Mikes Thoughts

day of writing

Every so often I get this desire to change out the markdown writer I use. I really have liked using iA Writer for all my little text explorations. It gives me this window really. To this world I fill up with words. Sometimes thoughts. An idea or two. What I like with markdown editors by and large there is no pretense. No

Hey I’m a second brain. You can manage all your knowledge right in here.

I guess I have no knowledge to manage. No data to link. Just words I wish to write. Right into this window. So what are the others. I like these:

  1. One Markdown. This is a native app on iOS and the Mac. It’s a sleek alternative with more knobs and dials. Yet the words are first with it.
  2. iWriter Pro. Another favorite. It has this basic yet stylish appeal. Again native on iOS and the Mac.

You get the overall thing here. I’m not after some splendid app that has mountains of themes and plugins. Those things don’t make me write the basic words any better. Switching is simply copying over some files to the iCloud folder and using the app. iOS doesn’t really like sharing folders except with how iA does adding locations.

If the real thing is to write, seems to me we should have an app that does that and moves out of the way. Lets us get on with it. It’s why I want all the writing to be in one place. Using one app. The most exploration I should do is finding the next word. Not a theme or why x does not work but y does.

So I always end up even after playing with iA Writer. It gives me the window and the words. It also works exceedingly well with writing on 11ty. Write a markdown file. Copy to my git repo on my iPhone. Tell Working Copy to make it happen. Done. There’s no messy web editor or draft or final bs. Let’s face it. Everything I write is a draft. I see spelling errors and things after I would like to change. I just don’t. The blog is the representation of my life. Who doesn’t make mistakes in life. Wants a thing. Get something else. This blog only surfaces all that. Albeit in markdown.

Changing things

When I do change to something else like some halfhearted desire to write on bearblog or a fantasy of going to microblog I realize neither would give me what I want. The closest is blot. I’ve tried the first two. One I could not stay with. The other was hell to get off.

For me it’s far easier to deal with writing like this. Trying an app I already know I like but likely won’t stick with. It comes down to really the whole mikes thoughts experience. Or lack of one. Instead of reaching to the heights of obsidian plugins and themes I find really none of that makes me write any more. Sit down like now at Spring Coffee and find little words and some stray thoughts.

So that’s a story for me on writing. I’ll try things. For a while think they are cool or new or worth it. Not for long. Then I simply want this back. From my days of using OneNote and Sharepoint and other crap to manage and collaborate I figured out I don’t need to do either thing. I finished with those. Now I want the window and the words.

Yeah. I got it.