CreaWriter

[Jojoyee]

A new writer without any toolbars, just a plain text area, and with the background image and ambient sound to inspire your writing.

Check it out. CreaWriter.

[Anupam]

There are many such writers popping out nowadays like mushrooms . I have been seeing mentions of such "distraction-free" writers, a lot on various blogs. I don't remember the names, otherwise I would have listed them out.

[Anupam]

For these writers, I would suggest getting on a Linux, or Unix system, and working on Vi. No distraction at all, just have to remember a few commands, and they will have on their hands, a distraction free writer, yet a powerful one .

[bk_7312]

Originally Posted by Anupam

For these writers, I would suggest getting on a Linux, or Unix system, and working on Vi. No distraction at all, just have to remember a few commands, and they will have on their hands, a distraction free writer, yet a powerful one .

There's also Vim (Vi iMproved). I've used Vi before but it felt quite awkward as there's too many shortcuts and functions (you can even navigate really easily without even touching mouse). The command mode seems very useful but it'll take time to get used to. I gave up using it mainly because I don't have the time to learn it but someday I'll give it another go.

Tried CreaWriter in Linux with Wine, works well and the interface seems pretty neat. There's some handy buttons on the right to save/open files and it's very easy to configure. I don't think such writers will be useful to me as I can achieve similar results with any simple text editor + fullscreen + sound/music playing in the background + transparency with a stunning wallpaper + a bit of willpower and concentration but others may find it useful.

[Anupam]

Originally Posted by bk_7312

There's also Vim (Vi iMproved). I've used Vi before but it felt quite awkward as there's too many shortcuts and functions (you can even navigate really easily without even touching mouse). The command mode seems very useful but it'll take time to get used to. I gave up using it mainly because I don't have the time to learn it but someday I'll give it another go.

Yes, there is Vim, which is for windows, but I purposely did not mention it, because like other Windows-based text editors, Vim also has File menus, which might distract. But if you use Vi on Unix/Linux, it will give just give you a screen, and nothing else. You have to use the commands, and write the text.

It does require some time to get used to the commands, but once you get used to them, you can achieve a lot in very less time, and that is the beauty of such editors like Vi, and Emacs. I used Vi for a long time, when I used to work on Solaris/Linux, but well, when I got to Windows, it spoiled me. Ah, those Unix/Linux days... *SIGH* .

[bk_7312]

Originally Posted by Anupam

Yes, there is Vim, which is for windows, but I purposely did not mention it, because like other Windows-based text editors, Vim also has File menus, which might distract. But if you use Vi on Unix/Linux, it will give just give you a screen, and nothing else. You have to use the commands, and write the text.

It does require some time to get used to the commands, but once you get used to them, you can achieve a lot in very less time, and that is the beauty of such editors like Vi, and Emacs. I used Vi for a long time, when I used to work on Solaris/Linux, but well, when I got to Windows, it spoiled me. Ah, those Unix/Linux days... *SIGH* .

Vim for windows? Oh... you're talking about this Vim:


Vim is cross-platform and works for numerous OS including AmigaOS (the initial target platform), Atari MiNT, BeOS, MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/Server 2003/Vista/Server 2008, IBM OS/2 and OS/390, MorphOS, OpenVMS, QNX, RISC OS, Unix, Linux, BSD, and Mac OS (copied from Wikipedia) but I agree that the menus can potentially be distracting (but to be honest, I don't find menus to be very distracting but that could just be me).

[Anupam]

Thanks for the information. I was just referencing only to Windows when I said Vim for Windows... but thanks again.

[torres-no-tan-magnifico]

Originally Posted by Jojoyee

A new writer without any toolbars, just a plain text area, and with the background image and ambient sound to inspire your writing.

Check it out. CreaWriter.

Thanks Jojoyee I have installed creawriter but was rather alarmed to hear the sound of running water on startup; I thought my LT had sprung a leak!!

[Bob]

Originally Posted by torresmagnifico

Thanks Jojoyee I have installed creawriter but was rather alarmed to hear the sound of running water on startup; I thought my LT had sprung a leak!!

For even more background fun, Atmosphere Lite is a free standalone program which allows you to tailor your own ambient sounds. You can roll your own mix of rainfall, birdsong, thunder, wind, fire etc