Hemingwrite, The Kindle Of Writing Composition, Soars On Kickstarter

Hemingwrite, a new project that just launched on Kickstarter, hopes to re-imagine the typewriter with a new device that features everything a writer needs to write.

Described as a "distraction-free writing tool," Hemingwrite features a mechanical keyboard, an e-paper screen and cloud synching for backups and format conversion. It is not a computer, a Chromebook competitor or an iPad-wannabe. Consumers won't use this device to check for Facebook status updates.

"You don't have to worry about opening your computer and getting distracted from your life," Adam Leeb, co-founder of Hemingwrite, told Benzinga. "You can just go right into creative mode and output some words."

More than 650 backers have already pledged more than $230,000 to Hemingwrite, which has a goal of $250,000.

Write On, Link Up

Hemingwrite's e-paper screen allowed Leeb to stretch the battery life well beyond any laptop. He said the current prototype can run for more than four weeks on a single charge with typical use (estimated to be roughly 30 minutes a day).

The device features internal storage that ensures the user's work will always be saved. Hemingwrite also syncs to the cloud to bring the documents (saved as text files) into Evernote, Google Docs, Microsoft Word and other editors.

"[Screenwriters] have been one of the most vocal groups," said Leeb. "They have attacked us -- in a good way! They really want to be able to use this for screenplay writing. It's one of our key focus areas for software support."

Since Hemingwrite works in plain, distraction-free text, Leeb theorized that the device could use Fountain (or any other markup language for screenwriting) to automatically convert documents to a screenwriting format for editing on a PC.

"The beauty of this tool, specifically -- and what makes it very different from any other word processor or typewriter before it -- is that it is connected to the Internet and we're able to do a lot more things with it as part of the 'Internet of Things,'" Leeb added.

If users want to stay off the grid, they can. Hemingwrite's USB charger will allow users to connect to a PC and extract their files manually.

Unlikely Origins

Leeb isn't a writer, but he said that he is "wired" to think of solutions to a wide variety of problems. His co-founder, Patrick Paul, isn't a writer either but recently had hopes of journaling more often.

"We were talking about some of the distraction-free software, which there are quite a few of now and are very, very popular," said Leeb. "And I said, 'How interesting would it be if we made a dedicated hardware tool that did this but went even further?' That was where it started."

Leeb learned that some writers actually go out of their way to avoid writing on a laptop. Others have two computers -- one for work and another just for word processing.

"It seems wasteful but I get it," he said. "If you think about it, everybody has things to do, whether it's writing or otherwise, and we all know how not to do these things with great efficiency. We all know how to click around. It's just gotten easier and easier to not do what you're supposed to do."

Leeb feels that there is something magical about a device that only does one thing.

"Especially for writing," he added. "Because the difficulty with writing, at least I found, is that it's hard to stay in that mode. There's a lot of things pulling you away from being in the story or in the document that you're working on. Your computer is just fighting you the whole way. It actually takes energy to resist temptation, and I don't think [most] people recognize that."

If Hemingwrite can keep users in the creative space for 20, 30 or 60 additional minutes, Leeb will have accomplished his goal.

Disclosure: At the time of this writing, Louis Bedigian had no position in the equities mentioned in this report.

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