RightRoom

I don’t care what Mark Pilgrim says about WriteRoom, I think it’s a fantastic tool. No, I’m not a published author, and yes, I do have a favorite text editor—two actually.

When coding I use multiple windows so I can reference documentation, test my application, and sometimes find a neat distraction. The editor I use may have multiple windows (or other views, :split anyone?) or tabs making it easy for me to switch between source files. It’s rare that I work on an application that requires only one file. It’s nice to have that agility.

But when I’m writing an essay or blog post I need something to parry distractions. I am not a good writer and I’m sure I have some level of ADD, making the whole process even more difficult for me. Bringing WriteRoom into the picture has helped me considerably. The author’s website advertises that WriteRoom offers distraction-free writing. A simple fullscreen editor with a minimal toolset, it reminds me of my days of typing on a word processor.

As a small child we had a simple word processing typewriter. I used it to type many of my assignments until about the fifth grade (which should give you an indication of how young I am). Later, I started using a PC which also contained my games. I found that I could rarely finish my homework without my parents “motivating” me. You could say that this is a matter of disciplining oneself, which is fair, but part of finding ways to increase motivation is finding ways to reduce distraction. I am terrible with distraction in real life too.

“WriteRoom” is a great name for an important reason. The program doesn’t remove all distractions, rather, it creates a confined environment. It’s like working in your own office with a door, where every once in a while you may have to come out onto the floor and help some people out. But when you return to your office it is much easier to jump back into the work you were previously involved with. This separation is key. It is easier for our brains to transition between these tasks since we’re also changing our environment.

To be quite honest I’m mad at Mark, whom I otherwise respect. He brutally assaulted the author of WriteRoom in his assessment of the software. The general commentary he gave was that people shouldn’t write text editors because “it’s 2007”. This suggestion throws me off since it comes from a proponent of open source software, which has tons and tons of overlap, rewriting what has previously be written. (To remove any confusion: WriteRoom is not a “Free Software” application, but the source code is available on request.)

Perhaps Mark should be less virulent in his assessment. The author of WriteRoom, Jesse Grosjean, is attempting to create a self-sustainable software company, Hog Bay Software, without venture capital. He’s using his own ingenuity to come up with unique applications that might be useful to others. Doing this is not easy, yet it seems Grosjean is having some success. He should be congratulated, not demeaned.

And if you’re wondering, yes, I wrote this in WriteRoom.

Readers of this article may also be interested in Hog Bay Software’s Mori. I love this application! It helps me take notes, create outlines, generally do every bit of fact-gathering I need to do before I create anything text, be it an article like this, or a requirements document for a client.