During one of my mealtime conversations at Wildacres writer’s workshop, fellow writer Nicole mentioned an application called Write or Die. It’s designed to keep you focused on writing by giving you negative reinforcement if you stop. Pause too long and your words start to disappear from the screen! (There are other options as well if that one scares you too much.) You also can’t backspace or edit, so moving forward is the only option — presumably to keep your internal editor from interrupting the creative process. Nicole said one of her friends swears by it. I haven’t tried it yet, but I may give it a shot. There’s an online version, desktop versions, and an iPad app. The online version is free, while the downloadable versions cost $10.
Happy writing!
