All the Time in the World (to digitize)

There was an episode of the Twilight Zone about a man who just wanted time to read. After a worldwide catastrophe, he is the last man on earth. He has all the time in the world to read. Until he breaks his glasses.

I feel a little bit like that poor guy. I've got a couple of nice, quiet days to do nothing but write. I haven't broken my glasses (or damaged my contacts), but my muse is apparently off having a bad menstrual cramp or something.

Do you realize how utterly mesmerizing a blank Word doc looks? I've even learned how to change the background color and I'm still unable to fill that space.  When I try to write. It's as though all the ideas that were dancing around in my head when I was busy doing other things have now gone into hiding.

Yesterday, I ran into an old acquaintance at the store. It's been years since I saw him. I spotted him at the exact same time that a piece of a story fell into place for me. I actually was torn between wanting to speak to this person and wanting to avoid him. He noticed me and so, of course, we had to do the whole long-time-no-see chat thing. The entire time that he was talking, I was listening to my fictional characters having a wonderful dialogue that would be perfect for my story. By the time I got back to my car and had pen and paper out, I'd lost most of the story idea.

I think I'm a person that works better when I am trying to ignore distractions. Give me too much peace and quiet and I start getting the urge to re-decorate a room or at least re-organize my closet. This is not anything new for me. Back when I first got serious about writing, I would spend the first half hour of a session sharpening pencils.

My best inspiration comes to me when I'm tucked into bed and about to doze off. This is one reason that I am going to be investing in a digital note-taking device. I've been putting it off for a while now, but when I think about being able to turn over in the middle of the night and jot down half a story that can be transmitted to my PC in legible text, well, I feel the same way that I do when I'm enjoying a good crush on someone. Everyone who writes fiction can tell you that the worst feeling is when you write down some middle-of-the-night notes and can't make any kind of sense of them the next morning.

So, yeah, I'm going to find a way to budget out the purchase of a device for keeping my notes. Thing is, there are so many different kinds of devices - all with their Pros and Cons - that I just can't choose. Right now, because of price and customer reviews, I am leaning toward the Livescribe Echo (2 gig) pen. From everything I have seen about it, it's perfect for writers. There are a couple of concerns: 1) To convert handwriting to text (say to MS Word), I'd have to purchase another item - the Myscript application. Seems to me that this should be included with the pen. 2) Some users complain that the customer service is really lacking. Also, one user stated that he's gone through 3 of the pens so far. I guess the only reason he still uses Livescribe is because the features are awesome.

I thought about other pens simply because they don't require special paper. The ones I saw had too many other flaws noticed by users. Arrrgh!!!

This video is of the 8 gig Echo:

The Livescribe is reasonably priced (around $110 for the 2 gig pen and about $30 for 4 of the 100-page notebooks), but I worry that it might be uncomfortable to write with. I've checked out a couple if videos like the one above and the pen looks pretty thick. If I do manage to get hold of one of these pens, I will definitely be doing a review. AND, I'd have no problem at all returning it if I end up the least bit unhappy.

If any of you have feedback on this device or a similar one, please do share. PLEASE!

Peace
--Free

**RESOURCES** For Note-takers (May 2016)

How is it that I am just now hearing about the wonder that is digital writing? You guys have been holding out.

If you are a writer (or student, or other notetaker) whose mind works the way mine does and- Wait. Let me back up. I don't think that anyone's mind works the way mine does. What I should say is that if you are the type of writer who:

• Comes up with the most brilliant ideas ever at the most inconvenient times, and/or
• Tends to write on any and everything when your ideas and thoughts strike, and/or
• Loses some of your amazing ideas/thoughts because of lost notes, and/or
• Sometimes like to write things down (instead of using a keyboard), and/or
• Is sometimes so much of a scatterbrained creative genius that all the mind-mapping software in the world can't help.

Basically, if you are like most writers and/or creative personalities, then you might benefit from gadgets that help you keep better track of your ideas.

Personally, I want one of those digital gadgets that let you take notes on the go, then transfer those notes to you computer. Preferably, the notes will transfer to text format. I'd dance around the moon if I could find something that would do all that and work with MS Word.

So far, I've seen some of the digital pens that sound interesting:

• Livescribe sounds neato. I'm confused about whether it works with a PC or just phones and tablets. This was one of the first "smart pens" I heard about. Thing is, apparently, you need to use a special type of paper. I'm bookmarking this for later reading.
• Equil sounds most interesting to me at first glance because I saw the words "real paper, real ink" and thought of not having to spend so much on refills and such.
• IRISNotes is on my radar because, right off, I see that it's claimed to "type what you write". That is exactly what I need. EXACTLY. 
• Like some of the other pens I've seen, the Neo Smartpen sounds like it might be more for artists than for writers. 
• Bamboo Spark sounds interesting also. I'm a little confused about whether or not it's limited to a Wacom tablet.

By the way, the drool factor was highest for the Moleskin "Writing Set". Who am I kidding though? I can't afford regular Moleskin notepads, no way am I going to get tangled up with a gadget from the brand. Besides, there are too many downsides just to have something with the "Moleskin" name on it. (There's a reason I drive an old, old Honda. Two words: cheap and reliable.)

Since there are so many potential pros and cons for any of these (depending on what the user needs), I'm checking a lot of lists and reviews. This one is where I've started.

So, if you are like me, you might have questions about which gadget would be best for writers to use. If you are more up on all of this than me, I hope you can help ease my confusion. I'm still on the hunt for a pen that will work well for me. I will be back to do another post when I've narrowed down options based on the following:

• Affordable initial cost (I'm thinking most writers I know want a range of $100 - $150), and
• Most affordable upkeep (refills on ink/cartridges/special paper etc.
• Easiest to use on the go
• Reliable at saving & transferring written notes
• An ability to recall stored notes would be nice
• Works with a PC/Not limited to smartphone or tablet. (If it works with only a PC, I'm fine)
• Out of the box "user-friendly" setup and management. (Most writers don't want to have to deal with anything but getting their ideas down!)
• Warranty/Guarantee. Better yet, a trial period.
• Decent online and/or customer support.

Is that asking for too much? I don't know, but it sure doesn't hurt to ask anyway.

Peace

--Free