit like the difference between going to work and going to the pub. Jack Blackjack doesn’t feel like work (yet). He’s just a rather confused, slightly foolish man who’s been thrown into a nasty set of situations, and who is desperately trying to extricate himself at every turn.

The latest one is my first writing under the new regime. I have already written the main themes and planned the flow. Now all I have to do is write it! The past stories have been a blast to write, and have had me laughing out loud while writing. Hopefully this will be the same – and it’ll have the same impact on readers!

And that is about it for now. I have a lot of work to get on with, and two hounds who appear to be desperate for a walk now. So I’d best get on with things!

Happy New Year!

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Astrohaus Freewrite Give Away

[image error] This is a quick post about the Astrohaus Freewrite.

Those who have followed my occasional witterings in the last few months will be aware that I have developed a fixation with the Freewrite. I'm writing this on it now.

What do I love about the machine? It is robustly built from aluminium, with a keyboard that anyone who types a lot will adore. There is a load of memory - well, enough for many thousands of pages (in fact Astrohaus reckons "millions"). The main thing is, it is exceedingly simple to use. There is nothing to learn. Users do not need to clutter their minds with a load of instructions. Instead, you turn it on and type.

The downsides? Well, the machine is heavier than a tablet, it has no cover (which I think is a serious failing), and there is no editing. Literally none. The only means of editing is to backspace, deleting characters or words. And don't think that this little computer will allow you to email, put up tweets, log in to Facebook or any other form of work displacement activity. It won't.

Many people reckon the price is its biggest problem. With respect, I think that's bollocks. This machine costs some four hundred pounds or so. For me, that's good value. The alternative would be to buy a laptop. I could get a laptop for less money, but, and it's a big but, I'd then have to buy a decent keyboard. I'm a writer. I need a good quality keyboard. So I may save a hundred pounds by getting a cheap computer, but it wouldn't do the job as well, and it wouldn't work until I'd spent another hundred pounds for a keyboard. And then I'd have two boxes to lug around, rather than one.

Now, not everyone wants to use a second machine, I know. That's fine. Not everyone has the money to buy one of these devices. That too is fine - now! There is a special offer on from Astrohaus - two, in fact.

First, if you have an elderly AlphaSmart, apparently Astrohaus are offering you a fifty dollar trade-in. That would equate to a bit more than a twenty percent discount. Not too bad. There is a link to a form for it here.

They have also had a bit of a brain seizure. Like the original Model T, Astrohaus have stuck to a policy of "You can have any colour you want, so long as it's black". But now they've tested the water with a new colour: cream. It does look rather lovely. And they are giving one away.

Please note, I do not work with or for Astrohaus, and I'm not paid to market their gear. However, when I find a product or business that seems really good, I like to promote them Astrohaus has been a brilliant firm to buy from, and so I have no hesitation in putting them forward. And I do believe that this little typewriting toy is going to be a significant writing aid to any serious writer, be they novelists, playwrights, journalists or PhD students.

So, if you want to give one a go, entering their competition for a free one would be a good way to test the water. The link to the relevant page is here.

Again, I have nothing to do with these promotions. However, both to me look like good possible deals. The discount based on an old AlphaSmart is a good idea; the potential of a free limited edition machine is even better. So, try them for yourself!




Tagged: Astrohaus, author, book writing, creative, Freewrite, novelist, review, writing

Saving my Sanity!

I am indebted to my brother Clive for saving my sanity this month. [image error]

How, you ask? Good question.

You probably know already that I have written more than the average number of novels. 33 of them in my Templar series, I’ve a Hundred Years War trilogy, a Bloody Mary series, plus several collections, novellas and other bits and pieces. However, even with over forty novels written in my own name, all published by mainstream publishers, I would be grateful for a small percentage of what Dan Brown earned from one novel.

Yeah. You guessed it.

Am I jealous of his success? You bet. He did a great job of taking the main theme of The Holy Blood And The Holy Grail, invented a professor of ancient runes (or was that Terry Pratchett?) and launched himself to super stardom.

Have I read Da Vinci Code? Um – no.

No, it’s not because I’m a snob. There are very good reasons for an author not to read books from his or her genre. First there is the risk of accidental plagiarism, whereby the author unintentionally picks up on a theme and puts it down in a story thirty years later. Yes, these things do happen. As keen readers get older, ideas for new stories can strike them, and they write the ideas down without realising that the flash of inspiration comes from the book read many years ago.

Second, there is the constant demand on time. I can read perhaps one book every two months for pleasure. The rest of the time I’m reading books I’ve been asked to review, books I have to read for research, or books from aspiring authors who want my comments. The simple fact is, when you are self-employed and a writer, the opportunities for reading the books you want to read reduce alarmingly.

I was not sent a copy of Da Vinci Code to review, so I didn’t get to read it. I did pass it in bookshops and airports, but those times I already had reading material.

[image error]See? Nothing to do with snobbishness.

So, it was with a degree of excitement that I accepted a copy of Origin, Dan Brown’s latest.

This book is only the latest outing for Dan Brown’s hero. He has been contacted by a particularly brilliant ex-student, Edmond Kirsch, who has made a fabulous fortune out of predicting the future, inventing brilliant machines and computers, and capitalising on his innate genius.

However, he has written to the Professor with an invitation. He wants his old teacher and mentor to join him in Spain to see his presentation. It is to answer the most vital, important questions known to man. Already, although the professor doesn’t know it, this rather foolish ex-student has been in touch with the heads of three key Judaic religions, Roman Catholic Bishop Antonio Valdespino, Jewish Rabbi Yehuda Köves, and Islamic Imam Syed al-Fadl, and told them that his revelations will knock all their beliefs into a cocked hat. Well, who wouldn’t?

To add insult to injury, the atheist then agrees to give the religions some time to absorb his revelations – but they soon discover he was fibbing. He’s going to announce his discovery in only a matter of days. Shocking.

Okay, so I started reading. Slowly. The trouble is, I found myself incapable of falling into the normal state of happy disbelief-suspension that is so important for a fast-paced thriller. Partly it was the way that no noun was left without its adjectival partner. The breathless rush of prose was …well, it didn’t suit my reading style. The characters were pretty basic forms of mono-dimensional stereotyping, by job, by religion or by national prejudice.

All that, of course, could have been held together by a blinding plot.

So how did my brother save my life and sanity? He gave me a book called Crisis by Frank Gardner. No, I hadn’t heard of him either. [image error]

This book begins with a great action scene with a British spy in Colombia investigating a gang of narco terroristas. It is clear enough that the gang has a plan to avenge themselves on the countries that have started to wage war on their drug exports, and top of their list is Britain. But the spy is seen and captured.

In the absence of any clear information about how he died, beyond the fact that he was tortured, a specialist in Colombia is sought, and the Service finds Luke Carlton. He was ex-SBS and on secondment to MI-6 while he’s checked to see whether he can fit in. But he was born in Colombia, and speaks the language like a local. He’s sent.

This is a brilliant book. It’s fast-paced and well written by a BBC journalist who has been to the countries he writes about, and who has researched all the different aspects of his story in detail – not that you feel he’s preaching. He is a modern Frederick Forsythe, inventing believable, realistic characters and using every twist of his plot to bring out their natures.

At a time when we are all more concerned about rogue nations with their various weapons of Mass Destruction, this is an excellent story based on the very real threats posed by real psycopaths.

I can thoroughly recommend one of these two books – and it isn’t the Dan Brown.

And now I have finished American Gods by one of my heroes, Neil Gaiman. It’s a long book, but it is astonishing. Neil Gaiman has written many wonderful stories (I still tend to think of the best book of my 20s as being Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman). Neil has invented a story based on American life. It’s ironic, cynical, joyous and irreverent, and demonstrates Gaiman’s imaginative inventiveness to the full.

The basic idea is, that all the peoples who ended up in American brought their gods with them. Whether these were the gods of tribes from past millennia, gods of Vikings, gods of Rome, or more modern versions, they are all now vying for power (and therefore believers) in the modern digital age, with gods of electronics and communications.

I cannot do it justice in a brief review here. However, I strongly recommend it.

And now I have one book to finish writing (Templar Series, book number 33 called The Felon’s Pleader, to be published by Endeavour Ink), one book whose proofs I need to check, (Pilgrim’s War, out in February from Simon & Schuster), I have a painting I’ve been commissioned to paint (it’s a Christmas present, so it takes priority), and a book to write before the end of February (the next in my Bloody Mary series – Severn House have asked for two more) before I can crack on with the next project – which has got me really excited!

Meantime, at least now I can enjoy Jemahl Evans’s latest: This Deceitful Light. His last book, The Last Roundhead, was wonderful, and I’ve been looking forward to this on too.

Apologies. I would have a picture of Origin, but I’ve already disposed of the book; likewise, I would have a photo of Crisis, but it’s … well, it’s been tidied away somewhere. So instead, I’ve used some photos of my Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy.

Keep warm!

Tagged: Clive, Crisis, Frank Gardner, Jemahl Evans, Neil Gaiman, Origin, Terry Pratchett

Astrohaus Freewrite – Hipsters’ Bait or Worthy Device?

[image error]As readers of this blog will know, I’m an enthusiastic user of any form of technology that might help me work, whether by saving time or making me more efficient. In recent years I have tried returning to a slower, happier age by writing my books by hand. I have attempted to use typewriters, I have written with Windows machines, experimented with various software packages, tried out a new keyboard every two years, attempted working with ergonomic keyboards, worn out the keycaps on seven or eight keyboards in the last fifteen years … and haven’t really managed to improve on the old standby: a good Apple iMac and a keyboard with independently sprung keys.

But there are issues with this set up. I like to be able to move away from my desk on occasion: in the winter, it’s good to work in my sitting room. It has a log-burner, and I can heat that room while not spending money on the rest of the house during the day while it’s empty. More to the point, occasionally I have to go to London to meetings with agents and editors. Portability can be useful. In the past I have bought laptops, but I’ve never been able to use them much. At home, yes, they work. On a train – well, they don’t, really. For me a laptop is only a means of inputting words. It’s a typewriter. And laptops aren’t good for that.

An issue that has become more clear to me in recent weeks is that my brain (and potentially many others) is pretty binary in operation. Yes, I’m a bloke. I don’t multi-task all that well. If I am concentrating on writing a new story, and someone breaks my train of thought, it will take a significant time to return to the creative state. According to some research, it can take some 20 minutes to get the brain back into creative mode.

I know that when I started writing, I would always work through weekends, because I found that, if I were to stop typing on a Friday night, it would take much of the following week to read myself back into my story. I would have forgotten so many of my plot twists and linking characters.

But it’s worse than that. I have noticed that as I type, I will often spot a typo earlier on the page, and it gets to me. I can’t continue typing until I have corrected it. But to edit or amend my work requires that I stop typing and switch my brain into editing mode. Then I have to reset my brain to return to creating. It may sound a trivial example, but for me, as I try to type 5,000 words a day, it can be a significant disruption to my work.

This is why I was intrigued when first saw reports about the Freewrite from Astrohaus.

There have been many reviews of the Freewrite. Some positive, several scathingly negative. Few, it has to be said, complain about the general design, no, the complaints tend to be purely on the money.

The Freewrite is a logical design, very much like a typewriter. It has a robust-feeling casing of some kind of metal alloy, mostly aluminium, I think. There is a pair of screens, a red power button, and two selection switches, one which selects folders, the other which turns on wifi.

The upper screen is the main typing area. It is e-ink, which means no reflections, no headaches and the ability to read the screen from almost any angle. The lower screen gives administrative information – you can see how much battery there is remaining, or how many words you have typed, a timer, or confirmation that the machine is synching to your website of choice (I use Dropbox, but you can use Evernote and other connections). Below the two screens is the keyboard. This is just lovely. It is a lovely, old-fashioned keyboard using Cherry MX Brown keys that give a wonderful feel. If you are a touch typist, and have only ever used cheaper laptop-type keyboards, this will be a revelation.

The only other things to mention are that there is a USB connector at the rear, and a carrying handle. This USB is the newer style USB C – that is the same type that my Sony Xperia XZ phone uses. With that you can charge the Freewrite, or, if you don’t like to work on the wifi connection, you can use it to copy your work to your main computer.

So, those are the basics. How has it worked for me?

I got in contact with Astrohaus some weeks before, and they agreed to let me have a machine for review purposes. I was to be allowed to use if for two weeks, but I asked for double that, so I could give it a good hammering. They were good enough to agree.

[image error]It arrived in four days, which was a bit of a surprise. Usually post from the US takes a bit longer. It arrived in a well packaged box. The Freewrite was wrapped in plastic, with two strong plastic supports to keep it safe. That all sat inside a nice box with all the branding, which sat inside a brown box for posting. It was well protected, and the packaging was not excessive.

Pulling it out, I switched it on and began typing. There was a short learning curve which was not helped by the total lack of an instruction manual. Bearing in mind the cost of the device, a decent manual should be expected. Still, it was very intuitive, and I was soon typing merrily. I did have a slight problem with the wifi set up, but soon that was fixed and all was well.

I have found the machine to be the ideal size for me. In other posts I have mentioned that I have a MacBook Air, which was my primary travelling machine. I bought so that I could work on the train while going to meetings.

The MacBook is hugely portable. It is thin and beautiful, a real work of art. Aluminium case, glass screen, it attracts envy. But as a “Laptop”, it is dreadful. The screen, being glass, is heavy, and as soon as it is positioned on my lap at an angle where I can view it, I feel it will overbalance. Yes, full marks for being thin and beautiful, but zero marks for actual usability. The Freewrite is the right width to sit on my lap, and never wishes to overbalance. The screen is easy to read at any angle, so I can position the device almost anywhere.

I like the feel, weight and balance of the machine. It is an oddly delightful, tactile shape, and I often find my hands wandering over its curves as I think of the next sentences to type.

My experience with the Freewrite was not entirely faultless. As I mentioned, my first attempt to log into my wifi took a lot more effort than it should, but that is more due to my own incompetence with technology than anything to do with the Freewrite itself. However, a friend, who saw my earlier comments about the Freewrite and decided to buy one herself, had enormous troubles. This was finally resolved when she acquired a new wifi base station: the Freewrite works at a level of security that was considerably higher than her eight year old wifi box. Be aware that you may have a similar issue if your broadband provider hasn’t upgraded your wifi setup for a few years.

Another problem I had was with the way that the machine backed up.

To use a Freewrite, the user must have an account with Astrohaus’s proprietary cloud system, Postbox. As you type, your documents are synched with this, one way only, and sent to be stored on your Dropbox, Evernote or similar account. Sounds a bit of a malarky? Perhaps.

On the keyboard there is a “Send” key. This will not only sync the documents on the Freewrite with Postbox, it’ll also email the current document to you, with a PDF and text version of your document. Personally I found it was easier to just stick to using Dropbox for my own updates.

However, after a week I found that the backup was not synching properly. Although the wifi in my house was working fine, there was a glitch somewhere. I considered stopping using it for a while, since I couldn’t tell where the issue was, and didn’t want to lose thousands of words, but then I saw that all the documents were on the Freewrite still. They weren’t lost. I found I could use the USB to copy the files to my iMac too, so I decided to continue with my review, and I’m glad I did, because it showed how easy the transfer is.

Now, for writing, I will always draft in Scrivener, and then output to Docx or Word format to send files to my editors. For tracking corrections when they send back comments or copy edits, I use Nisus Writer Pro, which is fully compatible with Word. It keeps all the tracked comments and amendments.

With the Freewrite I have experienced no problems in importing documents into Scrivener or Nisus, apart from an occasional alteration in format. I just import the file I want, and then select my formats of choice (I have one, for example, which I call “Novel”, which sets up the character set, size, line-spacing etc).

[image error]The synching was a minor technical glitch. As soon as I could, I spoke to Freewrite. Their advice was to reset the machine by holding down the power button for 15 seconds. That did not lose a line of text, but reset the wifi, and since then it has operated faultlessly.

The operation of the machine is simple: beautifully simple. There are three folders, each selected by the left hand switch. Within each folder you can have many documents. I don’t know how many – just take my word that there are lots. You press the two red keys on the near, outside edges of the keyboard to create a new document, and then type. And quite literally, that is it.

There is no clever software to allow editing. There are not even any cursor keys. If you want to go back and edit, you have to use the “backspace” key. That means you delete everything up to the piece you wish to edit. Not ideal, you might think. Certainly it is one of the most common complaints raised about the machine. People say that the device is no good, because it’s a word processor that won’t even allow you to process words: all you can do is type them.

For me, as a full-time novelist and author, that is a big benefit. I can sit with this on my lap or on my desk, and type. There are no interruptions. I don’t look up and see a typo to fix. In fact, I rarely look further up the screen than the line I’m typing on. I want to have a space where I can be creative. All I want, really, is a typewriter – an electronic typewriter. I do not want all the bells and whistles that my MacBook Air contains. I have no need for a blasted spreadsheet or “GarageBand” app. I only want a glorified typewriter. Something that will allow me to type, but which I know I will find on my iMac to edit later.

What do I like about this machine?

I love the size, the design, the screen and the keyboard. In fact, I love the entire philosophy behind it. But let’s be realistic, what really sings for me is the keyboard. It is smooth, slightly rattly, and just a joy to type on. When I compare it with my two Apple keyboards with their beautiful appearance and bluetooth connectivity … well, the Apples are both going on ebay shortly. If I have a niggle, it is that the keys are Cherry MX Brown keys, not my favourite, which are the MX Blue models. The difference? The Blues give a little sensory “click” as I press down on them. They are much like the early 1980s IBM keyboards for the DisplayWrite word processor and the early PCs. The keys travel some 2mm, click as the depression is registered, and then can move another 2mm. Unlike keys on cheap keyboards, each key has its own spring. Usually nowadays keyboards are designed with a sheet of rubber under the whole keyboard. That is fine for occasional users, but if you type a lot, it is not good.

The Freewrite keys are smoothly progressive without the tactile sensation. Don’t get me wrong, this keyboard is infinitely better than any keyboard I have ever used on a laptop or most desktop computers, but it’s not my personal favourite, that’s all. Cherry MX Blue keys are the ones I’d get if it were possible. I did mention this to Astrohaus, but apparently the cost of a different model is a bit beyond them at present. Watch this space, I guess.

What do I dislike about it?

Well, it’s a fair amount of money. For the cost, I would like to have seen a case for it. My old manual typewriters from the 1980s have rigid cases to protect the keyboards. I really would expect something similar on this.

Um. Nope. That really is it.

You see, the thing is, it is next to impossible to explain just what exactly is so stunningly good about this device. I had that moment of blankness while I was trying to explain it to my wife.

“What is it?”

“Well, it’s a computer.”

‘You’ve got two of them.”

“Yes, but this isn’t as powerful.”

“Right.”

“I mean, it won’t do facebook or Twitter  or anything.”

“Can’t you turn them off anyway?”

“Um.”

And that is the point. Yes, this is a computer that has been specifically designed to stop you doing things that have always been the preserve of computers. It is a chunk of metal with a screen and keyboard. And it’s some four hundred pounds (by the way, it doesn’t seem to have a pound sterling sign, which I’ll have to mention to them).

Four hundred. That is a lot of money, right? Sure. It’s many, many book sales at the rate I’m paid. So it’s a stupid idea, right?

No. If you are an accountant, yup, this is not the right tool. You want a computer that will, stunningly, be able to run spreadsheets. If you are a designer, you will want something with better graphics and, perhaps, colour. If you are a keen businessman, you’ll probably want to have a machine that will allow emails.

But this machine is not designed for you! To say that a Freewrite is a poor device because it won’t do these things is like saying a chainsaw is a rubbish machine because you wanted something to make you coffee. Yes, the chainsaw is no good for you. It doesn’t mean that it’s not good for the purpose for which it was designed.

I am a writer, and have been a professional novelist for some 23 years. I have tried many devices to make my life easier, to speed up my writing, or just to make the process more enjoyable. This is the very first device I’ve ever used that ticks every box. It is a truly effective device for inputting words and helping me to type up my books. Not only does it achieve that with efficiency and elegance, it is also something that I can turn to in a few moments of peace, turn on, and be typing in seconds. It is quick and a delight to type on.

Yes, it is no good at editing. It is not a replacement for my iMac. It is not supposed to be. It is a replacement for my laptop, though. The laptop is now redundant. This is so much more effective. I need a simple, uncomplicated writing environment. I do not need spreadsheets, presentation software, email, and all the other bells and whistles that come with a MacBook Air and other computers.

In fact, I not only do not want them, they actively distract me from the job that pays my living: writing.

So, if you are not a writer, if you don’t want to write professionally, then don’t buy one of these: go and buy a different computer.

Now, I have spoken to several people who reviewed the Freewrite. I was surprised, when I first started looking into the machine, to learn that reviewers such as Jenny Judge, a Guardian journalist, have bought their own. I was sent my machine as a review model. I was very grateful to be able to borrow it for a whole month. Yes, Freewrite let me have this machine for a month. The time flew by.

A friend recently asked how I got on with it. I think you can guess that I rather enjoyed the experience. However, after the month was up the machine had to go back…

Except it hasn’t. I came to the conclusion that there was little point in Astrohaus getting this back and ordering another. So I have bought this one. It is here, and yes, it cost about four hundred pounds. And yes, it is a lot of money. It is also thoroughly good value. It does the job I need and it’s less than half the price of a MacBook Air. It may cost more than a number of cheaper computers – but this is a piece of quality equipment. The keyboard alone makes it worth more than most laptops.

So, if you want to know what I think about the Freewrite – I highly recommend it. I have to. I bought it.

But I do need to find the pound sign!

The King Of Thieves by Michael Jecks

Another very generous review from the excellent Puzzle Doctor!

In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel

1325 and danger is lurking everywhere. Sir Hugh Despenser, the power behind the throne of Edward II, has found a way to get even with his enemies, Sir Baldwin de Furnshill and Bailiff Simon Puttock, by striking at their very homes. But Baldwin and Simon are about to be dragged away from protecting their families – Edward’s son is to be sent to France to try and negotiate a peace and to help persuade Edward’s wife to return to England, and Baldwin and Simon are to accompany him.

But danger is awaiting on the streets of Paris. A stranger has been murdered in the Louvre itself and a power struggle has begun in the Parisian underworld. The King of Thieves has an uprising on his hands and bodies are surfacing left, right and centre. As Baldwin arrives in Paris, he finds himself pulled into the investigation. But when the finger…

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Astrohaus Freewrite – Two Weeks In!

Okay, this is about the half way stage. Almost two weeks ago, Astrohaus were generous enough to let me have a Freewrite to test and review. When I first received it, I was very happy, mainly because it looked good and felt delightful to type on (if you want the original review, it’s here). So how does it strike me now, almost two weeks later?

A little history, then: I acquired this loan Freewrite with the aim of giving it a good run for its money. I am in the middle of writing a book, and it’s a good time to try out the device in a “live” working environment. Astrohaus were kind enough to offer me a trial of the machine for a month so I can give it a good hammering. It is getting just that. I’m currently up to about 5,000 words a day on it.

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The puppy – also known as the Alligator or Tiny Terrorist!

At the same time, more or less, my family and I picked up a Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy. She was 8 weeks old, and sleeping moderately well through much of the day, but had to be monitored. Puppies do things as soon as they wake up, and I don’t like cleaning up. In two weeks she has suddenly become a more wide-awake little hound, which means that for me, to go and sit at my desk is just not feasible. Which gives me a perfect opportunity to test the portability and effectiveness of this little device.

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That’s the Freewrite on top of my MacBook!

I say “little” with good reason. My normal laptop is a beautiful little Apple MacBook Air, which is incredibly thin and measures about 11.75 by about 7.75 inches. It may be about 0.75 inches high at the thickest point. I think it weighs in at about two pounds. It is ridiculously beautiful and tiny. The Freewrite is nearer 11.75 by 9.5 inches, and is much deeper. It’s about 2.5 inches high at the back and 1-1.5 inches at the front (without or with the height of the keys). It weighs at least double – about four and a half pounds.

MacBook Airs are gorgeous. I am on my second. The first suffered an undignified death dealt by my teenaged daughter, who discovered that glasses of water and computers do not mix well. I knew I would need another. It is delightful, light, compact, and highly functional. In essence it will do about everything my iMac on my desk will do, but in a portable package. The only problem is, what I really want is a simple typewriter. I want something that I can type on when I have to go away on signing tours or when I’m sitting on a train. I don’t need email and all the other comms stuff. That is all on my phone already.

Which means, all in all, my MacBook is a hideously expensive typewriter. Still, just looking at the size, the MacBook wins – it is more portable.

Well, yes – and no. It isn’t.

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There’s no denying Apple invent pretty machines.

The MacBook will fit into a backpack. But so will the Freewrite. The Apple has a good, flat, level keyboard to keep it so thin. The Freewrite has an old-fashioned, individually-sprung keyboard. The keys move farther – up to 3/16ths of an inch (4mm), although each key registers at 3/32nds of an inch (2mm). This means it is infinitely more comfortable to use while, as I am now, standing at a kitchen counter to keep an eye on the puppy through the window. This worktop is 35 inches high. I can type here on the Freewrite at my usual speed. The MacBook keyboard is brilliant – but it needs to be higher – a good foot higher – for my fingers to hit the keys comfortably. It is something to do with the Apple needing my forearms to be near to horizontal. With real keys like those on the Freewrite, it feels easier to type with my arms well off horizontal.

Further, if I sit in a chair with the Apple, the weight of the screen makes it ungainly and uncomfortable to use. I am always aware that it rocks with each keystroke, as though it’s about to tip over backwards. This Freewrite, with its lack of a tall, glass screen, is a great deal more ergonomic because it has a low centre of gravity; it rests on my thighs easily and is stable when typing. I have, for the first time in my life, taken to typing up new stories while sitting on comfortable chairs (one is an ancient, low nursing chair that is getting a new lease of life), or at the kitchen counter. I simply could not do this before with my Apple laptop.

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Beautiful and usable.

So, for portable usability the Freewrite wins hands down.

What about the other side of things? The Freewrite is only an electronic typewriter, after all. People who deride it complain most of the fact that it’s just a “word processor”. I have news for them. They are wrong. It is not a WP box. I should know: I sold tons of dedicated word processors in the 1980s, from Olympia systems to Wordplex and then Wang Laboratories. After that I used Word Perfect, Word and now Scrivener. I know what a word processor is – and this isn’t one.

A dedicated word processor will have a dedicated keyboard with words like “Delete” and “Insert”; it’ll have cursor keys; it’ll have a big disk; it’ll have the ability to print your letters after you’ve formatted your words in the way you want.

The Freewrite doesn’t have any of these: not even cursor keys. It cannot print directly from the machine, and it doesn’t format. In terms of deleting I cannot, for example, go to the top line on my screen and delete a word. If I want, I can backspace and delete any number of letters, words or lines, but only from the end. It’s like using a correction tape on a typewriter. All this box does is allow the author to write. Forwards. Like a stream of consciousness? If you want, yes. Personally, I plan which scene I’m going to write, and then write it.

How do I get to edit my work? As I type, the Freewrite saves my words, but also sends a copy over the web (yes, it does have wifi). My scenes appear in my Dropbox, Evernote or other account, and I can open the file straight from there and copy it into Scrivener. If I want, I will open it straight into Nisus Writer Pro. If it’s an article like this, it goes there. Book scenes go straight into Scrivener. From that stage it’s a case of editing like normal.

I have always written forwards, scene by scene. The Freewrite works perfectly for that. I am finding that I can write faster (a function of the keyboard, the lack of interruptions and the comfort of working where I want) and if anything I am writing as effectively as ever. The most common problem at first draft is silly typos, but they can be fixed in the WP editor on my iMac.

Some complain that this is hideously expensive for a machine without email, internet, communications or anything else. It’s a piece of “Hipster Bait”. Reviewers have pointed out that a sensible person could buy a new laptop, a tablet, or even a phone for this price. They reckon that only wealthy, aspiring authors in Islington or Greenwich Village will want to buy one – because of the street cred they’ll win when they turn up at the local Starbucks with something looking so funky.

Yeah, right. I’m a “hipster”. It’s a device simply to make me feel good. It’s for street cred.

No. That kind of comment says more about the reviewers than the product. The people who denigrate this machine are missing the whole ruddy point, and I can only assume are not professional writers. I am. This device is designed to help authors like me. It does so by removing all frills and unnecessary bloatware. It is a computer cut back to the bare minimum for drafting new work.

What does this mean?

To me, it means the Freewrite does not have stuff I don’t use, don’t want, and have no need for. I do not want spreadsheets, email, or web-browsing on my main computer. Almost any professional author with money will already have two computers, one for writing on which has nothing, NOTHING, that could get close to the internet. We cannot afford a hacker, a trojan, a virus or a moronic Apple programmer having a bad day. Things that would be bloody irritating to the average user would, for me, represent a catastrophic business failure. I once lost over 40,000 words on a book. That was a disaster. When you are writing to tight deadlines, so your publishers can get your manuscript to copy editors and proof readers on time, so that the book can go to the printers in that brief window they allocated for you, suddenly having to rewrite a third of the novel is a calamity.

This little device has become my goto input machine. I can rely on the fact that it is vanishingly unlikely that the thing will fall over because of a glitch caused by an operating system being altered to suit a specific application. And I’m not taking a pop at Apple – I had infinitely more problems with Windows before I moved to Apple. But the fact is, the more things that the computer is designed to do, the worse it will be at something. A phone may be superb at calls, messaging, certain games – but then it’ll have a less good camera; another may have brilliant camera tech, but be rubbish at surfing the web. Nothing can excel at everything. And that is why this simple little device is so good. It is designed to give authors a fast, effective means of inputting words to produce a novel. And at that it excels.

Is it worth the money? Can you justify it?

For people who are looking for their first ever machine and who can only afford one device – no, it isn’t. If you want to write a novel, or a bunch of short stories, or even a letter, you still need a conventional computer. Although I am using this Freewrite, I still need my iMac. That machine has Scrivener, my writing software of choice (which is the best software for writers, bar none); it has Nisus Writer Pro, because when editors send me manuscripts with all their corrections, amendments and suggestions, Nisus allows me to see their remarks and track their changes. I also, ahem, have my email and other interesting packages on it. So no, if you can afford only a single device, this isn’t for you.

[image error]However, if you can afford it, if you are a professional writer, I would heartily recommend this. It is ridiculously easy to use. I find that I will fire it up for brief writing sessions of 10-15 minutes simply because it is so quick to turn it on and start writing. My iMac takes time to wake up. Okay, the MacBook Air is fast – but that’s so damn uncomfortable to use. This Freewrite is infinitely better.

It is more comfortable to use. It works as a genuine laptop for authors, which is not the case for normal devices. And the best thing of all, is that it is utterly hopeless at work displacement activities. You cannot go to a new screen to look at photos of little Johnny on Facebook, or quickly check an email from a delightful young lady from Russia who is seeking love, or a shady Nigerian banker whose multi-million client has sadly died and would you help repatriate some of his money – it is precisely because it is designed for the one function and one function only, that it is quickly becoming my essential tool for drafts.

So let’s just think about the money side.

Is it expensive?

This thing is £390 or so. I’d assume it’ll last at least 3 years, so £130 a year. In that time I would expect to write 9-10 books, so it’ll cost about £40 per book. I think that’s a reasonable investment because I think that this device will make the writing so much more straightforward. And I expect it to last considerably longer – nearer 5 years would be my guess.

VAT will be charged on top – that’s fine, I am registered for VAT and this is definitely a business expense, so I can claim that back, as well as offsetting the cost and transport. Of course other authors may not be VAT registered, so cannot claim it back, so let’s just assume that this thing will cost about £500. Yes, that is a fair sum of money. However, what else will you buy? A MacBook Air, at about £1,000, or a MacBook Pro at  about £1,500? For someone who really intends to write, it would make more sense to buy a Chromebook and a Freewrite. Chromebooks need not cost more than £200 or so – so you could have the Freewrite and a computer for less than £700. And you will have a great writing environment.

I have another couple of weeks to use this device. And then, I think, I’ll have a problem. Because I will have to send it back.

That will not be easy. I think I will have to buy one.

Tagged: Apple, Astrohaus, dedicated word processor, Freewrite, MacBook, MacBook Air, novelist, novels, typewriter, word processor, writing

Review: THE GOLDEN AGE OF MURDER, by Martin Edwards, published by Harper Collins 2015

Review: THE GOLDEN AGE OF MURDER, by Martin Edwards, published by Harper Collins 2015

ISBN: 978 0 00810596 9

I regularly get copies of books to review. In fact, rather too many. I currently seem to have a bit of a glut – probably because I’ve fallen behind with a lot of work recently and reading has to take second place to writing. Only recently I was joking with a friend that I rarely get the chance to read anything for pleasure – in fact I couldn’t remember picking up any book for pleasure since May.

That is why, when a book arrives that is so stupendously good that it’s almost impossible to put it down, not only is it a joy to read, it’s also a worrying distraction from my own work.

This is one such book.

I should first say, that I do have a personal  interest. I am a member of the Detection Club, and Martin Edwards is the President. So I have the twin conflicts of interest.

However, as those who know me and know my reviews here on Writerly Witterings, are aware, I have some firm rules. I never review for money (Chance would be a fine thing) and I never lie. If I dislike a book, I will not review it. This isn’t enormous kindness, it’s simple logic: the fact a novel doesn’t appeal to me doesn’t mean it won’t work for someone else. I personally haven’t read a book by Patricia Cornwell that I liked, but that doesn’t affect the view that others have of her work.

Still, if I choose to write a book review, it is because I have a genuine liking for it and I want to share that with other people.

So, The Golden Age of Murder.

This is not a novel, but a work of detailed non-fiction. It is sub-titled The Mystery of the Writers Who Invented the Modern Detective Story”. Martin once told me that the book came about because he heard that the records of the Club’s beginnings had been lost during the Blitz. Sadly the Club had also sold off a set of unimaginable treasures: the club’s own library. I imagine that would have included a series of personally signed first editions, but also books on toxicology, forensic pathology, and a number of other fascinating subjects. It’s very sad to think how much has been lost.

However, Martin, on joining the Club, decided that he would try to track down some of the original documents, the archives of other Members, and begin to build a history of the Club. It helped that he was soon asked to become the Club’s archivist. The task was a challenge, but at least he had the Club’s backing. Soon, however, he began to unravel puzzles about the early Members.

He knew about Agatha Christie’s disappearance and sudden reappearance, but before long he was discovering puzzles about the other members. “I quickly discovered far more puzzles, especially about Christie and other early members of the Club, than I expected. I began to question my own assumptions, as well as those of critics whose judgements were often based on guesswork and prejudice.”

Martin travelled widely over the UK and beyond. He had to visit America and remote libraries in Australia, Japan and beyond, questioning relatives of long-dead members. Often he discovered darker secrets than he had anticipated. Occasionally, according to his foreword, he was forced to leave matters alone, when his enquiries seemed likely to cause distress. But at the end of it, he had enough material for this book.

The book itself set out to depict the Club itself, how it was formed and how its fortunes waxed and waned. But it is a lot more than that. Martin has managed to capture the period. It was a time when crime and thriller writing was in its infancy. The war had not long concluded, and many of those involved in writing crime stories had seen enough death and destruction. I well remember my “Uncle Albert” (both my grandfathers died when I was a toddler, sadly), who had lost friends and relations in the hell of the First World War. He never spoke to us of his experiences, sadly. Ever wondered why depictions of murder scenes in “golden age” crime stories tended to be mild and non-bloody? As Martin points out, those writing these books had no desire to remind people of the horrors of death. Modern crime writers go to the opposite extreme. In our cosseted society, people are looking for the thrill of the gory, as in the 1970s they used to turn to horror.

However, just because a writer chooses not to exploit what has been called the “pornography of death” doesn’t mean that they don’t have an interest in murder, the causes of it and the impacts on other people.

Agatha Christie, Dorothy L Sayers and Anthony Berkeley, and the other members of the Club, had a fascination with murder, but also the tricks and mental gymnastics involved in finding a killer. While they delighted in toying with a reader, they also looked to actual events and details of investigations and court cases to inform their plots.

More than that, as Martin shows, the Members of the Detection Club used their own experiences to inform their works. So much is known about some of these writers, and yet there is so much that is as mysterious as any story their wrote.

Martin has brought these members to light in a wonderfully imaginative way. His book looks at the individuals, at their petty arguments, at the period and at the quality of their writing, but he does so by treating the book as a crime investigation in its own right. This is not a dry, historical tale, but a glorious celebration of fascinating lives, what drove them, what inspired them, and what destroyed not a few of them.

I’d rank this, so far, as the best book I’ve read this year.

Tagged: Agatha Christie, Detection Club, Dorothy L Sayers, Golden Age of Murder, Martin Edwards

Time For An Old-Fashioned Computer – The Freewrite from Astrohaus

Today I am writing on a new device.[image error]

It is a machine that has polarised opinions. I have read that it is “the Ultimate” word processor, that it is a waste of money, that it is “impractical and overpriced”, an example of how “not to do software”, that it is the best writing environment for professional writers, and “pretentious hipster nonsense. It is the Freewrite.

I am fortunate enough to have been loaned one to test for a month, for which many thanks to Astrohaus and Adam Leeb. In that time I’ll use it extensively, and I’ll report on how it works, how I use it, what the software is like, how long the battery lasts, and all the other little quibbles. I hope you enjoy it – and if you have any questions, do please let me know. I’m not a genius when it comes to technology. At the end of the day I am a professional user, not a professional reviewer, so if you think there’s something I should have a look at, I’ll be delighted to hear from you.

So, before I tell you what it is like, what exactly is it?

From talking to one of the driving forces behind it, Adam Leeb, I think I’ve got the main story pretty much straight.

The Freewrite is a device for writers, pure and simple. It was thought up because the guys  behind the idea had the feeling that writers were too often being distracted. They would settle down to write, but before they could type a word on their computers, they would have to respond to emails, Tweets, Facebook messages, or any number of other social media notes. Then, when they finally managed to sit down to type, they would be bombarded by interruptions. Computers generate interruptions like nothing else. People send emails in case other would like to know something, or, more often, because someone is keen to in share their problems, otherwise known as CYA: “covering your arse.”

While looking at the history of other authors, the guys behind the machine discovered the age-old dictum that an author should write fast, and edit at leisure. It’s not a new concept. It’s the way that writing has been conducted for centuries – but somehow in the age of computers it’s been forgotten. Now we’re all multi-taskers and need to write, edit and proof as we type. Computers are designed to allow us to do everything. If I want to type using Word, I even have to buy a blasted spreadsheet, presentation package and other applications too. I don’t want them. I want only WP. I refuse to pay a small fortune for the packages I won’t use, so OFFICE with all its clever stuff remains in the shop. I bought the excellent Nisus Writer Pro instead.

However, the clever folks at Astrohaus decided that their concept should be how to separate the functions of writing. If they could only create a good drafting machine, they thought, they would have a winning product. Write Fast; Edit Later: breaking down the author’s job into two functions is the main issue that the Freewrite was designed to address.

The inventors got a Kickstarter project underway, called the project the “Hemingwrite” – in honour of Ernest Hemingway – and suddenly they found that they were inundated with investors keen to possess one of their retro-looking machines.

So, what is the Freewrite/Hemingwrite?

In essence it is a computer that is designed to operate like a typewriter. That means the device takes minimalism to a new height.

[image error]There is a delicious metal casing in black (as they say, you can have any colour you want, so long as it’s black, just like Henry Ford). At the top there is a keyboard, two selector switches, a power button and two screens. At the front, and on either side there is precisely … nothing. At the rear there is a USB 3 connector for charging and connecting to your computer, as well as a handy carrying handle. Since you pick up the machine regularly, the handle and cut-out is surprisingly useful. The handle is slightly sprung, so as you put it down, the handle slowly rises and hides itself. Neat!

Underneath there is a white plastic plate with four soft, anti-slip rubber feet that work surprisingly well. Being made of metal it does have a bit of weight behind it – I think it’s about 1.9 kilogrammes – but it doesn’t feel too heavy in the hand or on the lap – and it does not move at all when you put it on a desk or table.

The plate of white on the bottom has had a lot of comments from people. They say that it is unpleasant, cheap-looking, and tacky. I have to disagree. I think it acts like a coachwork-painted line on a high quality car. It adds a little detail to a beautifully proportioned device.

So, to describe it, let’s look at it from above first.

There is a metal button top left. This is the power switch. Looking at it in photos, I have assumed that this was an “icky” plastic button. It isn’t. It’s a metal, slightly glittery button. A nice detail.

On either side are two retro-looking three-way switches. On the left there is one labelled “Folder”, with A, B, C underneath it. On the right the switch is labelled “wifi”, and has “Off”, “On”, and “New”.

The first provides for folders, so, for example, I am typing this in folder “C”. “A” is being used for my current work in progress, which is the thirty-third novel in my Templar series (I had to put in a plug, yes). The second folder is being used for notes and synopsis for my next project, which will be my forty-second novel. Initial scenes are being typed in that too. The third folder is for everything else. Although there are three folders, this is a simple system for classifying your work: within each folder you can have multiple documents. It’s simple, but very effective. Simplicity is key when you are writing. Complexity is a pain because it means you have to learn or work out things, and that distracts from creative writing.

The wifi switch is pretty self-explanatory. Off means off, on means on, and new means you have an opportunity to connect to a new network.

So, that’s the basic stuff. Now to the meat.

First, the two screens.

[image error]Both are e-ink, like e-readers. This is good because it means you can read them from really extreme angles. I have tested this by lifting up the Freewrite and holding it so that the base is perpendicular to my line of sight. Even then I can read the slightly angled screen, which is pretty astonishing. This means that the screen needs no opening or tilting mechanism, which so often leads to failures with laptops. Being e-ink it also means that the screen can be read with ease in broad daylight. The Freewrite is a truly portable, use it in daylight, kind of device. If you like to type in the dark, the screens are lit.

The uppermost screen is the main typing screen. This is where your purple prose will appear. It gives you ten lines of text. The lower screen is a toggle screen for information. It gives a clock, either analogue or digital, a timer, a confirmation of your synching service (Evernote, Dropbox etc) and your email, a wordcount with total characters and a “Reading Time” measure. There is, I believe, other information here too, such as battery life but I haven’t found that yet.

So much for screens. Finally there is the true delight of this machine, which is the keyboard.

If you have read my previous posts, you will know that I have a new Filco keyboard, which has fabulous, wonderful and loud clattery Cherry MX keys. The Filco has the Cherry MX Blue keys, which are tactile. As the key actuates, which is after roughly two millimetres of travel, the operator can feel a little “click”. It is much like the best keyboards of the 1980s and 90s. The keyboard of the Freewrite is also made up of Cherry MX keys, but these are the “Brown” models. Each key moves beautifully, making a subtle sound as you type, and I firmly believe that these individually sprung keys will save your fingers from repetitive strain injuries. For me, the Freewrite keys are not as good as those on my Filco, because I love their tactile nature, but they are so infinitely better than the keys on a modern laptop or  a cheap keyboard where the keys are sprung on a sheet of rubber, that I don’t care. It’s a tiny, tiny detail. Mind you, if there is any possibility of having Cherry MX Blues on a future device, my cheque will be in the post.

So there you you have it. A keyboard, a screen, and some simple electronics with a battery.

[image error]When it arrived on Monday, it was a pleasure to unpack. There was a large brown box, inside which was a second box, covered with a clear plastic bag. Inside the branded box was the machine, carefully installed between two expanded polystyrene-like wedges. Underneath was the minimal instruction manual (I do mean minimal) and a package containing the charging cable. Usually, I think, it’s expected that the machine will be charged via your computer. Personally I have USB compatible sockets in the house, and this charged fine from them. Not that I needed to. It was fully charged on arrival. I took it out and it made me grin. It just felt so damn good!

What is so good about it?

Well, forget the snazzy looks, if you like. The fact is, I’ve just typed 1,132 words on it. It’s taken about half an hour. Yes, half an hour. I’m not the world’s best typist, but the fact is, this thing is a joy to use. It’s easy, the keys are brilliant, and it’s easy on the eyes. I have been typing on my lap, and that is an absolute shocker. Why? Because I cannot type on my lap normally. I adore my MacBook Air, but I cannot use it to write on. I find it is not comfortable when on a desk, because of the keyboard being so flat, and I’ve not found any laptop that works actually on my lap. The weight of the screen makes the computer badly balanced. Yes, I know other people think they’re fine. Perhaps it is just me. Whether it is or not, this Freewrite has a better balance to it. Because the whole device sits lower, and the centre of gravity is low, it is a great deal more comfortable to use. It will, I suspect, be much more useful on trains or at cafes than my Apple for that reason.

But this lovely box has won a vast number of enemies. Interesting.

The classic was a ridiculous review on Mashable, written as a discussion between two ladies who were shocked to learn that the Freewrite was priced at nearly $500. Yes, $500. As they so perspicaciously noted, it would be possible to buy a computer for that. Wow. A computer with word processing software. Something with Facebook on it. Something that would do lots of things pretty well, not one  thing. You could use your machine to look at Facebook or Twitter, for example.

Sheesh!

They did not understand the basic concept behind this device – nor did they bother to go and test one. Perhaps they asked and weren’t offered one, and that led to some bad feeling – I don’t know – but their review was daft. You cannot review equipment without touching and testing. And you cannot review something designed for professional writers unless you are a professional writer. Others have sneered, pointing out that there are better devices. Such as the Alphasmart Neo, for example. They aren’t being made any more, but that means you can pick one up for $25 on Amazon or ebay, apparently. They don’t have a decent keyboard, nor a particularly usable screen, but they are cheap, reviewers say.

However, the most common complaint levelled at the Freewrite is almost always the shocking discovery: there is no editing function.

You did read that right, yes. There is no editing. Whatsoever.

Okay, I lie. This thing has a typewriter keyboard, so you do have a backspace. You can delete letter by letter, or word by word, if you like. But in the main, you cannot edit. This device is not meant to be a word processor in the way that people have come to expect them. It is a true drafting tool. There are no arrow keys, no “insert” or “delete” keys. It is minimalist in the best possible way.

Why is this?

When I was tutoring students at Exeter University a little while ago, I read that for people who were working in offices, an interruption of their thought processes would mean the worker would need to take about fifteen minutes to get back into the mindset they had been in. A phone call, a colleague poking her head round the door, an email, would all have that impact.

Recent research seems to suggest that creatives suffer more. It is commonly more like twenty minutes for writers, for example.

[image error]The Freewrite is designed to free the author so that they can write. The entire, sole purpose is to give the writer a tool that will enable him or her to create a draft quickly and easily. And it does exactly that.

Why not have editing modes?

The purpose, as I say, is to allow the writer to write; to move forward with the story. Now, I know authors (I’m one) who will write, notice a typo six lines up, and go back to edit it. My commonest errors are “teh” for “the” and “adn” for “and”. I type, I notice the mistake, and I go back to correct it.

But I believe that creative writing uses one section of the brain, the imaginative, dreamy side, while editing makes use of a different section, an administrative, bureaucratic area. The two are entirely divorced from each other. Thus, every time while I am trying to create a new story and see a typo, my brain switches from one gear to another and my train of thought is derailed. I can feel it happening, and I can feel the creative urge being pushed to the background each time. It slows me down.

This is a machine designed to save the author from that mistake. It makes the author focus, and already I can feel its power. It works, it really works.

How does a writer justify a tool like this?

Well, I have a fantastic, beautiful Apple iMac. I have a MacBook Air. I have an iPad (although my daughter appears to have pinched it), but none of them is as good as this little box. I cannot write in the great outdoors. I need my office, with my books, my notes, my white board; they all act as my writerly comfort blanket. But with the Freewrite, I can sit in a different chair, and the different position leads to different thoughts. I can be free to be more creative.

No, the Freewrite is not a cheap device. But it is a damn sight cheaper than my MacBook Air. And the simple fact is, my Air is nothing more than a glorified typewriter. Yes, it will do much more, but I don’t need it to and nor, in fact, do I want it to. I do not want interruptions from someone on Facebook asking how long it takes me to write a novel, someone on Twitter telling me that they are launching a new book, or an email telling me that a very pretty young Russian lady would like to meet me. I want my computer to be a typewriter that will store my words as I type – and nothing more. The MacBook Air is not good for that. It is not as comfortable, as effective, nor as well designed for me, as a writer, as this little box.

As I said, I have not purchased this machine. I have been loaned it for four weeks by Adam Leeb and Astrohaus, the manufacturers of the Freewrite, in order to bash out as many words as I can so that I can give it a realistic review. However, after only three days of use, I can easily imagine that I will be saving up for one. It is that good.

Okay, I mentioned the Alphasmart Neo. Loads of people have said, “Why go Freewrite when the Alphasmart is so much cheaper?”

I need to explain why it isn’t in the same league.

No, it’s not the cost, although that does come into it. You see, the things are cheap now, because they are discontinued. The price is so low because the stock is old, refurbished or second-hand, I imagine. That means to me that it’s likely to be unreliable. Perhaps they will work okay for some years. Perhaps. I cannot afford for my writing to be delayed by a failing machine that won’t work.

Alphasmarts and other computers also permit editing; I don’t want that. They have Liquid Crystal screens with three or four lines of text showing; I don’t think that will work too well for me. They have a keyboard … ah, and it’s a standard modern type, I am guessing, with a layer of rubber on which the keys all sit, and which make a connection when you press down on each.

I have seen and played with the Alphasmart at events in the US while on signing tours, and I didn’t like them. It’s probably me, and my old age, but I found the base slippery on my lap, and – well, just the wrong shape and too light. It didn’t sit on my lap comfortably while I typed. It was very much a note-taking device for students at college or university, rather than a machine to be used for extended periods of typing.

That is why the Freewrite is so good. It is a computer designed for me, as a writer. It is a comfortable, elegant solution to the problems that authors suffer from. It will not allow me to edit, to access email, to send tweets or post social media comments, nor to distract myself by dipping into Quora or Wikipedia. It is a glorified typewriter, and that is all, permitting me to use that superb keyboard (although I’d prefer clickier keys) and screen to move my story onwards.

It is actually the computer I’ve been looking for all my writing life. It’s wonderful.

Now, that is the first section of my review. I’ll be posting about the different aspects of the machine over the next few weeks as I get time, and will put up an end of the review post as well. Do please let me know if there’s something you’d like me to write about. I’ll be only too happy to help.

Tagged: Adam Leeb, Astrohaus, Freewrite, Hemingwrite, typewriter