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I'm a PhD student, and as a result often have to write. I've always had the problem of editing as I type, constantly back tracking, writing alternate versions o

I'm a PhD student, and as a result often have to write. I've always had the problem of editing as I type, constantly back tracking, writing alternate versions of a sentence, insisting that I get it right the first pass. Increasingly, I've taken to outlining my work (like Xe Iaso recommends[0]) on pad and paper (helps if you have a nice pen and nice paper), and then trying to write a stream of consciousness for each section. Then, I'll go to my text editor of choice and start forming more coherent, cogent, and discrete thoughts and arguments from the previous word salad. All to say, I appreciate that typewriters make it really hard to revise your work while you're writing as it facilitates that draft phase. Same deal with writing in pen, you can only scratch out so much before the page becomes an ink rag. Perhaps this implementation was sloppy in that it _only_ has this no-cursor/no-backspace mode. A physical dial could be a cool alternative ("Draft Mode", "Editing Mode") [0] https://xeiaso.net/blog/doing-a-writing https://xeiaso.net/blog/doing-a-writing

slategruen 4y ago
Do you usually use Markdown for your first draft or do you go straight to LaTeX?
- jszymborski 4y ago
  When I type up my handwritten stream-of-consciousness notes, I indulge that obsessive editing part of my brain so it usually is my final draft before I send it to my supervisor for revision. Because of that I usually go straight to LaTeX (or sometimes LibreOffice Writer). A more productive strategy would be to write up a first draft (Markdown is a great option here so as not to fuss about presentation), go through a round of edits and tightening sentences/paragraphs, then formatting. But honestly I really haven't the patience for it. One step at a time haha I do aspire to become that person, though!
desireco42 4y ago
If I may suggest using and being proficient with Vim might help you not be as distracted with backtracking and in general increasing joy of writing.
- tapanjk 4y ago
  > being proficient with Vim might help you not be as distracted with backtracking Can you share why you think so? Vim is my go-to editor for most things, except when I am coding (sorry, hardcore Vim users!), and I find myself backtracking and editing sentences as I write, all the time. I am eager to learn what helps you not backtrack when using Vim.

slategruen 4y ago

Do you usually use Markdown for your first draft or do you go straight to LaTeX?

jszymborski 4y ago
When I type up my handwritten stream-of-consciousness notes, I indulge that obsessive editing part of my brain so it usually is my final draft before I send it to my supervisor for revision. Because of that I usually go straight to LaTeX (or sometimes LibreOffice Writer). A more productive strategy would be to write up a first draft (Markdown is a great option here so as not to fuss about presentation), go through a round of edits and tightening sentences/paragraphs, then formatting. But honestly I really haven't the patience for it. One step at a time haha I do aspire to become that person, though!

desireco42 4y ago

If I may suggest using and being proficient with Vim might help you not be as distracted with backtracking and in general increasing joy of writing.

tapanjk 4y ago
> being proficient with Vim might help you not be as distracted with backtracking Can you share why you think so? Vim is my go-to editor for most things, except when I am coding (sorry, hardcore Vim users!), and I find myself backtracking and editing sentences as I write, all the time. I am eager to learn what helps you not backtrack when using Vim.