In the end, I like WriteRoom/DarkRoom the most for its customization options. Cheap too – no option is more than $25, and all have free trial periods. All are pretty similar, though Omniwriter has the most stylized, slick approach (complete with custom soundtrack and audible keyboard taps), at the cost of some customization. Regardless if you use a Mac or PC, there’s currently three pretty great full screen, minimal editors out there: WriteRoom, DarkRoom, and Omniwriter. As necessary transfer my final thoughts to their final destination: Keynote presentation outline, body of a new E-mail, blogging software, and so on.That generally leaves just my music player and an E-mail client left. Close all applications that are not absolutely necessary for the block of time I’ve set aside to write.Today, my extended writing formula is pretty simple: The beauty of Writeroom and the other similar, full screen, spartan text editors is there is no margin settings, no font adjustments, and there’s well, basically nothing on screen except for the text (not even the menu bar unless it’s explicitly called via mouseover.) I can’t fully control the outside world but in terms of my machine, at this point, there’s literally nothing between myself and what I want to write. WriteRoom in action Full screen minimal editors Enter the text editor that would change my writing habits significantly: WriteRoom. I wanted a text editor could go one step further and block out these distractions in a quasi-full screen mode. Even in minimized state, I still had a pretty colorful, busy desktop. Closing many of them completely wasn’t a option: I still wanted e-mail notifications, for instance. However, I was still getting distracted with the many apps I had around the main text editor in the center of my workspace. Everything was also now being saved in plain text, which eliminated Mac vs. No jumping around for special commands for fonts or bullets. I didn’t have an unnecessary set of toolbars, buttons or keyboard shortcuts to concern myself with. With this move my productivity got an immediate bump. However, a few years ago, I realized I wasn’t using 95% of the features or functionality in really any word processing app out there, so I decided to shave down most of my writing to a simple text editor. Back then I’d usually crack open a full featured word processor like Word, with a bunch of other apps (music players, chat clients, web browsers) going full speed in the background as I’d multi task from time to time.Īpple’s Pages, surrounded by iTunes, Chrome, LittleSnapper For many there’s better, faster, minimalist approach that keeps focus on the task at hand using full screen, lightweight text editors like WriteRoom.įirst, a brief history on how my writing workflow has evolved: Cutting down over the yearsĪs I’ve moved into progressively more creative industries the demands on me to write in a longer format have increased, though I’ve been writing long form, mostly for longer e-mails and creative brainstorms, heavily since my college days. Unfortunately, I’m convinced that many write in a way that’s too unorganized, too cluttered and too prone to distraction. An extended E-mail to the boss, An outline for a presentation, and getting down thoughts from a brainstorming session down are a few common examples. Whether in a work or play setting, we all run into scenarios where an extended writing session on the computer becomes necessary. Writing more with less: Minimalist text entry with WriteRoom
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