Writing about making a writing app

Prologue: I’m doing it

I like writing. It took about three decades to come to that conclusion. I’m still not good at it–and I probably never will be. But I still like it.

So, of course, I have opinions on writing software. I’ve tried countless and enjoyed few. I’m the first to admit that it’s a hard nut to crack. So many people want so many different things. Many of the things some people want are what others specifically don’t. The app I’ve had the longest run with is iA Writer–mainly because it’s objectively good. The app has been in active development for what feels like forever (in internet years). Its business model isn’t exploitative. There’s just a lot to like.

But, because I’m me, I have my issues with it. Not so much with what it doesn’t do. It does too much–for me. And, yes, I’ve tried a numerous distraction-free, minimal writing apps. And many are just fine. But they’re either not minimal enough, or minimal in the wrong ways–again, for me. So, because I’m me and insufferable, I’ve decided to make a writing app that does just the right amount and is minimal in all the right ways–for me.

And just to make it more laborious, I’ve decided to write about the process of making it. This is something that’s going to take time. It should. I’d like to get this right–mainly because I want to use it. My hope is that writing about this will help straighten out my thinking. The straighter the thinking, the less code I need to write/rewrite. Also, I think it’s important to live through the jank of early prototypes. Trudging through crap strengthens one’s resolve to improve.

So, this is the first in what should be many, many, many updates. Let’s see how this goes…

Doing the basics

A little can do a lot. I spent a little time cleaning up the spacing, line height and more general massaging of the editor experience. I can say with enthusiasm that my editor is unabashedly mediocre.

The current build is working for iPhone, iPad and Mac. I’m primarily using the editor on my laptop and I can already tell that the interface is going to have to take some pretty sharp departures between iOS and Mac OS. How much? Uncertain, but there’s going to be a considerable UI shift.

But, damn, part of me thinks I could probably tolerate what I have for a decent amount of time. Except for one thing… Which I’ll discuss next time.