
Hemingway App now available - ents
http://www.hemingwayapp.com/Desktop.html
======
latch
Some initial feedback:

1 - My first CC was rejected

2 - The spelling hint (the red line) is bad. Just type "Hollowness" and, for
me at least, it underlines "Hollownes" and doesn't pick up the last "s" until
I move on to the next word (and then some)

3 - Themes / font / spacing and fullscreen would be nice

4 - Tried to save a file: Uncaught node.js Error

Error: EACCES, open '/x.txt' (and now I can't go back, and I lost what I was
writing)

5 - On startup, it now flashes the intro text, but then goes into write mode.
Feels unpolished.

6 - Personally, I'd like something that helps me organize my writing a little
bit. For now, I just use a folder with project view in sublime, which works
great. Not sure I'm willing to give that up.

~~~
j-b
This would be a really useful plugin for Microsoft Outlook. I would shell out
the $4.99 for that. However, if I have to fire up a separate app to use this I
might as well just use the free web app.

------
patmcc
The marketing copy is puzzling to me. Two things it highlights are what I
would consider standard and required features for any text editor; the ability
to work offline and the ability to save and edit text files.

If your text editor can't save and edit text files (!?!) and can only be used
online, it's hardly even worth calling a text editor. That Hemingway can do
what's required is necessary, but why draw attention to those things instead
of actual, you know, features?

Edit: by the replies, I see these features make sense in comparison to
Hemingway the web app. However, if this page is also intended for people not
familiar with the web app, I stand by my points.

~~~
rguldener
Most likely because the original app works in your browser and does pretty
much the same as the desktop version:
[http://www.hemingwayapp.com/](http://www.hemingwayapp.com/)

------
o0-0o
Just for giggles, I ran the Satya Nadella letter[1] through here, and this is
what I got:

39 of 186 sentences are hard to read. 35 of 186 sentences are very hard to
read. 35 adverbs. Aim for 17 or fewer. 26 words or phrases can be simpler. 15
uses of passive voice. Aim for 37 or fewer.

[1] [http://www.microsoft.com/en-
us/news/ceo/index.html](http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/ceo/index.html)

~~~
bronson
Ha, good idea. That still seems too good a score. Maybe it should also flag
lazy CEO words like harmonize, energizing, innovation, dialogue, synthesize,
ubiquitous, ambient intelligence, digitize, maximize, empower, enable, ...
etc.

(Unless used for their original meaning, of course.)

Any one is no big deal, but at one per sentence... oof.

------
mztan
After reading the comments, I now understand why the marketing copy touts
saving and open text files as a feature. Given that there is no mention of the
web app (AFAICT) on this page and that I had never heard of Hemingway App
before, I initially was very confused as to why, for a text editor,
saving/opening files and editing text offline would even be worth mentioning.
I'm not saying the copy is poorly written (in fact I think it's written quite
well), I just think that perhaps not enough of it is directed at people like
me. Maybe a simple link back to the web app and some text explaining it would
suffice.

Also, a minor nitpick: I think the usage of "Hemingway App" and "Hemingway
Editor" is a bit confusing. I take it the web app is Hemingway App, and the
desktop client is Hemingway Editor? Why, then, is the page title "Hemingway
App for Mac OSX"? (side note, no love for Windows in the title?)

Not sure why I chose this comment to be my very first comment on HN.

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grabcocque
Hemingway is an app which makes terrible, and largely trivial stylistic
advice.

Fortunately, the real Hemingway had no truck with following such terrible
"rules":

[http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=10416](http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=10416)

~~~
iQuercus
As with all tools, it depends on how you use it.

If a writer lets software dictate his style, then he's hopeless. But I think
this can be a good tool for helping you introduce more variety to your
writing.

It can help open up stylistic choices as opposed to auto-pilot writing. We've
all written something with nary a thought, and usually it stinks. You don't
have to follow its recommendations, but it can make you stop and re-evaluate
what you've written, and that makes it more useful than one might imagine.

As a first-line editing tool, I think it's clever, don't you?

------
jaxn
Could someone create a gmail plugin to filter my outgoing emails through this.
Maybe it would help to make my emails clearer and more persuasive.

~~~
fl0wenol
No, because instead of discerning if you're a dullard by the quality of your
writing at a glance, I'll instead have to stumble through mechanically de-
voiced inanity. At least without Hemmingway your stream-of-consciousness as
committed to typed form can be examined and admired as a unique reflection of
your particular damage.

------
rumblestrut
I wrote them and suggested they have some type of liquor icon for "Write" and
a coffee cup icon for "Edit" (a play on "Write drunk, edit sober," which he
never said but everyone wrong attributes it to him).

Sad it didn't make it in. Guess I'll keep writing sober.

------
elliotec
This app is absolutely terrible. It's broken, but worse, it's wrong all the
time.

------
aantix
If your app truly is remarkable and provides a ton of value, please charge
more than $5.

------
teamonkey
Looks good! Two points from a Windows user.

1) I'm put off by the lack of Windows screenshots. I want to see what the
interface is like before I commit to buying.

2) I'm sure I'm in the minority here but I'd like to see this as a Modern app.
I like the distraction-free framing of the Modern interface on my notebook - I
think it's especially constructive to writing. Modern apps also install and
sync transparently across all my Windows devices. And honestly, the Windows
store is lacking a decent editor like this.

Another question: can you provide more details on the HTML export? Does it
just generate a static page? Does it create some kind of site?

------
neuralk
Serious question: could they be sued by Hemingway's family for using his name
on their product? I mean, if I made an app called "Tolkien" I might
realistically run into trouble with his estate.

~~~
mcgarveymr
Looks like they acquired proper licensing. The footer of the webpage states:
"Hemingway™ is a trademark of Hemingway Ltd., used under exclusive license
through Fashion Licensing of America, Inc., New York, NY 10001"

Fashion Licensing of America's site states that the company is the exclusive
licensing agent for Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

------
uncletaco
Is the laptop on the front page a hackintosh? Or does the app default to OSX
style windows on startup?

Someone bite the bullet and tell me.

~~~
tnorthcutt
It's just a screenshot of the Mac app, placed on a placeit stage:
[https://placeit.net/#!/stages/laptop-restaurant-wooden-
table](https://placeit.net/#!/stages/laptop-restaurant-wooden-table)

------
apetresc
I can't wait to copy-paste one of Hemingway's novels into here and see how
many issues it has with his writing.

~~~
briandear
Please do! I'm interested. Theoretically, Hemingway should score perfect.
Since it's his editor and all. And Faulkner would likely score near the
bottom. Gertrude Stein would likely result in a stack level too deep error.

"In the late summer of that year we lived in a house in a village that looked
across the river and the plain to the mountains. We edited text every day.
Carlos played the piano while we worked. The text editor was a good one, built
like text editors should be built, solid and able to hold words well even when
you hit the enter key in the irregular rhythm Carlos liked to use."

------
swanson
Would be happy to pay the $5 to be able to use this as an addon in Sublime
Text (or Atom/vim/emacs/whatever you like) instead of having to use your
editor app. I don't like having to switch to a new editor for writing. Any
plans for this?

------
Tharkun
Windows or Mac? No Linux support? _sigh_

------
jenius
I feel like this app would benefit massively from the touch of an actual
designer rather than using default bootstrap. When you are trying to write,
you want a minimal, elegant, and non-distracting interface, and those tacky
and jarring glossy buttons really throw me off.

I love the app though! If you can afford a couple hours of a designer's time
(it's a simple interface, wouldn't take too much), I feel like the benefits
would be huge. If you want my help with this, feel free to reach out, but I'm
sure any designer would be glad to do it : )

------
pnathan
Guiding towards short and simple writing forms the mind towards only being
able to express short and simple thoughts. Whereas in reality, long, nuanced,
and complex solutions are required to accommodate the many actors in many
situations.

------
thoughtpalette
Say I wanted to start writing an e-book, would this be an acceptable editor?
Does it output to PDF,.mobi formats? or should I go with something like LaTeX?

~~~
mcguire
FYI, LaTeX is not an editor. Although it does produce good PDF's, given all of
the LaTeX-to-HTML things I've seen, I would be sceptical of producing .mobi
with it.

~~~
thoughtpalette
Also good to know. Do you have any recommendations of text editors (online or
native) that are markdown oriented and support those formats?

------
api
I tried Writer Pro a while back and was pretty disappointed... it was
expensive for what I felt was delivered. I might give this one a shot.

------
valarauca1
I found the web app very useful I can't wait to actually use it in my daily
work flow :)

------
dbcooper
A single screenshot of the Windows version would've been nice ...

~~~
StronglyTyped
The program is a windows frame wrapped around their web app. It looks almost
exactly the same.

~~~
livejamie
The web app doesn't handle markdown, does it?

------
mrbill
I'd like to be able to change the font size in the edit window.

------
datahipster
+1 for a Vim plugin...

------
willyyr
Are there other languages supported apart from english?

~~~
HugoDias
+1, but looks like it doesn't have.

------
Ixiaus
I wish this were a LibreOffice plugin...

[EDIT] I would pay for it too.

------
thekylemontag
Doesn’t open on Yosemite beta 4.

Sad days. Hopefully soon.

------
jasonkester
Ironic that an app calling itself "Hemingway" would recommend against the word
"Utilize". As a key example of "things to avoid" no less.

Utilized in one of the more memorable exchanges in The Sun Also Rises:

 _" Let us rejoice in our blessings. Let us utilize the fowls of the air. Let
us utilize the product of the vine. Will you utilize a little, brother?"_

... and so on for nearly ten pages, utilizing wine, pubs, etc.

[http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=fAcAd5gFdB0C&lpg=PP1&dq=h...](http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=fAcAd5gFdB0C&lpg=PP1&dq=hemingway%20utilize&pg=PA126#v=onepage&q=hemingway%20utilize&f=false)

I bet if you apply this tool to more of his writing, you'd find it neutered it
completely, removing much of the magic that makes it so great.

~~~
ivan_ah
So you're one of those people who like to use "utilize." I've always thought
the word is used willy-nilly by people with feeble minds in order to "sound
fancy," but you seem like an alright guy.

Could you tell me why you'd want to use "utilize" instead of "use"? Do you
intend a different meaning e.g. make-use-of-in-unexpeded-way, or do you see
them as synonyms?

To me, it sounds horrible---a buzzword and a French-isism (The French verb _to
use_ is _utiliser_ ).

~~~
jasonkester
_So you 're one of those people who like to use "utilize."_

Far from it. Looks like this is the first time I've ever typed it:

[https://hn.algolia.com/?q=jasonkester+utilize#!/all/forever/...](https://hn.algolia.com/?q=jasonkester+utilize#!/all/forever/0/jasonkester%20utilize)

Hemingway is, though. A quick google search shows that he also has written
"helpfully" a few times in his novels, which is another forbidden word in the
app we're discussing.

That's what we're doing, by the way: discussing a piece of software. Try not
to get too worked up.

~~~
eric_bullington
I think "helpfully" \-- in a helpful manner -- is a fine word, nevermind the
grammar marms. I suspect Hemingway did as well.

However, he tried to avoid words like "utilize" that he could easily replace
with shorter, more powerful words without losing any expressiveness.

------
drivingmenuts
No demo?

It's a five dollar app. Of course, there's no demo because hey, it's only five
dollars.

This new marketing model blows.

~~~
briandear
It's 5 dollars. Stop being cheap. Buy it if it sounds like something you'd
like, if not, don't buy it. You don't get a demo of a movie when you buy it.
You can't just watch half of it and then decide if you want to buy a ticket.
It's pretty obnoxious when tech-types bitch about $5 yet have no problem
billing clients $100+ per hour or making $100K+ per year as a developer of the
very types of things about which they complain about paying $5. It's not
unlike restaurant waiters not leaving tips when they themselves go out to eat.
Not everything needs a demo. Perhaps a quick screencast or something if you
feel like the screenshots don't do the product justice. But it's a text
editor.. how much demo is actually needed?

~~~
pdpi
> You don't get a demo of a movie when you buy it

They're called "trailers".

~~~
briandear
And in software, it's called "screenshots."

~~~
comeonnow
If trailers are to films as screenshots are to software, then demos are to
software as what exactly are to films?

I think your argument is defunct, and I don't think it's bad to expect a demo,
no matter how expensive or inexpensive a bit of software may be.

