Quote:
Originally Posted by skb
Okay. It's been a while. What's the verdict? Inquiring minds want to know, Dr. Drib!!!!
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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'.)
