I love writing. It sustains me. But no matter how satisfying writing is, Internet access practically guarantees distraction. Oh sure, I could choose not to connect. But Google and Wikipedia are just too useful for grabbing those quick bits of information. But then “I’ll just check my email,” “I’ll just retweet this,” or “I wonder if Nedroid updated yet.” One thing leads to another, and oh wow look, I’ve lost four hours and I seem to have opened thirty Wikipedia tabs on Marvel super heroes. Great.
If only there were a minimalistic text editor for Windows that could keep me focused, but retained the features that are actually important to my productivity.
I’d like to introduce you to WriteMonkey. It’s a scaled-down text editor that runs in full screen mode so you can concentrate on your writing. It’s like a little home office for your operating system.
There are a few alternatives (e.g. Dark Room, TextRoom, Momentum Writer, Typewriter, Q10, and Write Room), but WriteMonkey is a cut above the rest. Dark Room might be a little more user friendly, but WriteMonkey has features that I’ve come to rely on: tons of keyboard shortcuts, typewriter sounds, intuitive progress measurement, timer, and — this is the coolest part — flow mode.
Typewriter Sounds
I love hearing the clickity-clicking typewriter sounds while I’m rocking the keyboard. Seems like it would be annoying, doesn’t it? But once you try using typewriter sounds, I think you’ll agree they really add to the satisfaction of typing. Computer keyboards (especially dinky laptop keyboards) just don’t give you enough of that beautiful sensory feedback. Nothing says “I just finished another line so hell yes I’m awesome” like a little “DING!” when you punch the return key.
Progress Bar and Timer
Whether your writing goals are self-imposed or part of a school assignment, you’ll love WriteMonkey’s customizable progress bar or numeric display. You can even choose whether to measure pagecount or wordcount. It’s encouraging watching the little progress bar extend as you write, and it saves you from breaking the flow to check your progress manually.
If you’re working within an allotted writing time, or you just want to add some motivation to keep writing, WriteMonkey also has a handy timer feature. This really shines when you’re warming up with some freewriting.
Flow Mode
The greatest asset to keeping the words coming out is flow mode. It’s not easy to find, but jam CTRL+SHIFT+ALT+F and say goodbye to editing as you go. Flow mode disables backspacing, deletion, cutting, copying, and pasting, so the only way to go is forward. As a compulsive self-editor, I’ve found flow mode ridiculously helpful for first drafts and writing warm-ups.
Visual Customization
Green text on a black background is the way to go. For me, it feels less sterile and unnerving than black on white. It makes each word seem more important somehow. Plus it makes you feel like you’re in the Matrix. I don’t know how this helps you be productive. But it does. And I know it’s not as “classic” as a Courier font, but throw Dina in there… Mmm. You got yourself a recipe for awesome.
Seriously. Try WriteMonkey. OpenOffice.org Writer and Notepad++ are swell, and of course they have their place. But they are really more tailored to business needs and programmers, respectively, than the needs of novelists, poets, and bloggers.
Download .zip: WriteMoney