Created 12/15/2024
Proudly WEB 1.0 (with CSS)
This is a site dedicated to providing help links, reviews, documentation and even downloads to support writers using the various Writer Decks I own and have actual hands on experience with. I started out with an Alphasmart Neo 2 in 2007, when I bought it new shortly after it's release by Renaissance Learning. It revolutionized my writing experience, giving me a great deal of focus. It allowed me to draft 5 novels and a large collection of short stories. It was, and still is, a remarkable Writer Deck more than 10 years since it was discontinued.
I wouldn't have found the Alphasmarts without the helpful people on the Alphasmart-Writing Tools Community on Flikr. It started with someone who came over to the long gone Brighthand PDA forum I frequented to talk about the Dana, and that sent me to the Flikr community. They answered all my questions and more and were so helpful with both the tech and the writing over the years. The community still thrives, and this is another way to pay forward all the help I have received by helping others with what I have learned.
More recently, there has been an eruption of new writer decks being produced. While I still have my Neos, I have fallen in love with the Micro Journal created Un Kyu Lee. There is also the Zero Writer and BYOK, both of which I have backed. Plus there are the various Astrohaus smart typewriters (which I don't have and don't like for reasons I may explain in passing somewhere). There are also the Pomera devices from Japan, which for the time being I'm not investing in, but not because I think there is anything wrong with them. I'm not being a completist. But if I am really drawn to a Writer Deck, I want to put my support behind them. So I will have pages here for any device I own and have experience with. I may post about other devices, but will make it very clear that I don't own them and don't have direct experience with them.
This is a new site. The Neo and Dana help pages have been around for a few years as separate pages on another domain I have, but have now been placed here and updated. Everything else is new and all of it is evolving, so I'm not sure what all I will end up doing here and there may be lots of fluidity while I figure it out.
No fancy web technology, just a good old fashioned pre-Flash Web 1.0 web site for providing reviews, documentation and links to information and downloads relevant to various Writer Decks, past and present. This is not intended to be some kind of complete wiki of information on Writer Decks. I have neither the time nor the web skills for that. This is just helpful resources for people who have or are interested in the various distraction free writing devices I have. I may also provide information and links for writer decks I don't have.
I also don't use video for my reviews. I don't have the skills for that either and, probably because I'm an old guy, I much prefer writing and reading.
Hope this site proves useful. Feel free to contact me at hookstories gmail
Please note, I am just someone who appreciates these great writing tools and am trying to provide useful links for other writers. This site is in no way affilated with, approved by, nor represents any of the original creators or companies behind these devices.
