"To get your work off the key, just insert the key into a computer that's already running any more modern OS than DOS."
I think the below-mentioned Pocket 376 might have one soldered-on already.
Or just run joe as jstar and close enough, maybe? I use joe for mostly everything, but I never used WordStar (well, I ran into it once)
groff file.troff -step -k > file.pdf
If any, check Groff with Mom macros, with does what you need with ease:
Online manual:
https://www.schaffter.ca/mom/momdoc/toc.html
For a quick command:
pdfmom -step -k yourfile.troff > output.pdf
- Install groff in Hyperbola GNU/Linux (or any other) if is not installed. It's mandatory in a 99% of distros but not Hyperbola.
- get https://www.schaffter.ca/mom/mom-2.6_d.tar.gz
- uncompress it
- copy om.tmac to /usr/share/groff/current/tmac/om.tmac
- cd to examples/ directory and do some tests:
pdfmom -step -k mom-pdf.mom > mom-pdf.pdf
It wasn't groff, or even Unix, or even a screen editor.
It was some RUNOFF clone running on NOS, using the XEDIT line editor.
But once you added the few commands you need (page size, margins, double space), it was just blank lines demarcate paragraphs and you're off to the races.
The advantage here is that one of the things that actual Wordstar brings to the table is formatting. Few of the other just "editors" offer that. (Notably, things like double space). I would not like to have to maintain double space text in a random text editor.
Since the text formatter dealt with word wrap and pages and everything else, I was just able to dump in raw text, not worry about formatting (at all), and just go. It's "OK" to have a line with just a single word on it, so using a line editor really isn't an issue. (Joining lines in XEDIT is kind of a pain in the neck.)
The teacher was kind enough to accept my papers from dot matrix printers on reversed green bar paper (cut to width, of course).
But, fundamentally, using simple groff is very capable for basic manuscripts without having to fall down a deep dark rabbit hole.