
Best apps for writers - hhs
https://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/best-websites-for-writers/free-mobile-apps-for-writers
======
skilled
I wonder how many of these see actual real use. As a writer, I can't stand
distractions or additional input when I know that all I really need is pen and
paper, or Pages / Google Docs if talking computers.

I am also struggling to get over the Gutenberg editor that WordPress
introduced. I feel like Matt is being an immature brat for not introducing a
simple 'writers mode' for the editor.

People think it doesn't matter, but it does. Those little actions you have to
perform outside of writing start to add up.

~~~
fbelzile
I created the 5th app in this list (Cold Turkey Blocker). I'm actually
surprised they didn't mention my other app called Cold Turkey Writer. It runs
full-screen and doesn't let user out of the program until a goal (word count
or timer) is reached. I have lots of writers that swear by it:
[https://getcoldturkey.com/writer/](https://getcoldturkey.com/writer/)

~~~
Scarbutt
I used your blocker last week, changing the system clock time (from time and
date preferences) made your app useless (doesn't block anymore), so went back
to editing /etc/hosts again. If circumventing the block is easier than editing
a hosts file I don't see the point.

For many, I don't think changing the clock time is an uncommon thing to think
about if the desire to procrastinate arises again.

~~~
ehnto
I think the problem isn't the blockers at that point.

------
_emacsomancer_
Emacs is seriously the best 'app' for anyone working with text, including
writers. And if its (default) looks put you off, have a look at extensions
(and Emacs is designed to be extended) like the Poet theme:
[https://github.com/kunalb/poet](https://github.com/kunalb/poet)

~~~
ashton314
Amen to that. I read a blog post somewhere (sorry, lost the reference) about a
writer (non-programmer, mind you) who switched to Emacs for Org-Mode.

Another extension that's great for writing/note taking is Deft [1]. Give it a
directory (optional recursing) of .md, .txt, .org, etc. files, and it will let
you filter through them instantly. I've been using this for a few years now
and it's still my primary digital note-taking system.

[1]:
[https://jblevins.org/projects/deft/](https://jblevins.org/projects/deft/)

~~~
_emacsomancer_
Cool. I've heard of Deft, but haven't really tried it.

Another great Emacs extension for writing is writeroom-mode:
[https://github.com/joostkremers/writeroom-
mode](https://github.com/joostkremers/writeroom-mode)

~~~
ashton314
Thanks for posting this! Just got it and I _love_ it!

------
Theodores
Serious suggestion - semantic HTML5 with the tags in a decent IDE.

You may laugh but I am serious. Language has moved on and it has been moving
on for as long as there has been recorded history.

With HTML5 you get the extra markup for 'section', 'article', 'aside' and
there are other semantic elements that already exist - 'em' is not the same as
'i', it infers emphasis rather than making the letters italic.

See the elements as punctuation. Yep, that means writing 'p' tags around
sentences. An IDE autocompletes the tags but it is gentle about spelling
mistakes and grammar is unknown to it.

You can fully typeset a book in HTML, if you want to comment bits out then you
can. With an IDE you can close sections between tags up.

Then there is good old version control. Compare your changes.

The medium has other creative opportunities. I might not finish my book that
starts out with 'In 2019 we should be...' until 2021. I could just code that
in so the year is correct.

So long as you have some fluency in HTML5 and know the tag vocabulary then the
markup in the original document does no harm. Screenplays and plenty of other
written forms have a format, tidy HTML5 is now mine.

The semantic tags and the 'outline friendly' structure also help writing. No
longer does text just have to be text.

We are so used to 'div soup' style HTML churned out by a machine that we have
forgotten what real HTML5 looks like. There is no need for the div, span and
other coder-only elements, there is also no need for classes and ids if
writing actual content in neat HTML5. With CSS Grid one's copy can be styled
with a few basic rules on 'section', 'aside', 'figure' and other top level
elements.

Proof reading is pretty good too - refresh the page in the browser. Plus, in
text nowadays one does need to cite sources. Links are easy in HTML5, not so
easy in other things.

Try it, you will be surprised. Plus, if you should be coding and you are
working on your novel, most people will just see a programmer IDE on screen...

~~~
byproxy
I like this idea, but maybe there should be (or maybe there is) a writing-
specific subset of XML, like there is with music. The HTML elements come close
to encompassing a lot of functionality, but I think there ought to be an
expanded set of tags for doing ... stranger? .. things. For example, how would
you render "House of Leaves" in HTML? I'm thinking of modern music composition
and how it's really pushed music notation, and I think MusicXML handles it...
so I imagine a WriteXML can cover traditional forms of writing and adapt to
more experimental forms as itt developed.

~~~
AlbertoGP
The TEI (Text Encoding Initiative) XML format is a writing-specific XML
vocabulary.

[https://teibyexample.org/](https://teibyexample.org/)
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Text_Encoding_Initiative](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Text_Encoding_Initiative)

The whole set is enormous as it can encode all kinds of modern and ancient
forms of literature with many kinds of annotations, even parallel versions of
the same text as often happens with old works for which there is no known
“original”. You can encode scribal variations etc.

There have been several attempts to create a simplified subset that would be
useful for what we could call a normal modern book, but they haven’t got very
far because it is still cumbersome and the tooling needed to work effectively
with it is not freely available. I’m working on such tooling in my spare time,
more focused on DocBook as the vast majority of what I write is technical
documentation.

The simplified subset from TEI themselves is called TEI Lite:
[https://tei-c.org/guidelines/customization/lite/](https://tei-c.org/guidelines/customization/lite/)

If TEI sounds interesting to you, there is an application called TEI
Publisher, Free Software under the GPLv3, that you might use:
[https://teipublisher.com/](https://teipublisher.com/)

Actually, looking at it again it now looks quite good. I’ll give it a try
later.

Edit 24 minutes later: tried to install TEI Publisher, it works on top of the
eXist XML DB, and after installing it, starting it gives me an “Exception in
thread "AWT-EventQueue-0" java.lang.NullPointerException”. Ah well...

------
awaxman11
I've been really enjoying Blurt app [http://Blurt.app](http://Blurt.app)

Here's a behind the scenes look into how I've used Blurt to help me create a
writing habit (50+ day streak ongoing!)
[https://blurt.app/@awaxman11/creating-a-writing-
habit/5c60ed...](https://blurt.app/@awaxman11/creating-a-writing-
habit/5c60ed9ee7eacb010f5bc607)

The founder is running the business openly.Here are his Feb '19 results:
[https://twitter.com/corey_gwin/status/1109565231510900736](https://twitter.com/corey_gwin/status/1109565231510900736)

------
mromanuk
Shameless plug, I’m developing an iOS keyboard where you receive XP by typing
words, and you get stats like words per day. Currently in private beta and
looking for beta testers more info at [https://erudito.io](https://erudito.io)

------
ordinaryradical
iA Writer is so much better than other minimal, writer-focused apps it’s an
indictment of this list that it’s not on here. Markdown means you have a
forever file format that’s exportable.

My only real complaint is that it doesn’t have some more robust manuscript
compile features.

All in all, one of if not the best app purchase I’ve made in years.

~~~
drak0n1c
I agree, but the list is focused on free apps. This should have been in the HN
title

------
lancefisher
If you are working to get published try Discover by Submittable (YC12):

[https://discover.submittable.com](https://discover.submittable.com)

We list many opportunities from literary journals and other orgs for free. You
can get the app for $5 which has a couple small extras like push notifications
when your submission is accepted. Our newsletter is high-quality and free as
well.

------
pcmaffey
I love Ulysses. It's replaced Evernote for all my note taking. I can point it
at my .md folders for local storage. It has typewriter mode, tabs, and is
entirely theme-able.

I don't mind paying the subscription since I wasn't a customer before they
switched business models.

------
reverite
On a tangent: one of the things that's been really difficult is trying to find
a writing app that is sync-friendly with a co-writer, as me and a couple of
close friends work together on scripts for a comic.

That is to say, I want to do a file sync with Dropbox or any other
service/application, and the co-writer or co-writer(s)/artist(s) can also
either get it, or be notified there's a new version, and not suffer any
accidental overwrites or loss of data.

(Scrivener is an option, and it's apparently Git friendly for that purpose, so
we have that going for now. Google Docs and Etherpad Lite are not
acceptable/usable replacements either.)

------
phoe-krk
Nobody yet mentioned Wordgrinder, a console text editor for writers meant to
kick out of your distractions.

[http://cowlark.com/wordgrinder/index.html](http://cowlark.com/wordgrinder/index.html)

------
h0p3
I do a lot of writing
([https://philosopher.life/](https://philosopher.life/)), and I think the
Tiddlywiki ecosystem is outstanding.

------
checkyoursudo
For Linux Desktop, I have mostly enjoyed Focus Writer. It was available in my
package manager (Gentoo, Portage), so I gave it a try. It's pretty good for
distraction-free writing.

------
macco
I would add [https://dictandu.com](https://dictandu.com) to the list.

Best app for writing I ever used.

------
_Codemonkeyism
Visual Studio Code with Markdown.

------
poolsuite
Abiword

