A Crime Writer's History of Writing Tools

August 15, 2023 | 5 min read

By Michael Jecks

Michael Jecks has been using Freewrite to draft his medieval mystery novels for six years. As a reflection on the last six years, Michael took us through a quick review of the writing tools he's used over the years, from typewriters to Freewrite.

Writerly Beginnings

I have been creating crime stories for the last thirty years; I like crime — it has paid for my heating and food for all that time.

When I started writing, back in the dim and distant past (1993), life was pretty difficult. All I had then was a typewriter, which had a single liquid crystal display line. It was, it proudly proclaimed, a word processor. Except it did not quite meet my expectations. I had spent ten years selling Wordplex and Wang WP machines. These possessed a screen, a keyboard, and memory disks. The typewriter did not — although the keyboard was a delight. In order to type something, I had to insert paper and hope that inspiration would strike. It rarely did.

Going Pro

The following year I acquired a PC and embarked on a writing career. It was an IBM PS2, and astonishingly good for writing compared to the typewriter. It had a screen, good keyboard, memory, and a printer. Suddenly I could see my stories start to develop on the screen, and yet … I was tied to a desk with that machine. I needed something more portable.

Soon I replaced the PS2 with a nice, new, elegant laptop. It was excellent, an AST machine with huge memory — ten megabytes, I seem to recall — and worked fine. Until, that is, the keyboard gave up. I was already writing two novels in my Last Templar Mystery series at that stage, and the keyboard died after eighteen months.

That became pretty much my standard trend. Keyboards lasted eighteen months to two years. During this time, I rediscovered the joys of real keyboards. Those that, like the IBM DisplayWrite, the Wang Office Information System, the Wordplex 80-3G, and others, had individually-sprung keys rather than a form of rubber pad on which all the keys rested, and which was expected to make them all bounce in exactly the same way. In fact, I started dealing with a keyboard supplier on a regular basis.

Why? Because keyboards didn’t last. They worked for two years at the outside, and then I had to replace them.

Around 2000, I moved to Apple computers and have happily worked on iMac machines for the last twenty years. They are my workhorses, replaced every four years or so — although the keyboards aren’t. When I buy a new Apple, I sell the keyboard that comes with it and go back to my keyboard supplier for a keyboard with sprung keys. In my experience, Apple keyboards last for twelve months of hard use — and I am a professional author with three books a year to write. That is hard use in anyone’s terms!

But my life changed in 2017.

Enter Freewrite

For my sins, I run a YouTube channel called Writerly Witterings, in which I talk about writing but also about all those things that make writing easier and better. I give advice and help to people struggling to get their own stories told, and review pens, papers, inks — everything to do with creating stories.

And one day I heard about this strange machine called a Freewrite.

As a writer, I am keen to find any tool that will make my life easier. I asked the Freewrite team whether it would be possible to have a Freewrite to review, and they were kind enough to send me one, allowing me two weeks to play with it. I wrote back to explain that just then I was finishing the edits for a previous book, so I couldn’t touch this drafting machine for at least a week — would it be possible to have it for a month so I would have time to use it in anger? I was given permission.

The result? After one week’s use I contacted Freewrite to tell them that I was keeping it; how much did I have to pay?

Why I Kept It

The keyboard is superb, the screen gives me several lines of text to work with, and the storage is enormous. I can pick it up and move away from my desk, the iMac, the phones, and all interruptions.

I take it with me on trains. When I used to carry my super-pretty and lightweight MacBook Air, I sometimes managed three hundred words on the journey up to London. It’s a two-hour (or more) trip each way. The first time I took the Freewrite, I managed over three thousand words. Yes, a ten times improvement.

I have been told I’m a fool for spending so much on a “typewriter.” That I could have bought a computer that would have done so much more. And that is when I smile condescendingly — because people who say that have no idea.

At home I have a screwdriver, which is roughly okay for most screws. If I was a watchmaker, I would have a set of screwdrivers, of all different sizes. I would want precise sizes specific to the screws I had to deal with.

As an author, I write novels of a hundred and twenty thousand words or more. I do not want and do not use spreadsheets. I don’t need presentation software. What other software would these multi-purpose computers offer me? Email? Social media? I have a phone for them.

Instead, Freewrite leaves me free to create.

A Tool for Professional Writers

On Freewrite, I can write for hours without tiring with that marvellous screen and superb keyboard. I can carry it around without worrying about the battery. It sits comfortably on my lap when I need it, but it works happily on a table, too. The keys are always in the right position, and without the laptop's heavy glass screen, it never feels like it might overbalance.

In short, for me as a professional writer, the very best tool I can use for creating my books is the Freewrite. And now, after six years of creating books on it, it is still functioning perfectly. The keyboard is not needing replacement and still feels as fresh as the day I bought it.

Can I edit on it? No! Nor do I want to. Instead I can create worlds, characters, plots, and do so for hours, no matter where I am.

It is still the very best tool because it is designed specifically for the one task — and at that it excels.

 

READ MICHAEL'S FIRST BOOK, THE LAST TEMPLAR.

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Michael Jecks

Michael Jecks is the best-selling author of over 40 novels, including the internationally popular Templar series. He is a member of the Society of Authors and Royal Literary Society, the Crime Writers' Association, and the Detection Club, and has been on the judging panel for many industry awards. His own books have been shortlisted for prizes such as the Harrogate prize and Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award — a rare accolade for a medieval novel.

Michael lives, walks, writes, and paints in North Dartmoor, UK.

Find Michael online: Website | Books | YouTubeTwitter

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October 01, 2024 3 min read

We're just 10 weeks away from a major milestone: the 10th anniversary of Freewrite's launch on Kickstarter.  On December 10, 2014, we introduced the Smart Typewriter, then known as  "Hemingwrite," to the world.
How It Started
In September of 2014, co-founders Adam Leeb and Patrick Paul entered Hemingwrite into the “Insert Coin” hardware competition sponsored by Engadget. Described as a new digital consumer product for distraction-free writing composition, Hemingwrite aimed to deliver a singular focus on a productive writing experience. A decade later, that core mission remains unchanged.
Hemingwrite was one of 20 inventions competing that week, highlighting early-stage hardware startups from around the world that had not yet received funding or shipped to consumers.
"What the Kindle did for reading, we want to do for writing," said co-founder Patrick Paul at the time."We set out to deliver the same distraction-free writing experience of a typewriter with all of the added benefits of modern technology."
Co-founder Adam Leeb added,  "We combined all of the best aspects of the typewriter, theMoleskine, and the computer to create a modern classic."
Althoughthe Hemingwrite concept  didn’t win the competition,  the initial coverage by Engadget led to another press hit and then another and quickly it became a viral sensation around the world. The project was covered in everything from The Wall Street Journal to The Atlantic. Over 125,000 people came to the simple wordpress website at hemingwrite.com and over 8,000 anxiously input their email asking for updates on the project.
Adam and Patrick knew they had something special on their hands but weren’t sure if anyone was willing to pay for this idea or if it was simply interesting. On December 10, 2014 the Kickstarter campaign was launched and immediately the pledge dollars started rolling in. Within 20 hours of launch, the campaign had raised over $200,000! And just like that, the Hemingwrite distraction-free writing tool concept became destined for reality.
How It’s Going
Since that initial launch, we have developed Freewrite into a family of distraction-free writing tools with three distinct models, Smart Typewriter, Traveler, and Alpha. Each has their distinct personality, but the core value of maximizing writer productivity runs throughout. 
In 2020, The original Freewrite Smart Typewriter became part of the Science Museum, London’s permanent Printing & Writing Collection.
The name Hemingwrite was dropped in 2015 and then revived in 2021 with the Ernest Hemingway Special Edition Smart Typewriter in partnership with the Ernest Hemingway Estate. 
We’ve created Sprinter for distraction-free writing in any browser and WTF where thousands of people every week receive a writing prompt and participate in Writing Time Friday. 
The community's achievements over the past decade have been  astounding:
  • Freewrite users have created over 600,000 documents
  • Collectively,users have written more than 605 million words (equivalent to over 6,000 novels!)
It’s hard to believe that it’s already been 10 years but it also feels like we are just getting started.
To kick things off:
One Year Warranty: Now Standard
We are extending our warranty that covers manufacturer’s defects to a full year on all Freewrite devices. This means you can enjoy your Freewrite with even greater peace of mind, knowing that we've got you covered for an entire year. 

For more information, please visit our dedicated article on our new warranty policy here: Introducing Freewrite's New 1-Year Warranty: Our Commitment to You
Thank You
As we reflect on 10 years, we're filled with gratitude for the amazing writers who have made Freewrite an essential part of their process. Your passion has shaped our products and fueled our mission.  
Here's to the next decade of your writing success!
 
- The Freewrite Team
October 01, 2024 2 min read

As of October 1, 2024, we are extending our standard warranty that covers manufacturer’s defects to a full year on all Freewrite devices. This means you can enjoy your Freewrite with even greater peace of mind, knowing that we've got you covered for a full 12 months from the date of shipment. We’re even retroactively applying the warranty extension to purchases made this year.

Here is how our new 1-year warranty will work:
  • Beginning October 1, 2024, all new purchases now have a 12-month warranty standard from the shipment date.
  • All device purchases made in 2024 will now have 12-month warranty coverage from the shipment date.
    • For example, if your device shipped on March 1, 2024, your warranty would have expired on May 30, 2024, but will now expire on March 1, 2025.
  • If you purchased an Extended Warranty in addition to your device in 2024, you will receive both the new 12-month standard warranty coverage from the date of shipment, as well as the additional coverage period from your paid extended warranty.
    • For example, if your device shipped on March 1, 2024, with a 2-year Extended Warranty:
      • Your standard warranty now expires on March 1, 2025, instead of May 30, 2024.
      • Your 2-year Extended Warranty coverage will begin on March 1, 2025, and continue until March 1, 2027.



Your trust in our products is paramount to us, and this warranty extension reflects our dedication to your satisfaction and our confidence in the quality and reliability of our devices.

Thank you for choosing Freewrite; we look forward to serving you for many years to come. Write on!

 

- The Freewrite Team



Important Notes:

  • For devices purchased in 2023 or earlier, the original 90-day warranty applies, in addition to any paid Extended Warranty coverage.
  • If you purchased your device in 2023 or earlier, without an Extended Warranty, unfortunately, your warranty has now expired.
  • We are unable to offer refunds for prior out-of-warranty repairs.

 

Useful Links:

Official Freewrite Warranty Policy

Warranty Support Doc