Some basic writing software: Ommwriter
As I wrote about Ommwriter earlier this year, Ommwriter doesn’t just want to give you a black screen, which I often find to create little haloes around the too-bright text. It wants to give you a more immersive writing experience that even feels fairly Zen. Open Ommwriter and you’ll be presented with a soothingly blank landscape of a snow field with a single tree in the corner. The rest of the screen is a simple text field for you to type, undistracted. That’s not the only feature Ommwriter has, however. On the right are a series of buttons to help customize your focused writing experience. You can have your typing make sounds like a typewriter if you like the productive click-clack of letters going on the page. You can even include soothing sound effect loops of wind chimes or soft throbbing beats.

After the jump: more of the best writing tools I came across this year.

Some atmosphere to set the mood: Naturespace for iphone
As I wrote earlier this year,, Naturespace uses a technology they call “holographic audio” to deliver a surround-sound experience of natural sounds. When you download the iphone app, which is what I’ve used, you’re given five free tracks that are unending loops of different natural environments, including “morning songbirds”, “night at lake unknown”, “endless shore”, and others. When you first listen to these tracks, you’re able to tell the difference between these natural soundscapes and other run-of-the-mill nature tracks. Naturespace really does give you an immersive sound experience, and can be optimized for use with earbuds or with traditional headphones. The sounds in these tracks are not intrusive bird calls or gimmicky wind whooshes or babbling brooks; they mostly give the impression of the ambient sound of a normal outdoor experience.

A place to keep your notes: Simplenote
As I wrote earlier this year about Simplenote, Simplenote has a truly elegant interface that I believe was designed to work best on the iPad. Online, the format is a clean empty sheet of paper with all of your notes in a column at left. You can tag notes and then search later through all your notes. You can view only the notes you want with a certain tag. You can view these notes with various desktop apps, online, or synced immediately and flawlessly with your iphone (or iPad, though I haven’t tested the iPad version). I was able to tag all my novel notes as “novel” and then dash off quick thoughts to myself about future scenes that I could view on the go. Everything about Simplenote has been, well, simple — and that’s just the way I want it.

Some fuel for your late night writing: Kusmi tea
As I wrote earlier this year, Now that the bite of real winter air is upon us (at least here in New England), I’m relying even more heavily on my favorite indulgence: Kusmi Tea. I do consider this relevant to our discussion of writing tools because writers need fuel, and that fuel most often takes the form of caffeine in tea or coffee. For a truly resplendent tea experience, you can’t miss this century-old tea manufacturer, which originated with a Russian family operating in Paris (the label is still based in Paris today). Kusmi specializes in exquisite Russian blends of Chinese and Indian teas such as the usual Ceylon, Assam, and Darjeeling. But what makes these teas special is what else goes into them. Without going over the top or becoming too candy-coated, Kusmi uses red fruits, hints of caramel, bergamot, almonds, vanilla, and other subtle flavors to make their tea seem as lovely as a dessert in and of themselves.

Now that you’ve got the essentials to start your writing year off right, why not go to it? Happy writing, readers — and be sure to incorporate some writing into your lives even on the very first day of the new year.

 Image from Kusmi Tea

Now that the bite of real winter air is upon us (at least here in New England), I’m relying even more heavily on my favorite indulgence: Kusmi Tea. I do consider this relevant to our discussion of writing tools because writers need fuel, and that fuel most often takes the form of caffeine in tea or coffee. For a truly resplendent tea experience, you can’t miss this century-old tea manufacturer, which originated with a Russian family operating in Paris (the label is still based in Paris today). Kusmi specializes in exquisite Russian blends of Chinese and Indian teas such as the usual Ceylon, Assam, and Darjeeling. But what makes these teas special is what else goes into them. Without going over the top or becoming too candy-coated, Kusmi uses red fruits, hints of caramel, bergamot, almonds, vanilla, and other subtle flavors to make their tea seem as lovely as a dessert in and of themselves.

There are also sparer, more robust teas for your breakfast, like classic Earl Greys or teas in Irish and English breakfast blends. There are more unusual mixtures, like the tea infused with the taste of buffalo grass. But my personal favorites remain the Russian series, particularly “St. Petersburg”, “Petroushka”, and “Prince Vladimir”, which even has cloves. These teas are spicy and sweet, and I’m usually found drinking a mug while writing. If you’re a devoted tea drinker like I am, Kusmi Tea has just the right richness, spiciness, and subtlety to perk you up but also calm you down.

Honestly, I think the New Yorker article was missing one aspect of the Ikea mindset. True, the furniture can seem very “blank”, affectless, and mass-produced; true, it won’t last forever; true, it doesn’t have the one-of-a-kind charm of a mid-century flea market find. But what hard-working writer or artist should be spending hours and weekends searching for just the right end table to go along with just the right vintage brass headboard? What writer should make every curtain, rug, and lamp fixture match perfectly and convey the feeling of antique collection or retro chic glamour? We who shop at Ikea are being looked down upon just a little, as though we are guilty of a greater sense of consumerism than those who pore over antique stores and flea markets. But I find materialism far more present in those spending hours getting the decor of their living spaces just right. As someone who writes, I want to focus on letting my writing define me as a person, not my bedspread or my curtains. I’d rather have something clean and functional, something that simply gets out of the way of my daily activities.

So this review is defending the Ikea ethic. I appreciate elegant design, and I appreciate the charm and history that can reside in furniture. But I also appreciate the idea that how we decorate should not define us. The furniture that is more like a blank slate is often more suitable to those with little interest in interior design. So I’ll enjoy sitting in this chair in the bay window and look out on the street, and I’ll focus on my writing — not on what I’m sitting on.

I’ve only just begun to start using the space, but already I’ve gotten some good hours (and pages) of work on my novel done there. It’s gotten me thinking about the importance of finding your writing space, and if necessary, carving one out of what space you already have. It’s part of a mental definition of a creative space that is essential for being in a creative mindset. So here are a few ways to define that creative space for yourself, so that you’ll be ready to write simply by stepping into it.

Define a room, corner, or nook for writing.

First take a walk through your house or apartment and look for a likely spot. Do you have a spare room, an under-used corner, a bay window? It doesn’t take much space to be a writer, thankfully, unlike other artists (try fitting a piano or an art studio into an unused corner of your average New York apartment). Once you’ve chosen your space, respect it and take it seriously. This is your Writing Space. It is the temple of creativity. Internet memes and other sources of distraction have no place here.

After the jump: how to set up your writing space.

Set up your space the way you’ve always wanted.

There’s no reason to do this halfway — you should design your writing space for maximum creativity, and be honest with yourself about what that means. It might not mean making it the most comfortable place in the house, for example, if you’re prone to naps on a soft couch. Make sure you’ve got computer space and a shelf for a few books, as well as bare desk space — I like to have a little extra desk space for doodling or notebook-writing. I recommend setting up a desk in a way that enables you to look out a window and get a little inspiration from time to time that way.

Make sure your chair is comfortable but not too comfortable! Set up your space with everything you need — books, computer, paper and pens — and nothing you don’t — gadgets, knickknacks to fiddle with, etc.

Set aside time every day just for being in your writing space.

Now that your writing space has been set up to satisfaction, it’s time to take it seriously. Make a habit of coming to your writing space, sitting and looking out the window, flipping through books and thinking seriously about your writing. Even if you’re running low on creativity, go into your space and do your best for as long as you can. You’ll feel a little pleased with your efforts. And gradually, the space will come to be a source of creative energy. It’s amazing how context can help push our minds in the right direction. And assigning this special importance to your writing space will have another effect — it will assign value to the creative writing endeavor. If you’re doubtful about the value of your own writing, this will help you define just how important it really is to you (and potentially to doubting relatives or friends). So in conclusion, take yourself seriously by taking your writing seriously.

Simplenote has a truly elegant interface that I believe was designed to work best on the iPad. Online, the format is a clean empty sheet of paper with all of your notes in a column at left. You can tag notes and then search later through all your notes. You can view only the notes you want with a certain tag. You can view these notes with various desktop apps, online, or synced immediately and flawlessly with your iphone (or iPad, though I haven’t tested the iPad version). I was able to tag all my novel notes as “novel” and then dash off quick thoughts to myself about future scenes that I could view on the go. Everything about Simplenote has been, well, simple — and that’s just the way I want it.

Simplenote handles all the little notes we make flawlessly. In addition to keeping novel notes, I use simplenote for grocery lists and a list of items to buy for a new apartment so that my boyfriend can access the list and update it as well. When I’m about to go for a job interview or other important meeting, I throw the info into simplenote so I can easily check addresses and phone numbers on the go without digging through email archives. Simplenote is in that group of the best kind of writerly technology — the kind that gets out of the way and lets you think about other things.

My only request is a simpler way to export individual notes as text files; this feature would be helpful for sending editable information to people I don’t want to have full access to my account. Otherwise, Simplenote is the perfect modern note-taking solution.

You’ve heard a lot about how many people are broadcasting their lives on Twitter these days. The problem with reading the flood of Twitter posts is that they’re a torrent without a funnel; there’s no way of sorting the good from the bad. If you could only find the interesting stuff, though, you’d be surprised by how many funny, interesting things are being said online these days. To help you out, here’s a list of a few Twitter accounts that are focused on writerly things, and bent on giving you the best writing-related thoughts and links across the web.

@teenink: Yes, we’re on Twitter! And we ROCK on Twitter! In addition to links to some of the best material on teenink.com, we’ve got thoughts on writing, links to interesting articles about writing, and general thoughts about being a creative teen.

@newyorker: Of course the New Yorker has a Twitter account! And it’s full of links to the best of its material, along with exclusive Q&A’s with its writers and livechats with interesting and intellectual people. Stay classy on Twitter by following this stimulating account.

Read the rest here

Quiet Read
My first weapon in my arsenal for keeping the internet at bay, Quiet Read is an absolutely essential application for heavy internet users who don’t want to be puled into reading everything the moment they click a link. When I find something I want to save for later, such as an interesting article, an item I want to buy, or a link I want to send to someone else later, I drag the link over the icon in my menu bar. It’s as simple as that. Later, I can click the little coffee mug in my menu bar, and a list of my saved links will be right there, ready for further reading or processing. Quiet Read is how I save links for posting on Twitter among other things; it’s a fantastic way to push the internet away and read an article when I want to, instead of when I must.

After the jump: more great internet-management apps.

Instapaper
You may have heard of this one; it is a tremendously popular iPad and iPhone app, as well as being a desktop app that connects smoothly to its other versions. If Quiet Read isn’t quite the right fit for you, Instapaper does a very similar thing — it stores pages for you for later viewing. The added bonus of Instapaper is that it stores the pages offline, so that you can read articles in the future when you may not have internet access (New York subway, anyone?). It’s a smart app and a great way to, again, read things when you want to, and push aside these articles when your own writing needs to get done.

Freedom
Much has been made of Freedom, a completely free app that is a must-have among the connected writer of today. Writers such as Jonathan Franzen (writer of Freedom) and Zadie Smith among others have attested to the importance of writing on a computer on which the internet is not even an option. Zadie Smith uses this application to do her writing, and it does one thing very well: it turns the internet off. Install the software, open it, type in a number of minutes you want to be free of the internet, and your computer will not let you go online for that number of minutes unless you completely restart your computer. So unless you are absolutely desperate, you will have removed the option of goofing off. It’s a tough but necessary tool, and I use it regularly for intensive writing sessions.

Newsrack
Another important thing writers need to manage is their RSS feeds. If you’re an avid blog reader, or you find yourself wandering over to the New York Times’ site every twenty minutes like myself, you’ll need an application that gathers your feeds in one place so you can read them, get them over with, and go on with your day. I use the excellent Newsrack because it offers a clean, stylish, and organized way to read the top news every day, but there are other solid options, such as Netnewswire and Google Reader. Just pick one, use it once a day, and cut down on the aimless internet surfing.

Marsedit
Finally, a blogger needs a way to store draft posts and then put them away without having to worry about them. That’s why blogging software is a must. I’ve been using Marsedit for years now; there are others out there, but Marsedit is definitely a solid piece of software that I’ve been very satisfied with over the years.

What software helps you keep the internet at arms’ length? Sound off in the comments and I hope you find this software suite as helpful as I have.

Back in college, I started to become overwhelmed by the sheer number of things I had to do every day or in the course of a week. I had to keep the big papers and job-related tasks in mind, but I also had little things that I wanted to accomplish every day. I started to keep long sheets of paper where I painstakingly wrote out the day’s tasks, keeping a side column for weekly tasks. I was proud of those lists, but they started to fall short of what I needed in a to-do list. I needed to remember that a fiction contest deadline was two weeks away, and that my grad school applications each required different forms and steps. That’s when I discovered Things.

Things has a stylish, minimalist design; the main appeal for me is its clean format and ease of use. In a column at left you have a today option, a next option, a graball “inbox”, and your different areas (unending categories of tasks) and projects (tasks with sub-tasks that have a deadline). You can easily sort your tasks, assemble the day’s tasks, make due dates and deadlines, and schedule repeating tasks. All of these things will be familiar to fans of “Getting Things Done”, but I was never a fan of that elaborate system. The good thing about Things is that you can use it in as simple or as complicated a way as you like.

The best part of Things is how is enables me to focus on my writing. When something occurs to me, or an interesting link pops up that I’d like to do something with later, I don’t have to stop writing or switch applications. A simple hot key combination brings up the to do form you can see below. A few words to myself, a tap of the enter key, and the note is saved with a minimum of distractions.

The point I want to get across is that in the age of increased web involvement, writers have to be engaged — but their sense of focus doesn’t have to suffer. Things takes care of organizing my tasks so that I don’t have to think about them when I don’t want to. Much has already been said about Things’ great design, but I’ll throw my voice into the ring as well and say that it’s one of my favorite applications on my computer, and the only one (besides Mail) that I set to open automatically when I turn on my computer.

ANOTHER text processor? Just what we need! But really, what does make OmmWriter different from just having Word or Pages in full screen mode? What is all the hype about? Right when I started using OmmWriter, I noticed that it was original, but it has taken me a while to define exactly what it is that makes it so unique.

Just open Word in full screen and notice the distinction. There’s a white space in Word restricting your words to a piece of paper. OmmWriter sets your words free from the ancient bondage of the page. It makes the screen your mind. It lets your words run free. Instead of focusing on your spelling errors, you can write peacfully and just have words appear, as they flow from your soul. That’s all it takes. Something so simple, yet it redefines how someone writes.

Obviously, being the initial release it is not perfect. What can make OmmWriter better? First, and most importantly, we should look at the people that make it. They just do not feel like people. Other Mac developers that I have contacted about their apps are amazingly responsive, always looking for what’s wrong that can be improved. I have been using OmmWriter since a couple weeks after the first beta was released. I have contacted the company several times since, maybe once getting a real human response. Sure, you get the unique automatic responses, but it just seems like they don’t care that much. When users asked for the classic tree background to return (why would you even remove it; the staple of OmmWriter to some), their response was to return to the beta!

Clearly the main characteristic of OmmWriter is its simplicity. I love this, but think the app can have additional features without being bloated up. How? Customization. For example, an interface that allows you to deselect certain backgrounds from showing up under the background changing menu. Same for the music, fonts, etc.

Another nice feature would be an option to mix through the music, instead of looping through the same song. Or an option to turn off background noises when OmmWriter is active. I love the chromotherapy backgrounds and they have become my defaults. Please do make more of these! The option to make text bold or italicized would be wonderful. We are in 2010 last time I checked.

The most annoying thing that OmmWriter does is when you save a file it basically overwrites the old one, marking the created date as the new saved date. Why is this annoying? Sometimes I want to know when I started a piece! Between school, work, and life, I don’t get as much time to write as I would like to. I don’t really remember when I start a piece and when you have more than one in process, this makes it harder.

This is my final plea: Please, developers of OmmWriter, listen to your users earnestly! Without them, you wouldn’t be around. Do not steer away from the beautiful simplicity of OmmWriter that has made it so special, but do not leave it in its youthful state. It must grow some. You need to satisfy your users. Open a forum, make communication more personal for us!

And thank you for creating such a marvelous piece of software! It has pushed me into starting the journey of writing and has held my hand ever since.

Here’s a little info about Steven:

I am a Game Art and Design student at The Illinois Institute of Art in Chicago and I’m currently in my Sophomore year. I am hoping to get my Master’s in Creative Writing after I finish my Bachelor’s. I realized that I had a love for writing about a year ago—which is when I started using OmmWriter. I started out writing fiction, but stopped that after a couple months because I wanted to learn how to write before I continued. Since then, I have finished about two non-fiction prose pieces and I’m currently in the process of writing two more. I have not published any of these yet, but I plan on uploading them to Facebook soon.

We live in confusing technological times these days. In many ways I feel that we’re in a strange between stage between paper and a computer screen, between a paperback book and an e-reader. I’m a technology lover and I don’t think e-readers are all bad, but I don’t think they’re quite there yet. They’re not a satisfying enough reproduction of the reading experience for me, but I can see their inevitable rise, just a few years away. Already, books are flagging, and the traditional use of the paper notebook is falling into the dust behind the cell phone note, the iPad, the audio recorder, or the laptop.

There are so many ways to take notes now that it’s easy to forget the paper notebook is still easily the best way.

No other device is sturdier, quicker to start up, easier to power, as resistant to weather and damage, or as ultimately expendable as a notebook (lose one? Buy ten more). I still use paper notebooks, but I have to make a concerted effort to, keeping my notes for my novel in there, setting aside time to write in it. When I’m out and about and I think of something I want to remember, I make a note on my cell phone like most of the people I know. I’m curious to see how many writers have completely abandoned that old friend, and what your reasoning is if you have or if you haven’t. Is it in fact more logical and practical to give up a paper notebook? Is it more logical (and cheaper) to keep using a paper notebook? Or does logic have little to do with it? Are we continuing to use our beloved notebooks out of affection and sentimentality, or for keeping up the image that we’re writers and that’s what writers do?

It can be difficult to separate image from function. For me, a paper notebook is a relief; I’m able to think more clearly and in a more focused way when I’m away from a screen for once, able to look out the window or over the scene around me instead of staring fixedly at that glowing square. Notebooks give you a kind of emotional freedom, but computers have a nasty way of taking freedom from you.

That could be my own old-fashioned sentimentality for the notebook as a beloved object, however. I can feel myself in this strange between state, bridging the gap between a paper and a digital world. How do you bridge the gap? Or are you firmly in one camp or the other? How did you make your choice?