Livescribe for lifewriters

Today at the Stories from the Heart conference I co-presented a session called “Writing Promptly” with my dear SCN-sister Jude Whelley. We had a blast! Our session focus was a two-fold play on “prompt”: first, promptly and consistently getting down to the heart of your writing; second, using prompts to help you get un-stuck. It was the end of the day so we tried to keep it light and fun, and I think we succeeded. Of course, it helps when you have a room full of energetic and talented women who are fully present and raring to go!

One of the points we tried to make very clear is that you can still get a significant write done with only a few minutes—you don’t need hours of prep work and hours of slaving over your keyboard. If you’ve got a spare 10 or 15 minutes, take it! Make the most of it! My personal example of making the most of your time was showing my favorite writing tool in the world—my Livescribe Pulse pen. And wow, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen so many faces light up with envy and desire for a technical device!   Several of the ladies urged me to share more info with our community about the Livescribe pen.

Here are a few ways the Livescribe Pulse pen has transformed my daily writing:

1. Portability: On a typical day, I can’t grab hours on end to write. I write when and where the mood strikes and my schedule allows. So I carry my Livescribe and the lined journal with me everywhere I go. As long as you don’t have a tiny purse, you shouldn’t have a problem adding these items to your stash. Why is this any different than other pens and journals? See reason #2.
2. Conversion from handwriting to computer text: Every night I dock my Livescribe pen. So everything I wrote down that day with my Livescribe gets pulled into my computer. From there I can view the pages in the Livescribe Desktop, or even use a plug-in to export my writing as text for editing in my word processor. I have literally written entire blog posts long-hand with my Livescribe (because that’s all that was handy) then exported the text into my blog.
3. Audio recording: I recorded the keynote speech because the speaker referenced several quotes I really wanted to remember. Here’s how cool this is:
   • I take my standard written notes—my reactions to her quotes and statements, notes to expand on my own writing ideas, quotes or writers she mentions that I want more information on, etc.
   • In addition to that traditional note-taking, the Livescribe Desktop will now show my writing synced with the audio. So suddenly my own notes are shown in complete context of the associated audio.
   • Then, because a keynote is well over an hour, I can tap the bookmark button to break up the audio replay into intuitive chunks. For me, that means a new bookmark when the speaker said something I know I’ll want to come back to again. Now I don’t have to wait through an 87-minute audio file for the 2 minutes I want—I just use the skip buttons!
4. Versatility: One reason I love the Pulse pen is I really want that familiar, tactical response of handwriting my notes, but  the convenience of the digital capture. Livescribe provides several paper formats, including traditional 8.5×11 inch spiral notebooks, lined and unlined journals, small flip note pads, and more. I can also choose from black, blue, or red ink. The paper products aren’t terribly expensive, especially if you already have a fondness for artful journals. And the refills are totally affordable.

Learn more at the Livescribe web site.

Okay, so I know there are probably a few of my SCN sisters who are ready to buy. Please, if you’re going to purchase a Livescribe Pulse pen, use the links below. SCN is an Amazon affiliate and will get a portion of the sales using these affiliate links. So it’s for a good cause! These are some basic options. Amazon doesn’t always have the full line, so whatever you don’t find on Amazon you’ll find on the Livescribe web site.

• Livescribe 4 GB Pulse Smartpen
• Livescribe 2 GB Pulse Smartpen
• Livescribe Lined Black 1-2 Journal – 2 Pack
• Livescribe Paperblanks Black Moroccan Mini Wrap for Pulse Smartpen (Brown)
• Livescribe Flip Notepad for Pulse Smartpen (Black)
• Livescribe Pro Charging Cradle for Pulse Smartpen
• Livescribe Single Subject Spiral Notebook, 4-Pack, Nos. 1-4

Happy writing! And remember, we all have a story to tell.

Tagged as: livescribe, scn, Stories from the Heart, Story Circle Network