WEBVTT

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- I'm a full-time journalist
and a part-time failed writer.

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As in over the past year, I've
been hung up on my own pros

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and unable to actually
finish my first draft.

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That's where the free
write devices are supposed

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to come in and change your habits.

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Specifically this hunk

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of plastic called the Free Write Alpha.

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The Alpha is a $350 device
with a one by six inch screen

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attached to a mechanical keyboard.

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It's a specific use device,
one made for first drafts

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and first drafts only,
despite how strange it is

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and its enormous price tag.

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The weird thing is I actually like it.

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The Alpha actually takes
six cues from the old

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Alpha Smart devices.

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They're word processing units

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with a minuscule screen
only showing you two

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to four lines at a time.

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Like the free writes, the
alpha sends all your documents

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to the cloud, and that's important

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because there's no way you can do any

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actual editing on this thing.

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Now the screen's not
backlit, which is a shame

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for a pretty bonker price tag.

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The plastic is also
rather toy like even it

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still feels sturdy.

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That being said, the keyboard
is rather fun to type

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with thanks to the Chalk V two
switches and its wide keys.

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Everything else is how you use it.

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In my time with it, I wrote
more on my personal projects in

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a few weeks than I had in months.

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It's a strange thing
to talk about a device

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that specifically limits use.

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So I spoke with Free Write
Co-founder Adam Lieb.

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The designer set out to make a device

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that paired back everything
they possibly could in order

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to have a product that
facilitates drafting

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and drafting only through
that enough times,

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and eventually you'll
have something like this,

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an electronic keyboard
with a pencil sized screen

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that only lets you read the
last sentence you wrote.

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Now, why is that a useful
gadget for writing?

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Well, because writing is painful.

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A hard task at the best of times,

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and a slog through a pit
of needles at its worst,

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the worst thing you can do when
writing is get caught up in

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what you just wrote as you'll
start to edit yourself,

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constrain yourself,

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and in my experience, eventually give up.

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And that's why I enjoyed
my time with the Alpha,

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because I simply couldn't
edit myself until later.

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When you tie your writing
identity to a device, it becomes

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that much easier to think about
drafting the next sentence

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or the next paragraph,
or hell the next story.

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But no, the free write isn't for everyone.

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If you don't have the
problems drafting that I

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and others have, then you can rely on a

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keyboard you're already used to.

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And no, you can't forget
the $350 you'll spend

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just to own one.

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They also have a $650 smart typewriter

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and a $500 free ride
traveler with a Shell.

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Lieb claimed that they're
still just a small company

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and they only make so many batches

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of these devices at a time.

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So yes, I'm the target
audience for the Alpha,

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but I'm also intrigued
by thoughtful design.

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The e typewriter is at the very least,

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an interesting specimen

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and perhaps a test case for
why we need less smartphones

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and more specialized devices.

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So the one thing I can say is

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that the Alpha did gimme
the impetus to write For

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that reason alone, there's
no way I could regret it.