Really enjoyed your thoughts on these matters, your enthusiasm for writing as work but also as art shines through. would love to see a video of you modifying the $70 keyboard to your own specifications.
I don't write a ton, but I've used a comfort curve keyboard for many years. Having the keys arranged in a slight arc feels kind of nice. I also like making use of the big volume control buttons on top that are easy to find in the dark.
As someone who loves stories. I enjoy writing.Unfortunately for me I have dyslexia, I have found that dragon naturaly speaking and Ai editing helped me get the story out. I know that it is not keyboard related , but it is one of the only ways that I have found to be able to tell my story. On a side note your story's are one of my biggest inspirations and they saved me more then onve from the darkest place someone can go Thorn knows the place. After coming. Home from Iraq at the end of 2008 I was diagnosed with ptsd and wile in A depressed state I picked up an old copy of one of your books. In that moment I rediscovered a world I loved to visit in my younger years. I don't know if you'll ever see this, but I ask you, How did You write Murtagh? You Capture the sense of PTSD perfectly I connected with thorn and Murtagh in a way I never could with Sophira and Eragon. It truly felt like you understood what so many don't. Thank you.
What an amazing and touching message. Thank you so much for your comment. I’m glad the books have meant so much to you over the years and that they’ve been a comfort in difficult times. As an author, I always hoped that what I wrote would have a positive effect in the world, but one never knows for sure. So again, thank you. Murtagh and Thorn were difficult characters to write. They had an unfair start in life, one that forced them to do the bidding of Galbatorix but went against their innately good nature. Their struggle reflected, perhaps, the overarching conflict the inhabitants of Alagaësia were experiencing. Despite their turn to the dark side, so to speak, I felt that they were worth saving. They deserved their own book, a story that captured their journey of healing, redemption, and ultimately freedom. That book was MURTAGH. Hopefully your life is more settled nowadays. And as the elves would say, “Atra esterní ono thelduin.” May the stars watch over you.
Well you nailed it, The inner Turmoil that Murtagh must make up for all of his mistakes, It's a deep and grained feeling in most soldiers. And the feeling that you have to correct the balance of the world for the wrongs that you may have had no choice to commit. The fact the Murtagh suffers from ptsd I'm glad he found Islingr. Atra du evarinya ono varda
Christopher, can you please do a video on a little in-depth analysis on how you plotted and outlined Eragon/ Inheritance Cycle. I know you have mentioned that one of the books outlines were basically a summary of what should happen in each scene and it was about 15 pages? I could be wrong…. Hope you are well! Best, Jared
Is there any way I could connect with you to talk about projects I have in mind and what I could do to make them go from an idea and some script to be able to make it be more than just lines on a page? Also, I'd love to get the books I have autographed, lol.
1. Love the table. 2. Love the bookshelf. 3. Love the “Lord of the Rings,” set you have. I have about 4 copies of different printings of them in my house and that one is my favorite. The type setting is amazing. 4. Just got into mechanical keyboards like, a week ago, and I think I need to swap switches. Have a Keycrhon 10 Pro, and I love the keycaps, I love the base, love the per key RGB, but I keep getting a lot of accidental key inputs… I think I need to swap to a different set of switches.
I am currently still looking which config i want for my keyboard. I want to have the tactile clicky feeling while typing, but i also do not want the keyboard to be too loud. Its been a journey between the right switches, keycaps and case(?) and i feel a little bit lost between all the options :D Will update if i've found the right combination
Very interesting! Just re-read the inheritance series and wow...what a treasure. Reading Murtagh now and enjoying thoroughly, thank you for your craft. Highly anticipating an adaptation worthy of the books. May I be so bold to ask for super fans like myself what the probability is for that? Atra esterni' ono thelduin Mor' rana li'fa unin hjarta onr Un du evari'nya ono varda
Love this! I have (for better or for worse, who knows?) fallen very deep into the rabbit hole that is custom mechanical keyboards. I am at the point where I'm building keyboards for family members just to feed my obsession 😅Currently typing on the Typface Univers (1 of the 6 custom keyboards I own), a beautiful keyboard I just built recently with some heavier tactile switches. While I'm not an author, my line of work (data analytics) means I'm at the computer all the time. Having a pleasurable, even premium experience while typing makes a huge difference in my day-to-day. But I can never go back to cheap membrane keyboards - I bring mine to the office if I ever need to go in!
That was a avery interesting rant! Thanks Christopher 🤗 I have a GMMK something keyboard that allows Me to change the switches on the fly (they're not soldered), I tried out a good bunch of switches and settled on cherry green switches that are pretty much the heaviest on the market (about twice as heavy as a red or brown cherry switch). With those I do the least typos and I like how they feel and click! 🤗 The keyboard was around 150 bucks iirc, which has been well worth it for Me. It's definitely gonna last as long as I want it to last since I can replace both they keycaps and the switches! 🤗 I wish I could buy some heavier switches, around 120g or so, but they don't really exist and I'm not so in depth into mechanical keyboards to open up the switches and replace the springs inside! 😂
As of writing by hand, which I do for journaling (so no need to retype on computers after), I like to use ballpoint pens! There's a specific brand I have settled on that feels the best! They're 3 bucks a piece and one-use only, but worth it for Me :D I have tried fountain pens before and played around with different inks and colors and it was all a lot of fun, but ultimately a bit too much maintenance/cleaning etc for Me! And it's easy to get ink smears with those inks too which I really don't like 😅😂
Fountain pens have been fantastic for improving my writing experience. On your recommendation, I tried out some Noodler's inks, and I like them a lot. My most used fountain pen is a Pilot Metropolitan that I keep filled with Noodler's African Violet. The color is beautiful, and the waterproof nature of the ink comes in handy more than I expected. I use fountain pens to do about half of my journal writing. Since I'm studying computer science, whenever I write code, it has to be on the computer so I can get syntax highlighting. Unfortunately, I have lots of other hobbies that are also on the computer, so I'm getting a bit of RSI. While the ideal solution is to spend less time on the computer, that won't be happening at least until I finish my degree. I'm currently building a split ergonomic keyboard to make things a bit easier on my wrists.
Recently switched to a remarkable budget keyboard by Koorui. It's a fullsize, it has red switches for the most part but came with two blue and two brown to try them out, and the switches are hot swappable. Also had media controls. I have no idea how this thing was priced under 30 USD as it is probably one of the better mechanicals I've seen under 150$. I swapped out three switches: caps and backspace to blue, spacebar to brown. Having a slight sound difference on these keys is super helpful for me. I also have my EcoSteno that I use periodically, which is fantastic for those into Stenography, but not much use for the average typist. I keep trying to learn, but no dice. My backup is weird green membrane keyboard with hexagonal keys... using it for more than an hour or so causes hand pain. It's more of a novelty thing that I bring out just to mess with people. Definitely agree with you that size matters. I prefer larger keyboards despite having small hands, because I don't use home keys to type and the spacing actually is something that speeds up typing for me and reduces errors. I tend to need a 17" to overcome this. Sure, it looks ridiculous... but I hit 65wpm on a regular basis without looking down, so it clearly works. Too close together can be just as bad as too far apart, depending on the typist. I run into issues when I travel, though. I cannot find a smaller, durable keyboard I like enough to travel with. I end up using the on-board keyboard for my laptop, but find it lowers my productivity significantly. Membrane keyboards just... are not great for heavy typing, as you said.
Very interesting keyboard you have there. I have a few questions. 1: how is the Eragon Disney+ show going? 2: where did you get your insipiration for the dragons and other creatures in the Inheritance cycle? 3: did you take inspiration from Star Wars and Lord Of The Rings for your story? Because I did notice some similarities to those stories.
I wonder if you’d like the keys from Wooting 60HE+ or 80HE. (I’m pretty sure you can get just the module too.) For my work, I use the num pad a ton, so I opt for a full size layout. I currently use the Logitech G 512, but I’ve got my eye on that Wooting Two HE.
Nice to know that handwriting books is still a thing. Though it is much easier for the editing process if you are working in a digital space. For me personally I have a hard time doing "creative" writing digitally. The words just flow easier when putting pencil to paper. Also when I'm working with a keyboard i find it hard to look at the screen or at my hands while typing. As for the keyboard that I prefer , that would have to be the Logitech K860 Ergo. I learned how to type on an old Windows Natural keyboard. The K860 is the only keyboard that comes close to the same feel.
have you tried more ergonomical keyboards that are slightly tilted towards both sides, or the ones with very few keys where you press combinations and apparently the speed goes up imensly? 😄
hey cristopher have u seen the AI videos of the silmarilion? they are getting better and better, i would love to see the some of the later events in your books made by AI since we dont have yet a show or something that covers it, btw when u started writing eragon u had already read the earth sea series and the silmarilion? im just curious to know your inspirations, i find a mix of lotr, star wars and earth sea in your books, love your work keep it up
This got me going down a rabbit hole for keyboards (been thinking about getting one but there's so many options and I don't want to spend the money at the moment) But it looks like the wireless dongles that some come with should have less lag than a bluetooth connection. Something I'll be looking for as well because I agree about lag not being ideal! Also the audio on the video only comes out of the right channel
Could you perhaps link some of the keyboards you recommend? I’ve been using my laptop to write, but hate how flat the keys are. Having a real keyboard is more helpful to me when writing. Thanks.
Thought you might be interested in writing a history of Ed Speeler's background. Even the possibility of him being English Indian. Or see if you can get him to write a biography. And then further dive into the possibility of him being a relative of Joseph's and Ben's tribe.
Have you considered a hot swappable split ortholinear keyboard such as the ZSA's Moonlander or Voyager? Once I switched to a Moonlander from a traditional staggared QWERTY TKL I became very away of how most mechanical keyboards inherent too much design heritage from historical type writers that reduce ergonomic comfort and can possibly reduce typing speed. Thanks for the great video and your enjoyable works!
I'm glad I'm not the only one who doesn't care for bluetooth keyboards. I've never understood paying more up front for something you'd have to keep buying batteries for to keep it functional, when the product itself is laggier than its cheaper, lower-maintenance version. I am a bit OCD, so I come across another problem with my keyboard: dust. With closer, higher-up keys, it's really hard to get the dust from between the keys (even with one of those cans of air). With these keyboards, I often get distracted from my writing as I try to exact TOTAL WAR upon the dust (to no avail).
I thought you might be interested in doing some extra historical writing in the future on possible characters that were in the movie. You know Ed Speeler looked like he had some English Indian. Seeing how the biblical Benjamin's tribe was related to Joseph's tribe. And Joseph's tribe was considered to be Indian mixed with Egyptian later. You might like the idea of getting another study in the future. And do further research on the biblical tribes like Reuben' s tribe that had a Rueben sandwich named after them. 😁🍞
@christopher_paolini That's fair lol. I've been waiting to reread them all again because I lost my signed copy of Inheritance, so it's been awhile since I've been that far back
Brother. Please. Do NOT get sucked in to the woke agenda with this TV show deal you got. They alllll fail and you know why. Make the right choice. -the people
Gotta love the clickity clack of a good keyboard
Would love to see a page of original dip pen Brisinger writing 😍
You are a precious part of my childhood, thank you so much!
That table is fantastic
He makes me wanna make a book
Thanks for sharing this!!!
Really enjoyed your thoughts on these matters, your enthusiasm for writing as work but also as art shines through. would love to see a video of you modifying the $70 keyboard to your own specifications.
I don't write a ton, but I've used a comfort curve keyboard for many years. Having the keys arranged in a slight arc feels kind of nice. I also like making use of the big volume control buttons on top that are easy to find in the dark.
You should try a dactyl manuform keyboard!
@@smccrode That's certainly a unique looking keyboard.
Dactyl manuform keyboard has been the best. I can’t go back. Also, having my desk at the proper ergonomic height helped a ton.
As someone who loves stories.
I enjoy writing.Unfortunately for me I have dyslexia, I have found that dragon naturaly speaking and Ai editing helped me get the story out. I know that it is not keyboard related , but it is one of the only ways that I have found to be able to tell my story. On a side note your story's are one of my biggest inspirations and they saved me more then onve from the darkest place someone can go Thorn knows the place. After coming.
Home from Iraq at the end of 2008 I was diagnosed with ptsd and wile in A depressed state I picked up an old copy of one of your books. In that moment I rediscovered a world I loved to visit in my younger years. I don't know if you'll ever see this, but I ask you, How did
You write Murtagh? You Capture the sense of PTSD perfectly I connected with thorn and Murtagh in a way I never could with Sophira and Eragon. It truly felt like you understood what so many don't. Thank you.
What an amazing and touching message. Thank you so much for your comment. I’m glad the books have meant so much to you over the years and that they’ve been a comfort in difficult times. As an author, I always hoped that what I wrote would have a positive effect in the world, but one never knows for sure. So again, thank you.
Murtagh and Thorn were difficult characters to write. They had an unfair start in life, one that forced them to do the bidding of Galbatorix but went against their innately good nature. Their struggle reflected, perhaps, the overarching conflict the inhabitants of Alagaësia were experiencing. Despite their turn to the dark side, so to speak, I felt that they were worth saving. They deserved their own book, a story that captured their journey of healing, redemption, and ultimately freedom. That book was MURTAGH.
Hopefully your life is more settled nowadays. And as the elves would say, “Atra esterní ono thelduin.” May the stars watch over you.
Well you nailed it, The inner Turmoil that Murtagh must make up for all of his mistakes, It's a deep and grained feeling in most soldiers. And the feeling that you have to correct the balance of the world for the wrongs that you may have had no choice to commit. The fact the Murtagh suffers from ptsd I'm glad he found Islingr. Atra du evarinya ono varda
Christopher, can you please do a video on a little in-depth analysis on how you plotted and outlined Eragon/ Inheritance Cycle. I know you have mentioned that one of the books outlines were basically a summary of what should happen in each scene and it was about 15 pages? I could be wrong…. Hope you are well!
Best,
Jared
Very cool advice! The video has a mono stereo problem, only audible on tthe right speaker
I love using fountain pens, they just make it more enjoyable 😊
@@SagacityLost Christopher got me into collecting fountain pens by watch his videos. I have more than I can count now.
Have you read all the books on the bookshelf behind you?
Is there any way I could connect with you to talk about projects I have in mind and what I could do to make them go from an idea and some script to be able to make it be more than just lines on a page? Also, I'd love to get the books I have autographed, lol.
1. Love the table.
2. Love the bookshelf.
3. Love the “Lord of the Rings,” set you have. I have about 4 copies of different printings of them in my house and that one is my favorite. The type setting is amazing.
4. Just got into mechanical keyboards like, a week ago, and I think I need to swap switches. Have a Keycrhon 10 Pro, and I love the keycaps, I love the base, love the per key RGB, but I keep getting a lot of accidental key inputs… I think I need to swap to a different set of switches.
I am currently still looking which config i want for my keyboard. I want to have the tactile clicky feeling while typing, but i also do not want the keyboard to be too loud. Its been a journey between the right switches, keycaps and case(?) and i feel a little bit lost between all the options :D Will update if i've found the right combination
Very interesting!
Just re-read the inheritance series and wow...what a treasure. Reading Murtagh now and enjoying thoroughly, thank you for your craft.
Highly anticipating an adaptation worthy of the books. May I be so bold to ask for super fans like myself what the probability is for that?
Atra esterni' ono thelduin
Mor' rana li'fa unin hjarta onr
Un du evari'nya ono varda
Love this! I have (for better or for worse, who knows?) fallen very deep into the rabbit hole that is custom mechanical keyboards. I am at the point where I'm building keyboards for family members just to feed my obsession 😅Currently typing on the Typface Univers (1 of the 6 custom keyboards I own), a beautiful keyboard I just built recently with some heavier tactile switches.
While I'm not an author, my line of work (data analytics) means I'm at the computer all the time. Having a pleasurable, even premium experience while typing makes a huge difference in my day-to-day. But I can never go back to cheap membrane keyboards - I bring mine to the office if I ever need to go in!
That was a avery interesting rant! Thanks Christopher 🤗
I have a GMMK something keyboard that allows Me to change the switches on the fly (they're not soldered), I tried out a good bunch of switches and settled on cherry green switches that are pretty much the heaviest on the market (about twice as heavy as a red or brown cherry switch). With those I do the least typos and I like how they feel and click! 🤗
The keyboard was around 150 bucks iirc, which has been well worth it for Me. It's definitely gonna last as long as I want it to last since I can replace both they keycaps and the switches! 🤗
I wish I could buy some heavier switches, around 120g or so, but they don't really exist and I'm not so in depth into mechanical keyboards to open up the switches and replace the springs inside! 😂
As of writing by hand, which I do for journaling (so no need to retype on computers after), I like to use ballpoint pens! There's a specific brand I have settled on that feels the best! They're 3 bucks a piece and one-use only, but worth it for Me :D
I have tried fountain pens before and played around with different inks and colors and it was all a lot of fun, but ultimately a bit too much maintenance/cleaning etc for Me! And it's easy to get ink smears with those inks too which I really don't like 😅😂
Fountain pens have been fantastic for improving my writing experience. On your recommendation, I tried out some Noodler's inks, and I like them a lot. My most used fountain pen is a Pilot Metropolitan that I keep filled with Noodler's African Violet. The color is beautiful, and the waterproof nature of the ink comes in handy more than I expected. I use fountain pens to do about half of my journal writing.
Since I'm studying computer science, whenever I write code, it has to be on the computer so I can get syntax highlighting. Unfortunately, I have lots of other hobbies that are also on the computer, so I'm getting a bit of RSI. While the ideal solution is to spend less time on the computer, that won't be happening at least until I finish my degree. I'm currently building a split ergonomic keyboard to make things a bit easier on my wrists.
I use a Keychron with cherry blue. Love that clickety-clack.
Recently switched to a remarkable budget keyboard by Koorui. It's a fullsize, it has red switches for the most part but came with two blue and two brown to try them out, and the switches are hot swappable. Also had media controls. I have no idea how this thing was priced under 30 USD as it is probably one of the better mechanicals I've seen under 150$. I swapped out three switches: caps and backspace to blue, spacebar to brown. Having a slight sound difference on these keys is super helpful for me.
I also have my EcoSteno that I use periodically, which is fantastic for those into Stenography, but not much use for the average typist. I keep trying to learn, but no dice.
My backup is weird green membrane keyboard with hexagonal keys... using it for more than an hour or so causes hand pain. It's more of a novelty thing that I bring out just to mess with people.
Definitely agree with you that size matters. I prefer larger keyboards despite having small hands, because I don't use home keys to type and the spacing actually is something that speeds up typing for me and reduces errors. I tend to need a 17" to overcome this. Sure, it looks ridiculous... but I hit 65wpm on a regular basis without looking down, so it clearly works. Too close together can be just as bad as too far apart, depending on the typist.
I run into issues when I travel, though. I cannot find a smaller, durable keyboard I like enough to travel with. I end up using the on-board keyboard for my laptop, but find it lowers my productivity significantly. Membrane keyboards just... are not great for heavy typing, as you said.
Very interesting keyboard you have there. I have a few questions.
1: how is the Eragon Disney+ show going?
2: where did you get your insipiration for the dragons and other creatures in the Inheritance cycle?
3: did you take inspiration from Star Wars and Lord Of The Rings for your story? Because I did notice some similarities to those stories.
I wonder if you’d like the keys from Wooting 60HE+ or 80HE. (I’m pretty sure you can get just the module too.)
For my work, I use the num pad a ton, so I opt for a full size layout. I currently use the Logitech G 512, but I’ve got my eye on that Wooting Two HE.
Nice to know that handwriting books is still a thing. Though it is much easier for the editing process if you are working in a digital space. For me personally I have a hard time doing "creative" writing digitally. The words just flow easier when putting pencil to paper. Also when I'm working with a keyboard i find it hard to look at the screen or at my hands while typing. As for the keyboard that I prefer , that would have to be the Logitech K860 Ergo. I learned how to type on an old Windows Natural keyboard. The K860 is the only keyboard that comes close to the same feel.
have you tried more ergonomical keyboards that are slightly tilted towards both sides, or the ones with very few keys where you press combinations and apparently the speed goes up imensly? 😄
hey cristopher have u seen the AI videos of the silmarilion? they are getting better and better, i would love to see the some of the later events in your books made by AI since we dont have yet a show or something that covers it, btw when u started writing eragon u had already read the earth sea series and the silmarilion? im just curious to know your inspirations, i find a mix of lotr, star wars and earth sea in your books, love your work keep it up
This got me going down a rabbit hole for keyboards (been thinking about getting one but there's so many options and I don't want to spend the money at the moment)
But it looks like the wireless dongles that some come with should have less lag than a bluetooth connection. Something I'll be looking for as well because I agree about lag not being ideal!
Also the audio on the video only comes out of the right channel
Could you perhaps link some of the keyboards you recommend? I’ve been using my laptop to write, but hate how flat the keys are. Having a real keyboard is more helpful to me when writing. Thanks.
Thought you might be interested in writing a history of Ed Speeler's background. Even the possibility of him being English Indian. Or see if you can get him to write a biography. And then further dive into the possibility of him being a relative of Joseph's and Ben's tribe.
FYI, in all your long form and shorts videos for a while, there's only been audio in the right channel
Thanks for letting me know! My team figured out what the technical issue was and will make sure it's not happening moving forward.
@@christopher_paolini No problem
Have you considered a hot swappable split ortholinear keyboard such as the ZSA's Moonlander or Voyager? Once I switched to a Moonlander from a traditional staggared QWERTY TKL I became very away of how most mechanical keyboards inherent too much design heritage from historical type writers that reduce ergonomic comfort and can possibly reduce typing speed.
Thanks for the great video and your enjoyable works!
👏👏👏
I'm glad I'm not the only one who doesn't care for bluetooth keyboards. I've never understood paying more up front for something you'd have to keep buying batteries for to keep it functional, when the product itself is laggier than its cheaper, lower-maintenance version.
I am a bit OCD, so I come across another problem with my keyboard: dust. With closer, higher-up keys, it's really hard to get the dust from between the keys (even with one of those cans of air). With these keyboards, I often get distracted from my writing as I try to exact TOTAL WAR upon the dust (to no avail).
👏🏻
I thought you might be interested in doing some extra historical writing in the future on possible characters that were in the movie. You know Ed Speeler looked like he had some English Indian. Seeing how the biblical Benjamin's tribe was related to Joseph's tribe. And Joseph's tribe was considered to be Indian mixed with Egyptian later. You might like the idea of getting another study in the future. And do further research on the biblical tribes like Reuben' s tribe that had a Rueben sandwich named after them. 😁🍞
Christopher we need a dragon rider game on console and pc
Will we ever get a whole book from a dragon's perspective?
Thanks for the "rant" xD
Sound is on the right only xd
CHRIS I HAVE SEVERAL BONES TO PICK REEEEEE
Zarroc does not ignite in flames D:
Hah, it'll be beautiful with blue flames too! That said, Zar'roc erupts in reddish flames in the chapter titled "Battle Under Farthen Dûr" in Eragon.
@christopher_paolini That's fair lol. I've been waiting to reread them all again because I lost my signed copy of Inheritance, so it's been awhile since I've been that far back
If you are willing to invest some money there are fantastic so called "custom" keyboards that are fully assembled.
Do you still play Minecraft?
I sent you a gift by post. I hope you like it :/
Do you only have 3 of the 7 Harry Potter books 😂
On that note have you ever read the black tattoo
Brother. Please. Do NOT get sucked in to the woke agenda with this TV show deal you got. They alllll fail and you know why. Make the right choice.
-the people