The Urge to Scribble

Sometimes I enjoy writing, rather than typing on my laptop. There's something immensely satisfying about it, if the mood strikes. You can go slowly, taking great care over each letter. Or you can scribble like a demon, hardly able to keep up with your own thoughts. Each word can loop across the page, literally flowing. You can get fancy and make The Capitals really big and ostentatious, the tails on the g's and y's delightfully ridiculous.

The messier and scrawlier it gets, the better - as long as it's readable to me, who gives a fudge if all the S's look the same, or if each word is the same size? The way it goes is this: the best writing days mean the messiest handwriting. So why not embrace it, lean into the skid. Each word can look like a signature, a fingerprint, taking on a personality and life of its own.

I'm assuming, here, that there are other scribblers out there, and I'm not just fucking weird.

My problem is that if you write with an actual pen, on actual paper, you are at great risk of some absolute bastard seeing it. With their eyes. This horrifying prospect has, in the past, kept me from doing any writing at all for years. Can't have that.

So: hive mind, assemble!

I'm looking for recommendations, and you inky-fingered lot seemed like the scribes to ask. I thank you in advance!

Rocketbook (no affiliation)

I have a Rocketbook, which I like. Write stuff in it, scan it, wipe it clean. I have the smaller one, though, and I think I'd like A4 size. When you really get going, a little notepad is too small.

My question is: do I stick with this brand, or try something else?

Upsides to the Rocketbook

• Small and convenient (mine is anyway, you can get bigger ones)
• Private. I've been able to use it for work and it's been great for confidentiality.
• Easy to use

Downsides to the Rocketbook:

• Mine has got pretty smudged. That's on me, not taking proper care of it, really, rather than an inherent flaw. For example, there's been times I've jotted down a mundane list or something like that. Something that I don't care someone sees it. I haven't wiped it down promptly and this has left it marked, even after a good clean.
• It's an extra Thing for me to carry about, or remember to bring with me.
• I have to use specific (erasable) pens on it.

What am I looking for?

Something similar but in app form would be great. No extra Thing for me to carry around! Or even just have to keep and take care of (I already have way too much Stuff). No need to buy specific pens! Still confidential. 👍

So far, I haven't been able to find anything that suits for what I want, and works well. I have a Samsung phone, which has a Notes app on it, and there is a handwriting option on that. It's unwieldy, though, and the screen is a bit small for my scrawl. I can barely fit two words on there.

Periodically, I'm seized by this urge to write, not type... and I hunt around for an app or a product so scratch the itch, only to be dissatisfied. Give up. Go back to clacking the keys like a peasant. On occasion, I've used an A4 notepad, and torn up the pages when I'm done.

I don't have any Apple devices, so there is that.

If I can't find something I can install on a device I already have, I'm torn between sticking with what I know (Rocetbook) or trying something different that might be (who knows, let's be optimistic) even better.

So... talk to me Goose. What do you write with? Is there another Rocketbook-esque Thing out there that is worth me trying? Or a notebooky app I can use to scribble away on? What are the pros and cons of it?

Plop.