For example, Selfe & Selfe (1994) point out that the “desktop” metaphor of modern operating systems “present reality as framed in the perspective of modern capitalism” (p. 486). It may be too deterministic to claim that software “ultimately demands adherence to a given view of the writing process,” but writing applications do embed and communicate certain meanings and values through their interfaces. Any CAC program operates with an implicit ideology, one that values or devalues certain writing behaviors and ultimately demands adherence to a given view of the writing process (p. 8). Several scholars (Arola, 2010 Selfe & Selfe, 1994 Wysocki & Jaskin, 2004) have made this point over the years, but here is how Paul LeBlanc (1990) put it: Where Prior and Shipka largely focus on the selection and structuring of physical environments, though, we suggest that distraction-free writing environments also represent an attempt to tune consciousness at the level of software interface.Īnd that brings us to the other way that distraction-free writing environments matter: like all interfaces, these software applications are thoroughly ideological and rhetorical. They point, for instance, to one interviewee’s gardening activity “as material, affective, and motivational context-building, creating the conditions that would best serve her tasks of concentrated thought and writing” (p. 48). In the experiences of their interviewees, such practices involved not only the moment of inscription itself, but also myriad other activities that allowed for the gestation of ideas. First, it represents a possible development in what Prior and Shipka (2003) refer to as “ environment-selecting and -structuring practices,” or ESSP’s, which they define as the “intentional deployment of external aids and actors to shape, stabilize, and direct consciousness in service of the task at hand” (p. 44). The emergence of these tools matters in two ways. No menu bars, no buttons or ribbons, and some even disable system notifications. Though there are differences among these applications, all seek to minimize potential distractions by going full screen and limiting the interface to a cursor and the words being produced. According to a 2010 reader poll on the blog, some of the more popular distraction-free writing environments included FocusWriter, WriteMonkey, OmmWriter, Q10, and WriteRoom. Ommwriter is also available for the Mac and iPad.įor a minimalist text editor that soothes as well as encourages you to write while eliminating technology-based distractions, Ommwriter is a good bet.But recent years have seen the emergence of a different approach to writing software, often referred to as “distraction-free writing tools” or “distraction-free writing environments.” These software applications eschew the kind of “feature bloat” seen in traditional word processors in favor of minimizing features and stripping down the interface to its bare essentials. Some users might also prefer to add their own soundtracks or personal background favorites, but will be unable to do so because Ommwriter lacks these features. It would've been nice to have a few more options in terms of document types it saves to though. In this latest version of Ommwriter, you can choose either to save your writing as a text document or to a PDF format that allows for easy printing. It's also got a great accessibility feature in the ability to change text sizes and fonts. In addition, Ommwriter gives you three different interface background options, all of which are minimalist but pleasing to the eye. Both types of sound choices can also be shut off, if you so choose. It does this by offering three different writing soundtrack options, as well as three different keyboard sounds when you type. Its primary aim is to reduce writing distractions, as well as give you a relaxing writing experience. Ommwriter is a minimalist text editing tool that opens exclusively in full screen mode.
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