For me, nothing jump-starts my creativity like sitting down and handwriting something. It helps me get started again on a project where I’ve gone stale. Mind you, I don’t keep on handwriting. It is v. slow compared to typing and once I’m rolling I dig out my keyboard. But then comes the inevitable day when my typing brain has nothing to say, and it’s back to paper, whiteboard, or some iOS app. And in the planning (or re-planning!) stage I find handwriting essential.
As you say, @orpheus, almost all the note taking apps that do handwriting to text conversion use the MyScript engine. As an app developer, though, I don’t trust them. MyScript make their money from engine licence fees. Apps by MyScript are loss leaders designed to showcase their engine – there have been several that just disappeared from the app store with no warning. So I don’t trust that Nebo is around for the long haul – certainly not enough to make it part of my workflow.
I addressed the paper to text workflow, but like Lunk I mostly avoid paper these days. As Evernote is my go-to research and planning app/service, I need a note taking app that will work closely with it while I’m outlining. My choice is Noteshelf, which will happily publish my notes to Evernote as images for indexing automatically. If later I find that the text needs to be part of the narrative, it also has the MyScript engine available for conversion, so I’m not locked in. Other worthy handwriting note apps that don’t work as closely with Evernote are Notability, Goodnotes, and Notes Plus – any of them is a decent choice depending on which suits your workflow better. I don’t recommend Penultimate despite the fact that Evernote publish it – Noteshelf’s Evernote integration is better!
Now if you want to handwrite directly into iOS Scrivener, using a soft keyboard like Apple Scribble is possible today, but the choices aren’t great, especially if you don’t write in English. I use Writepad 1 (the iPhone version is called Penquills), which has terrible reviews in the app store. 
The problem is that it doesn’t recognise well “out of the box.” You’ll need to select the letter forms you use in advance. Once you do that one time chore, its recognition improves remarkably, and editing as opposed to text entry is better than the MyScript keyboard engine.
Mazec uses the MyScript keyboard engine but I find it a pain to use. Ditto Selvy PenScript. Of the 2, I prefer Selvy.
Why bother when Apple are producing their own version? First, you can be handwriting in iOS Scrivener now. Second, these will work on iPhone as well – Apple Scribble is only slated for iPad, I believe.
Some final thoughts on machine handwriting recognition:
- If the word you want isn’t in the dictionary, use block letters, not cursive. You may have to give up and bring up a typing keyboard if using a soft keyboard. If doing batch recognition, you’ll likely need to edit such words after conversion.
- Avoid letter slant. Turn your device if you have to.
- Any stylus is better than your finger. (I’ve never actually used an Apple Pencil. I may need to give in and buy one when Scribble arrives.)
Happy handwriting!
P.S. I don’t worry about the cost of apps. Before The Pandemic, I spent more on a single writing session at a coffeehouse than on the typical app. I only start counting costs when considering subscriptions.
