If you're a writer and like trying out new software, October is turning out to be an awesome month. We've got Word 2011 coming October 26, which I've been using for a few weeks. I have done Nanowrimo the past couple of years and had never heard of this program I just downloaded it, and I am stunned. It blows all other Mac versions of Word out of the water. Following Word just a few days later is my personal favorite, Scrivener 2.0. The updates to Scrivener are going to be huge, and I think all the fans of Scrivener 1.5 are going to be knocked off their feet. Then there's a recently released iPad app simply called Writer that introduces a revolutionary feature I hope most other desktop writing programs will incorporate one day.
But first, I want to start off by telling you about an OS X app called OmmWriter Dāna.īrett first told you about OmmWriter almost a year ago, and I raved about it again just a few weeks later. This was when OmmWriter had just been previewed as a beta. The app was new, fresh, and novel (no pun intended). It only runs in full screen mode, and when you launch it you are put in the middle of a snowy field as relaxing, almost hypnotic music plays in the background. The words you type seemingly appear floating in the fog of the winter landscape.
The picture and the music might seem like fluff, but it serves a very important purpose: to create an intimate relationship with writers and their thoughts. It isolates you in a way from the bells and whistles of your computer. It succeeds overwhelmingly in doing this too, especially when you wear headphones as the application suggests you do.