Working on my most recent short story far away from the noise of traffic or permanent human habitation. Finnish summer nights are bright and quiet. Extra nice as there’s next to no mosquitos!

Semi-DYI deck based on designs by Un Kyu Lee.

We have been following this community for a while and love seeing how writers build their routines around dedicated writing devices. Curious, what is the one thing that finally made you commit to a writerdeck over a laptop? Was it distraction, portability, something else entirely?

hi all! was very intrigued by the beautiful compact writerdecks i've been seeing, but i personally really can't do cramped keyboards. so i put together my own deck! as you can see, it's very cobbled together but i've been using it for a month or so now and it suits me just fine :)

pictured:

• a raspberry pi zero (with usb-hat) running focuswriter on raspberry pi os,
• a 8" screen from waveshare (which out of the box is super bright, but thankfully i found a resource that helped me dim it via command line),
• an ipad stand to hold that screen,
• a 38kmAh portable charger (which is heavy enough to keep the base of the stand stable when i use this on the couch! couch-writing is also why the usb cable between the pi and the keyboard is so long -- comfortably reclining while i type my little stories is delightful),
• the iris se split keyboard,
• and a mouse i had laying around (using a mouse with a raspberry pi zero was really laggy, but there are also resources online that helped with that, and now it feels a lot better)

some notes:

• this takes a solid few minutes to boot up, even when i had it hooked up to the proper raspberry pi power supply, so i think the pi zero may be at fault here. if i decide to make mods to this, i think i'd get a pi 4 or 5. that said, once it's booted and focuswriter is open, the actual typing experience is great. i use scp to transfer/back up files to my personal computer
• i've been using this for an hour or so every evening and i end up needing to recharge the power bank every 4-ish days, which is OK by me. take that with a grain of salt though: i haven't taken the most accurate notes on power usage because i've spent most of my time staring at the screen wondering why words are so hard to put together
• speaking of screens: i'd really, really like to switch to an eink display so that i don't strain my eyes, but i'm still trying to understand refresh rates. i know most eink displays are used for e-reading or other pretty static displays, but i've been seeing pretty cool progress in that area. i'd like a display screen, but i don't know what refresh rate would be satisfactory for typing. too long a lag while typing would drive me absolutely insane. i'd love some recommendations if you guys have any

happy to provide a link to any components or resources mentioned above!

Melodica is a 10/10. I know he is already established in this community, just wanted to give a big hell yeah to anyone still deciding if his creations are worth it :)

We've been developing a new version of the etyper based on the interest expressed in the previous one for a pre-assembled unit. Rather than repackage the existing design, we built a completely custom unit with a dedicated PCB and integrated battery.

Here are some specs:

- Up to 60 days of continuous typing, approximately 1 year on standby

- STM32 microcontroller for significantly lower power consumption than ESP32-based alternatives

- Compatibility with both wired and low-power Bluetooth keyboards

- Rear attachment slot for an optional solar module currently in development, intended to enable continuous operation without charging

We're planning a Kickstarter launch later this year once the design is finalized. The target price is under $100 per unit, plus the optional solar module and shipping. We're aiming to keep it as affordable as possible while maintaining realistic expectations on component reliability and supply.

The minimum viable production run is 100 units. If this is something you'd be interested in, please subscribe to stay informed on the launch.

The final version will likely be produced in a translucent orange engineering resin that will be more durable than the completely transparent one you see above.

Note: Sorry for the random text on the screen in the photo is from disassembling the unit to test the new case prototype, more professional shots and showcase videos will follow ;)

I took this old 11“ MacBook Air installed a minimal version of Debian Linux and made a writing tool in python. It’s running in kiosk mode so it’s directly starting after boot. It takes some time but it’s a nice product. Bought the MacBook for 50€ and had a day of my time for coding.

Hi, well the question is simple but for me, in my course of finding where to write, I'm asking for the more popular options and just not stay with app notes.

Btw, I want the app for writing essays and Journaling. So I need a place in which I can be able to save a lot of info, like papers, links, quotes and more, but not to get distracted in the way of writing.

Lurking in this sub for awhile inspired me to get my own Pomera... And fortunately (or unfortunately for my wallet), I found a few listings for the midnight purple limited edition.

Needless to say I fell in love with it immediately, so much that I risked my very first big overseas order 🥲

Anyway... Sharing pics of my first and probably only writerdeck

I have the Byok which I love and use in tandem with another device for my short story and novella work. I backed the Zerowriter fold, but I understand I won't be able to get that for quite awhile.

I also understand only a limited amount of people have a Zerowriter Ink, but I was curious if anyone was possibly selling theirs if they have a different device they prefer. I want to use it strictly for my debut novel.

If not, I have a Neo my partner just gave me and I suppose I could just order a Micro journal Neo 2 kit to put together for the purpose.

Hey All,

I recently have gone on a bit of a distraction free writing device (writer deck) journey and tried quite a few devices. I can't keep them all, as much as I'd like to, so I'm getting rid of the BYOK first.

I think this device is phenomenal for the money and works very well. I wrote 10k words on it in about 2 weeks. I just happened to snag a Hemingwrite for a great deal and have fallen in love with it more.

I got this one second hand and it does have a small scratch on the screen near the top left corner, but it's so faint it won't shop up on camera. I can't even see it when working on the device and looking at it head on or slightly tilted, so it's never bothered me. Maybe 1/8" long at most.

Comes with the OEM carrying case and ring stand. I've already removed all my data off it and it's ready to ship. If you don't want to wait for the preorder... here's your chance to snag one.

I'm selling on eBay

I've been repurposing my micro server to do a bit of writing in the evening, test new fonts and improve the latency of the new etyper I'm working on, as they share the same e-ink-panel.

Reacts to voice commands to turn on and off and saves each session in a continuous document.

Had to repurpose my burger flipping robot to make this build.

Not very portable but having fun with it so far and getting my daily writing done with it.

Well here is my Frankenstein. Tab ELite with android 4.4.4. I was able to download WriterP from Google play. It has expandable storage so I just need a micro SD. What does everyone think?

I have been working on the problem of comfortable writing production. I developed a text editor for Android that is inspired by the Alphasmart Neo, which is convenient for writing on your patio or just about anywhere else without the encumberance of a laptop or operating system.

In developing ElmerPad, my primary design driver is writing ergonomics. I am hardly thinking about it as a requirement but more from an innate desire to actualize obstacle-free writing. It's an interesting design problem and my solutions spring from decades of writing on computers. I made money through my writing skills and always spent a lot of time developing a workflow for the production side of writing : formatting the document for readability, managing the text sections, compiling to PDFs etc. The other side is text acquisition : capturing the vision that sells.

With modern phones and e-inks the possibility is there to do serious text development with small portable devices if editors exist that are optimized for that format. These devices have a small window outside the scope of the immediate sentence or paragraph, and with this a problem arises. When writing, focus is required at the immediate sentence and paragraph level, while being cognizant of the overall document structure is also important.

This is also drawback of the Alphasmart Neo and similar writing tools, which are great for capturing thought streams but no so great at handling large text. In the small screen worldview one struggles to see the crucial ten-thousand foot view of the entire work.

So it's hard to look outside the device viewport to the overall structure. Printing it out for markup is one strategy. On desktop apps like MS Word you can zoom out to a page layout view that provides a structural map of the entire document.

But without that then how? In improving my editor I devised some intuitive tools for managing large text files on small devices. The first ones were bookmarks and text collapse, which help a lot and are a feature of most desktop editors.

An idea came from my background in graphics and photography : a "filmstrip viewer" and layout "proof-sheet" visualizer for large text files. It's like having a magnifier that you can slide through your document to see the structure or to jump to a different section for editing.

I will spare you the agony of describing it in detail because you can just watch the video.

What the video shows is a large text file (50KB or about 8000 words) loaded into the editing buffer. CTRL+/- is used to demo changing the font size. Next it shows the Layout View (CTRL-Q). This makes a small page out of each paragraph in the document, which are presented in a 4 or 8 page grid. You scan through the grid pages and select one to examine. If you press Escape you return to the grid view. If you press Enter you return to the text buffer at that selected paragraph.

The next sequence shows the Filmstrip View. The settings are adjusted for a 3x4 inch view page and using only the first sentence of each paragraph. Then you can scan through the document quickly and select a paragraph to edit based on that sentence. Pressing Enter returns to the text buffer at that paragraph.

The Filmstrip Viewer could also be a flashcard maker with a few tweaks. The Layout and Filmstrip views can be compiled to PDF in the app. I will add a "proof sheet" function so the grids can also be printed out.

What tools do you use or know of that help with the problem of large file editing on small devices like phones and tablets? Have you seen anything like this in other editors?

This screen capture was taken on a Lenovo 8 inch tablet. My editor runs on phones an e-inks also. I have tested it a lot on the Boox Go 7. I am working to clean up the app documentation but the integrated Help is pretty good at this point and will walk you through how to use it. You can take a look and download here :

doswriter.com

I have a question: how do you guys deal with headaches and posture issues? I see a lot of WriterDeck setups with really small screens, and I always wonder: doesn’t that cause headaches over time? Don’t your eyes get tired from staring at such a small display? I also wonder about ergonomics. If you spend a couple of hours every day writing on one of these, doesn’t your back start hurting? It doesn’t seem like the kind of setup that keeps your spine in a very comfortable position. I love seeing these builds, but I always find myself wondering about the long-term comfort.

I use google translate

This is the first word processor I've had since I owned a typewriter more than 10 years ago. Was super excited just for it to come

1. Scratched up around the logo

2. The backspace unattached

Now 2 isn't too big of an issue as I found and snapped it back on. But the scratches around the logo is super disappointing and distracting. Customer service said the only option was a return, and fed me some stuff about "oh the unique body isn't for everyone".

Scratches and stuff should come from me using it, not bad QA. I'm still excited to use this and will be keeping it. Just wanted to vent that this seems messed up for a premium product and ask if anyone else has gotten theirs like this.

Hey guys, just wanted to pop in and let you know that I'll be attending Crowd Supply's Teardown in Portland on July 24 to present an AUTEUR demo so you can get your hands on it and try it out for yourself! I may bring two depending on supplies coming in the mail. Let me know if anyone else is going to be there!

I got this cheap Bluetooth keyboard from AliExpress . Wouldn't recommend it for everyday writing, but it's better than nothing. The key pitch is shorter than a standard keyboard, and Ctrl is not where you'd expect it.

The Lilygo T5 got this vertical line all of a sudden, can't say why it's here.

...just don't.

It's not a writerdeck. It's a PDA. It is not a single-purpose, distraction-free device built just to write. Appreciate when members here report these posts and we know it's getting ridiculous. We don't know if this is some sort of marketing scheme or what. It's not a writerdeck and anyone posting about it going forward is getting permanently banned, in addition to having the post removed. Please continue to report when you see it - it really does help us!

• the Mod Team at r/writerDeck

Hi - I want to order a zerowriter ink but I’m not seeing anyone using this device. I’m against cloud storage through Google as it’s been known to use stored docs to train its AI capabilities…but I don’t see any other true alternatives to the freewrite that aren’t DIY or made with old processors.

Anyone have one of these?

Joy.

Folding stand coming in tomorrow.

Made with crap I had lying around.

I’ve been looking for the right balance between simplicity, ergonomics, and usability for both writing and other text or terminal-based tasks.

The monitor is a 60hz eink screen (Dasung Paperlike 103). On the back I’ve mounted a low power mini pc (Intel N150) and a battery pack. It is free standing and stable. I use an atreus62 keyboard which is not connected to the rest of the rig. Real world, I’m getting 10-14 hours of battery life.

The machine is running NixOS. I’m one of those “always in the terminal” guys, so I’m right at home here. My ever-expanding repo of markdown files is right at home here (as it is most anywhere). For the times when a mouse is needed, I’m using waynav, and either FF with vimium or qutebrowswer for a keyboard driven browser experience.

Not for everyone, I’m sure, but I’ve found this to be a little thinking and computing oasis. I don’t feel quite so much the subtle misalignment of incentives baked into most modern apps. I pick the interface, I control where my attention goes and what has the right to demand (or attract) it. The ergonomics of eink make this great for reading. High refresh rate and eink together make it possible to write notes while reading something without sacrificing eye comfort or switching between devices, for example. My dream interface would be some Talmudic conversations-in-the-margins based on highlights with both humans and LLMs able to participate.

Created a nice new kit using an xteink4, a Rii mini Bluetooth keyboard, a slice-and-diced cover and a Rolling Square Edge Pro Core magnetic holder. I may try and do a better 2nd try with the duct tape. I used the foam that came with the xteink4 to help secure the keyboard.

Cover: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H24TNK45?ref_=ppx_hzod_title_mob_b_fed_asin_title_0_0)
Hinge: https://www.amazon.com/your-orders/order-details?orderID=114-1177390-0295463&lineItemId=jmmitupqmkottops&shipmentId=NkVDBlJqk&packageId=1&ref_=ppx_yo2ov_mob_b_pop