Last year, I wrote about my writing setup. It involved a few different apps, and while I had a comprehensive process laid out, I just didn’t get myself to follow it consistently. I stopped using Ulysses, and went back to writing on whatever text editor happened to be available, or typing a quick post directly into my blog CMS. It was rather chaotic, so I’m looking to compromise this year.
Devices
iPad
To stay consistent with my new iPad as the creative device, it will be my main writing hardware. It’s small and sleek, making it perfect for focused writing. A huge benefit of not being in the Apple ecosystem while using an iPad is I can easily turn off all notifications, allowing nothing to nag at my brain or distract me. Paired with Apple’s Magic Keyboard case, it’s my favorite on-the-couch and on-the-go device.
Laptop
My only real issue with my iPad is it lacks a great ergonomic setup. It’s fine for sitting at a table for shorter periods of time, but it obviously does nothing to encourage good posture. So when I’m at my desk, I use my ThinkPad running Pop! OS, hooked up to an external monitor, to do more writing. This ThinkPad is only set up for writing and podcast work, so it is also distraction-free. The computer itself is not nearly as portable as an iPad, so it has been relegated to “desktop” status.
Phone
My phone holds a minor place as somewhere to jot down ideas on the fly, either as a new file in Dropbox, or a quick note in Google Keep. Beyond that, it mainly serves only as a distraction. I try to keep it out of sight and mind while writing.
Apps and Services
Dropbox
I’ve been using Dropbox since I started college, and it serves as my personal file system. As I mentioned in the previous writing setup post, I create two blog folders each year for “Spring” and “Fall”. Then, each post I write1Not every post, because some are small and sudden. But any that I actually planned ahead and did a nominal amount of editing for fits here. is a Markdown file in the appropriate folder, named by the date I plan on posting it, and a tentative title.
Other pieces of writing get filed away in their own folders; if I’ve done enough of one kind of writing, such as text adventures, they get their own parent folder.
iA Writer and 1Writer
I am undecided between these two apps. iA Writer has a solid place in my heart, where I wrote most of my 2019 NaNoWriMo, and I find its interface to be the cleanest and most focused on writing. It allows me to export my markdown files directly to my blog. However, it’s recently had significant troubles with Dropbox, something that other apps (like 1Writer) have been rock solid on. Dropbox is a dealbreaker, so although I’m losing other features I’ll be sticking with 1Writer until iA Writer gets fixed up.
Dictionary
I have no memory if this is a built-in app for the iPad, but I have a Merriam-Webster app that gets the job done. Sometimes I’ll head over to Thesaurus.com for additional ideas, but not often. My typical setup while writing is having 1Writer full screen, then the Dictionary can be pulled into slideover when needed.
Notability
This is another long-standing app on my iPads of yore. When I first got into the iPad game, you had Notability or GoodNotes. At that time, Notability had a feature-set I cared more about, and I’ve stuck with it ever since. I care about fewer features now than I did in math classes, but Notability has given me no reason to leave. I sync all my notes with Dropbox, and use it either for sketching out ideas for a complicated project, or editing something outside of my writing app.
Obsidian
Obsidian has become my Markdown editor of choice on my laptop, and also holds my personal writing style guide. I don’t make as much use of it as others, but for the price of free it’s a great tool. It provides so much functionality to a folder of Markdown files with no drawbacks. Compare this to Ulysses, which requires a custom file format to access many of its key features. To synchronize with Dropbox you must instead save files as Markdown, which kills of some functionality. I don’t like this tradeoff between features and vendor lock-in, and Obsidian doesn’t make me choose. I originally explored it as a tool for work, but I’m happy to have it in my writing life now.
WordPress
My blog is hosted using WordPress (.org, not .com), so I can either use the browser back-end of my blog, or the WordPress app on my iPad. I switch between them depending on my mood.
Forest
As I mentioned above, my phone can be a distraction. I don’t use Forest very frequently, but during NaNoWriMo or similar writing sprints, it’s a surprisingly effective way to keep me off my phone. All it does is grow virtual plants while your phone is locked. If you pick up your phone earlier than you said you would, your plants don’t grow. It’s that simple, but it works perfectly for my brain.
- 1Not every post, because some are small and sudden. But any that I actually planned ahead and did a nominal amount of editing for fits here.