Madeline McEwen is back as this week’s guest blogger and she has news (and a great cartoon drawing), about a new writing app…
I subscribe to The Fussy Librarian’s blog which is where I heard about a terrifying new development for writers called the most dangerous writing app
This fiendish app provides a writing window [a 5 minute interval is common] whereupon the writer types continuously. Should the writer pause for more than 5 seconds, all work is lost.
In principle, the app encourages the writer to enter the state of flow.
However, my first reaction is the fight or flight response:- run far away from the computer or throw the computer out of the window.
That app haunted me for an entire day as I went about my usual duties, responsibilities, chores, and errands. Simultaneously, in my head I worked on a variety of sentences and word choices for a particularly tricky spot in my current novel, rearranging the word order, emphasis, and punctuation—which version worked best? When would I have the opportunity to commit those phrases to the page and hit save–before the school run or after homework, before paying the bills or after I’ve taken the parcels to the post office, before supper or after the washing up? What if I forgot the correct phraseology once my fingers touched the keyboard?
Then it dawned on me, generally, when writing time arrives, I type furiously emptying my head of those pent up words until they sprawl over the page, several sentences, maybe a paragraph, perhaps a whole page, and then I hit save. Sometimes daily, sometimes weekly, but rarely, if ever, have I forgotten. Which is fortunate because it means this app is redundant in my household.
As the developer states:-
“Because ’tis better to have written and lost, than never to have written at all.”
For me, the second half of the phrase resonates more because that is the true message for most writers—make time to write. If you need encouragement and motivation, try this option.
If you’re a beginner and/or pushed for time, set a realistic goal: 30 minutes to write 500 words every day, but Bryan Collins has a whole host of tips and tricks to keep up your momentum without inducing cardiac arrest.
About Madeline
Madeline McEwen is an ex-pat from the UK, bi-focaled and technically challenged. She and her Significant Other manage their four offspring, one major and three minors, two autistic, two neurotypical, plus a time-share with Alzheimer’s.
She is a member of the California Writers Club and Sisters in Crime, Norcal. She maintains a blog with a loyal following. Her platform is associated with the Autism Hub [UK], as well as the usual Facebook and Twitter accounts, predominantly in the realm of disabilities.
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