I don’t know about any other writers out there, but I know that for me, writing needs to be as fun as possible, otherwise things like washing up and cleaning become more interesting and therefore take priority over getting any writing done.

But how fun can you make it? Well, when I wrote my first novel, The Earth Angel Training Academy, it was immediately after reading No Plot? No Problem! by Chris Baty, a book that I have told many people about, because without it, I may never have got started. I’m currently participating in Camp Nanowrimo to get my latest novel written. Chris is a master at making writing a fun thing to do. He encourages writers to set crazy deadlines, eat far too many snacks, wear crazy hats as writing totems and then printing out the manuscript and diving into the paper with wild abandon.

Unfortunately, most of my writing time is really not very exciting, and consists of me being hunched over my iPad with some music playing. Fun or novel it is not. Until that is, I discovered the Hanx Writer.

For some time now, I have been hankering over getting an old typewriter. I remember having one as a child and loving doing my homework on it, and it seems like every movie author has one, and quite frankly, I just love the way they look and sound. But practical? Not really. To write my books, I really need a normal keyboard, and one that’s connected to something digital. So when I read about the Querky Writer, I was really excited. It was a typewriter-style keyboard you can attach to your keyboard. Genius! When I first found it, it was on KickStarter and was in pre-production stage. Now that I’ve seen the final product, I don’t find it does much for me.

Then while looking at the Querky Writer, I found this site, which sells actual typewriters that have been modified so they link directly to your computer or iPad. Now this was much more exciting, though if I were going to spend that much money, I would buy a Mac laptop, as my PC is terribly slow and I need a new one.

Then, my wanderings on Google led me to the Hanx Writer. Designed by Tom Hanks, who is a collector of typewriters (who knew??) the Hanx Writer is an app for iPad and iPhone that basically turns it into a typewriter. You can use the basic version for free, but I bought the upgrade and I have to say it’s fab. I have used it for the last two days, and weirdly, I think it’s made me a faster and more productive writer. All because I love the way the words appear on the paper and the clacking sounds of the keys.

Yes I’m on Chapter Eleven of the latest novel in the Earth Angel Series!

It’s definitely put the novelty back into novel-writing, and in a weird way, makes me feel like a real writer. One day, I may still get a modified typewriter, but for now, the Hanx Writer ticks all the boxes!

Now back to the clack-clacking.

Disclaimer: I’m not being paid to write this! This is my own honest opinion about an app I found accidentally and have fallen in love with.