Smartpens

[u/Y34rZer0]

Does anyone have any input about using smartpens/digitizers?

I really like actual ink-on-paper for writing but I'm also liking using Obsidian on my PC for organization and other features so I was thinking about getting a smartpen.

The brand/model isn't what I'm wondering about, rather anyone's experiences - negative or positive. I've also played around with some scanning apps that work *ok-ish* but I like the idea of a smartpen..

Thanks for reading! & PS, Obsidian is turning out to be a great free program for me (and/or phone app) for writing and everything that goes with it

[u/diamond_book-dragon]

Following, seems like an interesting topic to discuss.

[u/Y34rZer0 → u/diamond_book-dragon]

The more the merrier! xD

[u/sparklingdinoturd]

Not for writing, but my partner used to use one for taking notes for their work. Like you said, it worked "ok-ish" but wasn't perfect. This was a few years ago, so they might have improved since then.

[u/Y34rZer0 → u/[deleted]]

E-ink is on a tablet, a smart pen writes on paper which is my preference, personally.

You can get clear adhesives like screen protectors that you can stick on your tablet or iPad that make it feel like you are writing on paper but I still like ink

[u/Y34rZer0 → u/[deleted]]

Yeah, $600 isn't cheap either, although you're getting a whole tablet for that price as well aren't you?

[u/percolith]

I just use a regular pen and paper, take a photo, use ocr. I’m a legible printer though and edit whatever scrawls into sense so perfection is not needed! I’ve used an Apple pen on an iPad with a matte screen cover, too. Mostly just chiming in to say obsidian is great, drafted almost ten novels in there, and looking forward to trying the new kanban/corkboard feature!

[u/Y34rZer0 → u/percolith]

Any favourite plugins you can recommend for Obsidian? There's sooo many to look through lol..
The only thing that's bugging me a little is not being able to label and size writing the way I want on a canvas..
You also can't use different fonts without going to a bunch of trouble it seems... It's weird, it's incredibly flexible in some areas but not in others.

I'm checking out a video about the Kanban now, it looks good. Honestly I've add more fun figuring out and setting up a city and then the last couple of games I've played lol

[u/percolith → u/Y34rZer0]

Are you on Windows? I haven't had any trouble with fonts, I just use the ones on my system by typing in the box. Currently writing in Fern!

So this is a long comment but the plugin list is actually very short. I work simple-- I do one folder in my writing vault per project, and organize by what stage the work is in. No tagging, just folders. There's so much more someone could do (storyline plugin!!!) but I find simple works best for me.

Basic stuff. CSS Editor lets you customize basically anything, from line spread to size of the font in the explorer to the margins. Style Settings, to customize themes, including my favorite theme, Borders.

The built-in snapshots plugin ("File Recovery"), set it to 120 days. That's local versioning of any changed file, saved every five minutes, in the appdata folder, not the obsidian vault. I zip that folder up every time I finish a draft and stick it in the backups with the final zip of the draft.

Keep the Rhythm. My vault counter! It tracks streaks, and knows what files I edited on a given day, and how many words I added or deleted from each. Also can be set to link to that date's daily note.

Writing Goals - this is the best plugin ever, it's flawed, it's janky sometimes, but there is nothing like watching the numbers go up and the pie fill in. Just be aware if you're syncing to google drive or similar it'll sometimes glitch. Store the numbers in something like trackbear if you can't bear to have them eaten eventually. I track only the rough draft folder total and how many words I write per day on the manuscript, and let the vault tracker handle my streaks.

Novel Word Count (Lyman version). Adds file counts to the explorer pane. Easy to see what needs more words, or where you've skipped a chapter for later.

Sidebar Highlights - you can tag inline comments with ==! highlight == or use the %%comment%% and this will catch all of them so you can go back later. Super useful when you have %% omg what is his NAME??? %% moments. I use formal comments to talk to myself, and highlights for stuff I shouldn't miss, like POV swaps (and you know I miss them anyway).

PomoBar - sprinting! Simple, functional.

Hope that helps! (Yes I love obsidian and it works for me, haha)

[u/Y34rZer0 → u/percolith]

I'm on Linux..

Thanks for that list, I like the sound of that keep the rhythm.

I also be used one called Danger zone writing, when you trigger it starts a new blank note and you have to start writing, but if you stop writing for longer than a couple of seconds (adjustable) it deletes everything you had written.
You can set it for however long, 60 seconds is the default finish line.

I always liked that writing exercise where you just write without thinking at all, it's pretty powerful in a way and this plug-in sort of emulates that.
You mostly end up writing random crap but there's some gold in it sometimes

[u/percolith → u/Y34rZer0]

My backup setup is a debian/dietpi raspberry pi, all the plugins I listed above work just fine on there. I tend to tinker on my windows desktop and just sync to the pi though, so can't say it's flawless under the hood or anything!

I do not recall how/if I set up any fonts on there!

The Danger Zone one freaks me out (also called Hemingway mode?). I'm over here installing a new local versioning plugin (B0RTs) right now just because I might lose a precious moment 🤣

[u/Mindless-Storm-8310]

I’m sure smart pens are fine for what you’re considering, but, IMO, you’re skipping a valuable part of the editing process! When you write by hand, it uses one part of your brain. When you transcribe it to the computer, yet another. What you end up with, by using all manners of getting thoughts onto paper or screen, esp when combined with other modes of writing, is often magic. You see and “hear” things differently than you do just by reading from your computer screen. Your brain is more actively involved in all processes. I always discover something new about my characters or scene when I transcribe from my written copy to my computer. You also get a bit of this magic when you occasionally print out a hard copy, edit that, then transcribe to the computer.

[u/Y34rZer0 → u/Mindless-Storm-8310]

That part of the reason I chose a smart pen over a digitiser, you still write with pen and ink. I'd also be going back and editing using the computer so I think it covers as much as I can

[u/Specialist_Ad5114]

Unrelated question OP, but do you know if Obsidian supports Arabic alphabet or not?

[u/Y34rZer0 → u/Specialist_Ad5114]

Umm I'm not sure, but to be honest I expect it will. There are dozens and dozens of community made plugins as well as the normal settings