Turn Up For The Books

I am a magpie at heart, craving shiny new things. Very often, I have to trick my brain into writing, and one of the methods I use is novelty. There’s something about an object or a place that is new to you that shifts your mindset, and you miraculously feel like a different sort of person. The sort of person who has their life together and can definitely write 5000 words in a few hours, no sweat.

However, I am also the exact sort of magpie to love my shiny new thing for all of either three days, three weeks, or three months and then relegate it to the grand old position of dust-gatherer. So, I have to be extremely picky about the things I do end up collecting. My latest acquisition, which I’ve had now for just over two weeks, is the AlphaSmart 3000. Here it is, glue residue and all, being looked after by a magpie.

The AlphaSmart is a smart keyboard intended for word processing, released in the 90s. It has inbuilt spellcheck and find/replace functions along with the ability to transfer the words from the device to a computer. There is also a small screen at the top of the keyboard that shows the most recently typed ±50 words.  

The Internet is a double-edged sword, and when I was browsing, trying to find tips and tricks to stay off the Internet and write, the one that really appealed to me was the Freewrite Alpha. It was marketed as a distraction-free writing device, and I was immediately tempted to buy it. Because, of course, my lack of focus and discipline could only be solved by an external object that promised to solve those things. However, the £325 price tag threw me for a loop. Investing in your writing and your productivity is one thing. Throwing money down the drain in pursuit of a golden goose is another. And so, I reluctantly continued to browse the Internet looking for alternatives. That is when the AlphaSmart made its appearance. 

Though the company has been defunct for over 20 years, the devices they made were hardy and are still being sold secondhand on various websites. eBay had a working AlphaSmart 3000 for about £65, and a day later, there I was, typing away on a somewhat gloomy Thursday afternoon with my pup attempting to slobber-sniff all over it every five minutes (it is a new thing that has entered the house and must be inspected thoroughly, after all). 

Pros: 

1. Though you can install Freedom or ColdTurkey on your computer to block certain websites or even your entire browser, it is freeing to have a separate device that simply cannot even connect to the Internet. 
2. There is something very writerly about tapping away at a vintage keyboard. Does something from the 90s-00s count as vintage these days? 
3. First drafts are significantly easier. A blank white page on your computer can be daunting when you begin. One, it takes so many more words to fill it all up. And two, it looks so much like a page that you feel obligated to write your Final Draft from the get-go. On the other hand, a tiny screen that shows only four lines and looks like the calculator you used in school? The words flow more easily to fill it up. 

Cons:

1. Because it is quite old, some of the keys are sticky and need to be tapped in a particular way to make them work. 
2. You need a very specific USB cable to connect the AlphaSmart 3000 to a computer to transfer the words (unless the device you buy comes with it; mine didn’t).

So yes, I do feel like a whole new person right now, and perhaps this little high will sustain me throughout the next 30,000 words of my draft (which, incidentally, is about how many words the AlphaSmart can hold in all). One can only hope.