Digital pens, smartpens, and styluses seek to bridge the divide between analog and digital for people who still like to write by hand and are reluctant to give up paper or pens. In this episode we explore the best options and talk about which is best for fiction and non-fiction writers and journalists. Duration: 22:12:00 Present: K. Tempest Bradford. Subscribe to The Write Gear! Get the The Write Gear on iTunes, Google Play, or via RSS. Download: Episode #22: Digital Pens, Smartpens, and...

David D. Levine, author of Arabella of Mars, talks with Tempest about bygone gadgets from another era, complex backup systems, why he uses both Word and Scrivener, and how he wrote over 50 short stories and kept them all organized and tracked. Duration: 26:26:00 Present: K. Tempest Bradford, David D. Levine. Subscribe to The Write Gear! Get the The Write Gear on iTunes, Google Play, or via RSS. Download: Episode 21: A Conversation with David D. Levine Support The Write Gear You can...

Nalo Hopkinson, Justine Larbalestier, Scott Westerfeld, and I talk about ergonomic writing setups for people with RSI, finding a fabulous chair for reading and writing in, Scrivener and how fabulous it is, and different modes of writing beyond sitting at the keyboard. Duration: 39:28:00 Present: K. Tempest Bradford, Nalo Hopkinson, Justine Larbalestier, Scott Westerfeld. Subscribe to The Write Gear! Get the The Write Gear on iTunes, Google Play, or via RSS. Download: Episode 20: A...

Kameron Hurley, author of The Geek Feminist Revolution, talks about writing novels without Scrivener (is that even possible?), deceptive laptop colors, and how she handles the front-facing aspects of being a professional writer–blogs, social media, and more. Duration: 16:02:00 Present: K. Tempest Bradford, Kameron Hurley. Subscribe to The Write Gear! Get the The Write Gear on iTunes, Google Play, or via RSS. Download: Episode 19: Geek Feminist Revolutionary Kameron Hurley Episode...

Ken Liu is the author of dozens of short stories and one doorstopper of an epic fantasy novel. In this episode he talks about the writing tools he uses to keep track of a huge project like that and why he does his actual writing in a plain text editor. Duration: 16:13:00 Present: K. Tempest Bradford, Ken Liu. Subscribe to The Write Gear! Get the The Write Gear on iTunes, Google Play, or via RSS. Download: Episode 18: A Conversation With Ken Liu, Author of The Grace of Kings Episode...

It’s all been leading up to this! Collecting and organizing research is what most writers want to use Evernote for, and is also where the app can get overwhelming. But now that you know how to use it to capture handwritten or typed text, and now that you have strategies for organizing with notebooks and tags, you’re ready to start pulling all your research in. In this episode I talk about the powerful Web Clipper function as well as how Evernote can be a great Scrivener companion. Duration:...

Most writers use Evernote to collect research material, be it web information or data from books and journals. But having all your research in one place won’t help much if you can’t find the specific information you’re looking for because your Evernote is a tangled mess. That’s why I’m tackling organization first. In this episode I break down the ways Evernote gives you to organize as well as some strategies for how I and others have made it work for us. Duration: 12:57:00 Present: K....

Evernote is great for notes and research and making the writing life a bit more organized, but is it also a good place to get writing done? While the app can’t replace a full-fledged text editor, it does have some benefits as a place to get writing done while you’re away from your computer. Authors M. K. Hobson and Aude Konan talk about the advantages and disadvantages of using Evernote for writing and author Jaime Todd Rubin offers up one more way Evernote can be a great writing day...

The first in our series on Evernote for Writers in which we dive deep into one feature at a time. Evernote is one of those apps that seems useful from the outside, but can sometimes feel overwhelming and overly complicated when you first try to use it. It’s easier to get past feeling overwhelmed if your entree into the program is through one key feature. So this week we’re going to talk about Page Camera, a feature in Evernote where you can snap a picture of typed or handwritten text, save it...

Chromebooks have many attractive qualities: they’re usually inexpensive, seem simple and straight forward to use, are often thin and light, and have long battery life. They also need an Internet connection for 100% functionality and have limited software offerings. Are Chromebooks good laptops for writers? In this episode we dive deep into what they are and how they work to answer that question for you. Duration: 15:12:00 Present: K. Tempest Bradford. Subscribe to The Write Gear! Get the...

Kate Elliott is best known for her thick epic fantasy tomes. She needs some serious writing gear to get through all those words and to keep all those characters, plots, and settings straight, right? In this conversation she talks about her tools and process. Duration: 12:54:00 Present: K. Tempest Bradford, Kate Elliott. Subscribe to The Write Gear! Get the The Write Gear on iTunes or via RSS. Download: Episode 12: A Conversation With Author Kate Elliott Episode Links Kate’s...

Last episode I declared the ThinkPad T Series the best laptop for writers. However, many authors prefer to write on small, light, and inexpensive laptops they can carry everywhere. I turned to tiny laptop expert Brad Linder to find out which of the current crop of netbook-like computers are worth using and to geek out about the history of small computers from the Eee PC of yesteryear to the Eee Book of today. Duration: 23:02:00 Present: K. Tempest Bradford, Brad Linder. Subscribe to The...

On this episode I’ll answer the tech question writers ask me the most: which laptop should I buy? My specific answer varies depending on the writer, but there’s one laptop series I end up recommending 80% of the time. And I bet you’re dying to know what it is. Duration: 16:05:33 Present: K. Tempest Bradford. Subscribe to The Write Gear! Get the The Write Gear on iTunes or via RSS. Download: Episode 10: The Best Laptop for Writers Episode Links ThinkPad T Series Reviews The Best Student...

I chat with television writer and producer Richard Manning about fountain pens and ask him novice questions. Science fiction and fantasy geeks may recognize Manning’s name from his work on Farscape, Star Trek: The Next Generation, TekWar, Sliders, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Exosquad, and more. In this episode he reveals which TV star inspired him to buy his first fancy fountain pen, which pens are his current favorites, and where you can find all the info you need to get started with...

The AlphaSmart is the ultimate distraction-free writing tool and many writers swear by it, including Jennifer Stevenson. I invited her to the podcast to extol the AlphaSmart’s virtues. Duration: 15:59:00 Present: K. Tempest Bradford. Subscribe to The Write Gear! Get the The Write Gear on iTunes or via RSS. Download: Episode 8: All About AlphaSmart Episode Links Find An AlphaSmart AlphaSmart Neo AlphaSmart Dana AlphaSmart 3000 AlphaSmart 2000 — The Original All AlphaSmarts on...

The Internet is a shiny bauble full of temptation, no more so than when it’s time to sit down and write. There’s always a notification, an email, a link that needs tapping or clicking or reading. If you find it hard to resist temptation, this week’s episode is for you. I employ several add-ons and apps to keep me focused and curb the urge to procrastinate. Duration: 10:02:00 Present: K. Tempest Bradford. Subscribe to The Write Gear! Get the The Write Gear on iTunes or via RSS. Download:...

In this episode I talk to screenwriter and television producer Jane Espenson (Buffy, Once Upon A Time) and also comic book writer Kelly Sue Deconnick (Captain Marvel, Bitch Planet) about their writing gear. Duration: 18:40:00 Present: K. Tempest Bradford. Subscribe to The Write Gear! Get the The Write Gear on iTunes or via RSS. Download: Episode 6: Conversations with Jane Espenson and Kelly Sue Deconnick Episode Links Jane Espenson’s Gear Website Apple MacBook Pro Final Cut Pro Lap...

Two years ago The Wirecutter declared the uni-ball Jetstream the Best (non-fountain) Pen based on the testimony of pen experts. How does their pick measure up to your favorite pen? I tested it against my own top picks. Listen to find out if I threw all my old pens away in favor of the Jetstream. Duration: 08:56:00 Present: K. Tempest Bradford. Subscribe to The Write Gear! Get the The Write Gear on iTunes or via RSS. Download: Episode 5: Is The uni-ball Jetstream Really The Best Pen? Episode...

This episode is all about a thing every writer needs to do that many of them don’t do, or don’t do well, resulting in catastrophe. That is, of course, backing up your writing. I talk about multiple backup solutions, including ones that won’t cost you anything and are easy to set and forget. Duration: 14:44:00 Present: K. Tempest Bradford. Subscribe to The Write Gear! Get the The Write Gear on iTunes or via RSS. Download: Episode 4: Back Up Your Stuff Episode Links Online Cloud...

I interview Andrea Hairston, author, playwright, and academic. Hairston teaches playwriting, African, African American, and Caribbean theatre literature at Smith college and is the Artistic Director of Chrysalis Theatre. Andrea is not only a brilliantly talented writer and performer, she’s one of the most energetic people I’ve ever met. The way she talks about writing is electrifying, and because of a conversation we had at WisCon about the connection between writing by hand and creativity, I...

Last week I talked about the most interesting laptops to come out of CES, the yearly Consumer Electronics Show. This week I’m taking a look at the tablets announced at CES and talking about whether Windows-based tablets are useful tools for writers. Duration: 14:07 Present: K. Tempest Bradford. Episode Links Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet Available in February starting at $900 for the tablet only. The keyboard and pen will cost ~$140 and the Productivity Module runs $150. TechRadar’s...

CES, the Consumer Electronics Show, is one of the biggest technology showcases in the world and is where most major tech companies announce all the gadgets they’re going to put out in the first half of the year. It’s a big deal, goes on for almost a week, and produces an overwhelming number of blog posts and articles detailing who made what thing and why and hopefully how much it costs. I waded into the CES coverage to find out which laptops are worth keeping an eye out for over the next few...