Affordable Alternatives to a Dedicated “Smart Typewriter”

Perhaps because so much of my social media is connected to the writing and editing community these days, I tend to get a lot of advertising about writing-oriented products, from gadgets to software to notebooks and pencils. A lot of that advertising lately has come from a company called Astrohaus, which makes a series of interesting gadgets they call “smart typewriters.” These are very niche devices focused not simply on writing in general but specifically on from-scratch composition on a device that eliminates as much potential distraction as possible (including the impulse to edit), touting their devices as a “cure” for writer’s block.

Their devices offer very limited but very focused functionality, such as:

• A small, e-ink screen that limits how much of your document you can view at a time and promises to be easy on the eyes.
• Software that only includes a very basic, composition-oriented text editor, with a few limited formatting options and nothing else.
• The capacity to connect to wi-fi networks only to sync files created on the devices to the cloud in order to make them accessible/editable elsewhere.
• High-quality components (especially very nice mechanical keyboards), and excellent build quality in general. The machines are very neat looking.

I love this idea in many ways: a pure digital writing machine focused on distraction-free composition. A chance to turn off all your other gadgets, eliminate nagging from pop-ups and social media, and the easy accessibility of the capacity to doomscroll through what could have been a productive writing session.

Some might say, “Why not just turn off the wifi on your laptop?” and they’d have a point, but for some that may still make the temptation of internet distractions all too easy, and, in any case, when using a tool like Word, the temptation to self-edit as one is composing is still ever-present. It is a temptation that has derailed many a writer.

So there’s really something to be said for the idea of a device that’s dedicated to getting as close to a pure, distraction-free composition experience that still makes one’s documents easy to transfer and edit digitally on another platform.

The main problem with Astrohaus’ devices, however, is that they are hideously expensive, with their mainline device, the Freewrite, priced at a disheartening $649, their fanciest device, the Hemingwrite, at a gob-smacking $999, the Traveler, a more portable device, at $499, and their “budget” offering, the Alpha, at $349. So while such gadgets are indeed an interesting and potentially very useful idea, they’re certainly priced well out of the budgets of many, even most, of the writers who might best make use of them.

All this got me wondering: might there be a way for we, erm, less-heavily-resourced writers to create devices that duplicate, or at least come very close, to this kind of functionality without having to choose between having such a device and eating for the next two months?

So far, I’ve managed to come up with two solutions that fit the bill. One is a little more “fun,” quirky, and related to another hobby interest of mine. For those reasons, it may not be desirable or accessible for everyone, but it has worked very well for me for a few years. Another, which I’ve created just recently, should be accessible, for very little or no money, to anyone wishing to create a distraction-free composition device.

Over the next two posts, I’ll describe each project, and provide some tips and instructions for creating your own focus-enhancing writing gadget on the cheap.