7 ms·

Hemingway App now available

137 points by ents 12y ago

neuralk 12y ago
Serious question: could they be sued by Hemingway's family for using his name on their product? I mean, if I made an app called "Tolkien" I might realistically run into trouble with his estate.
- mcgarveymr 12y ago
  Looks like they acquired proper licensing. The footer of the webpage states: "Hemingway™ is a trademark of Hemingway Ltd., used under exclusive license through Fashion Licensing of America, Inc., New York, NY 10001" Fashion Licensing of America's site states that the company is the exclusive licensing agent for Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald.
teamonkey 12y ago
Looks good! Two points from a Windows user. 1) I'm put off by the lack of Windows screenshots. I want to see what the interface is like before I commit to buying. 2) I'm sure I'm in the minority here but I'd like to see this as a Modern app. I like the distraction-free framing of the Modern interface on my notebook - I think it's especially constructive to writing. Modern apps also install and sync transparently across all my Windows devices. And honestly, the Windows store is lacking a decent editor like this. Another question: can you provide more details on the HTML export? Does it just generate a static page? Does it create some kind of site?
valarauca1 12y ago
I found the web app very useful I can't wait to actually use it in my daily work flow :)
patmcc 12y ago
The marketing copy is puzzling to me. Two things it highlights are what I would consider standard and required features for any text editor; the ability to work offline and the ability to save and edit text files. If your text editor can't save and edit text files (!?!) and can only be used online, it's hardly even worth calling a text editor. That Hemingway can do what's required is necessary, but why draw attention to those things instead of actual, you know, features? Edit: by the replies, I see these features make sense in comparison to Hemingway the web app. However, if this page is also intended for people not familiar with the web app, I stand by my points.
- rguldener 12y ago
  Most likely because the original app works in your browser and does pretty much the same as the desktop version: http://www.hemingwayapp.com/ http://www.hemingwayapp.com/
- yebyen 12y ago
  Because: http://www.hemingwayapp.com/ http://www.hemingwayapp.com/ This was a free web-only app that was featured on HackerNews front page before.
- cruise02 12y ago
  "can only be used online" doesn't make something not a text editor. The other point is "Save and open" not "save and edit." This is explained in the next paragraph. It's in contrast to the workflow in the online Hemingway app.
drivingmenuts 12y ago
No demo? It's a five dollar app. Of course, there's no demo because hey, it's only five dollars. This new marketing model blows.
- louhike 12y ago
  You can use the web version for free at http://www.hemingwayapp.com/ http://www.hemingwayapp.com/
- briandear 12y ago
  It's 5 dollars. Stop being cheap. Buy it if it sounds like something you'd like, if not, don't buy it. You don't get a demo of a movie when you buy it. You can't just watch half of it and then decide if you want to buy a ticket. It's pretty obnoxious when tech-types bitch about $5 yet have no problem billing clients $100+ per hour or making $100K+ per year as a developer of the very types of things about which they complain about paying $5. It's not unlike restaurant waiters not leaving tips when they themselves go out to eat. Not everything needs a demo. Perhaps a quick screencast or something if you feel like the screenshots don't do the product justice. But it's a text editor.. how much demo is actually needed?
  - pdpi 12y ago
    > You don't get a demo of a movie when you buy it They're called "trailers".
    - briandear 12y ago
      And in software, it's called "screenshots."
      - comeonnow 12y ago
        If trailers are to films as screenshots are to software, then demos are to software as what exactly are to films? I think your argument is defunct, and I don't think it's bad to expect a demo, no matter how expensive or inexpensive a bit of software may be.
o0-0o 12y ago
Just for giggles, I ran the Satya Nadella letter[1] through here, and this is what I got: 39 of 186 sentences are hard to read. 35 of 186 sentences are very hard to read. 35 adverbs. Aim for 17 or fewer. 26 words or phrases can be simpler. 15 uses of passive voice. Aim for 37 or fewer. [1] http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/ceo/index.html http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/ceo/index.html
- bronson 12y ago
  Ha, good idea. That still seems too good a score. Maybe it should also flag lazy CEO words like harmonize, energizing, innovation, dialogue, synthesize, ubiquitous, ambient intelligence, digitize, maximize, empower, enable, ... etc. (Unless used for their original meaning, of course.) Any one is no big deal, but at one per sentence... oof.
willyyr 12y ago
Are there other languages supported apart from english?
- HugoDias 12y ago
  +1, but looks like it doesn't have.
latch 12y ago
Some initial feedback: 1 - My first CC was rejected 2 - The spelling hint (the red line) is bad. Just type "Hollowness" and, for me at least, it underlines "Hollownes" and doesn't pick up the last "s" until I move on to the next word (and then some) 3 - Themes / font / spacing and fullscreen would be nice 4 - Tried to save a file: Uncaught node.js Error Error: EACCES, open '/x.txt' (and now I can't go back, and I lost what I was writing) 5 - On startup, it now flashes the intro text, but then goes into write mode. Feels unpolished. 6 - Personally, I'd like something that helps me organize my writing a little bit. For now, I just use a folder with project view in sublime, which works great. Not sure I'm willing to give that up.
- j-b 12y ago
  This would be a really useful plugin for Microsoft Outlook. I would shell out the $4.99 for that. However, if I have to fire up a separate app to use this I might as well just use the free web app.
mrbill 12y ago
I'd like to be able to change the font size in the edit window.
swanson 12y ago
Would be happy to pay the $5 to be able to use this as an addon in Sublime Text (or Atom/vim/emacs/whatever you like) instead of having to use your editor app. I don't like having to switch to a new editor for writing. Any plans for this?
apetresc 12y ago
I can't wait to copy-paste one of Hemingway's novels into here and see how many issues it has with his writing.
- briandear 12y ago
  Please do! I'm interested. Theoretically, Hemingway should score perfect. Since it's his editor and all. And Faulkner would likely score near the bottom. Gertrude Stein would likely result in a stack level too deep error. "In the late summer of that year we lived in a house in a village that looked across the river and the plain to the mountains. We edited text every day. Carlos played the piano while we worked. The text editor was a good one, built like text editors should be built, solid and able to hold words well even when you hit the enter key in the irregular rhythm Carlos liked to use."
jasonkester 12y ago
Ironic that an app calling itself "Hemingway" would recommend against the word "Utilize". As a key example of "things to avoid" no less. Utilized in one of the more memorable exchanges in The Sun Also Rises: "Let us rejoice in our blessings. Let us utilize the fowls of the air. Let us utilize the product of the vine. Will you utilize a little, brother?" ... and so on for nearly ten pages, utilizing wine, pubs, etc. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=fAcAd5gFdB0C&lpg=PP1&dq=hemingway%20utilize&pg=PA126#v=onepage&q=hemingway%20utilize&f=false http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=fAcAd5gFdB0C&lpg=PP1&dq=h... I bet if you apply this tool to more of his writing, you'd find it neutered it completely, removing much of the magic that makes it so great.
- louhike 12y ago
  Hemingway App is a tool useful is you're not a great writer. If you want to write something original, or magic, you better not use it. I understand that you might not be criticizing the app directly, but as you are the top comment, I thought it would be useful as a reminder.
  - soperj 12y ago
    I don't think that's necessarily true. I think you can use it to quickly identify passages that may need more work. As with all suggestions, take them with a grain of salt, but so far even with highly edited work, I find it can be useful.
  - Bartweiss 12y ago
    I do think that attempts to create something original can be helped by this, but only if it's used carefully. After I've reworked something many times, the parts I've fiddled with the most are often too complicated and obscure. I've gotten a bit of use out of this, but only by throwing it at things which are already written and edited, and then ignoring most of it's suggestions. I end up treating it as a list of things to check, not a list of problems to fix.
- ivan_ah 12y ago
  So you're one of those people who like to use "utilize." I've always thought the word is used willy-nilly by people with feeble minds in order to "sound fancy," but you seem like an alright guy. Could you tell me why you'd want to use "utilize" instead of "use"? Do you intend a different meaning e.g. make-use-of-in-unexpeded-way, or do you see them as synonyms? To me, it sounds horrible---a buzzword and a French-isism (The French verb to use is utiliser).
rumblestrut 12y ago
I wrote them and suggested they have some type of liquor icon for "Write" and a coffee cup icon for "Edit" (a play on "Write drunk, edit sober," which he never said but everyone wrong attributes it to him). Sad it didn't make it in. Guess I'll keep writing sober.
elliotec 12y ago
This app is absolutely terrible. It's broken, but worse, it's wrong all the time.
mztan 12y ago
After reading the comments, I now understand why the marketing copy touts saving and open text files as a feature. Given that there is no mention of the web app (AFAICT) on this page and that I had never heard of Hemingway App before, I initially was very confused as to why, for a text editor, saving/opening files and editing text offline would even be worth mentioning. I'm not saying the copy is poorly written (in fact I think it's written quite well), I just think that perhaps not enough of it is directed at people like me. Maybe a simple link back to the web app and some text explaining it would suffice. Also, a minor nitpick: I think the usage of "Hemingway App" and "Hemingway Editor" is a bit confusing. I take it the web app is Hemingway App, and the desktop client is Hemingway Editor? Why, then, is the page title "Hemingway App for Mac OSX"? (side note, no love for Windows in the title?) Not sure why I chose this comment to be my very first comment on HN.
Tharkun 12y ago
Windows or Mac? No Linux support? sigh
aantix 12y ago
If your app truly is remarkable and provides a ton of value, please charge more than $5.
thoughtpalette 12y ago
Say I wanted to start writing an e-book, would this be an acceptable editor? Does it output to PDF,.mobi formats? or should I go with something like LaTeX?
- bennesvig 12y ago
  I'd use it for writing, but then copy over the text to something like Scrivener.
  - thoughtpalette 12y ago
    Thanks for the recommendation. Scrivener looks powerful.
- mcguire 12y ago
  FYI, LaTeX is not an editor. Although it does produce good PDF's, given all of the LaTeX-to-HTML things I've seen, I would be sceptical of producing .mobi with it.
  - thoughtpalette 12y ago
    Also good to know. Do you have any recommendations of text editors (online or native) that are markdown oriented and support those formats?
jaxn 12y ago
Could someone create a gmail plugin to filter my outgoing emails through this. Maybe it would help to make my emails clearer and more persuasive.
- fl0wenol 12y ago
  No, because instead of discerning if you're a dullard by the quality of your writing at a glance, I'll instead have to stumble through mechanically de-voiced inanity. At least without Hemmingway your stream-of-consciousness as committed to typed form can be examined and admired as a unique reflection of your particular damage.
datahipster 12y ago
+1 for a Vim plugin...
dbcooper 12y ago
A single screenshot of the Windows version would've been nice ...
- StronglyTyped 12y ago
  The program is a windows frame wrapped around their web app. It looks almost exactly the same.
  - livejamie 12y ago
    The web app doesn't handle markdown, does it?
uncletaco 12y ago
Is the laptop on the front page a hackintosh? Or does the app default to OSX style windows on startup? Someone bite the bullet and tell me.
- rjvin 12y ago
  the most likely scenario is that the screen is simulated.
- tnorthcutt 12y ago
  It's just a screenshot of the Mac app, placed on a placeit stage: https://placeit.net/#!/stages/laptop-restaurant-wooden-table https://placeit.net/#!/stages/laptop-restaurant-wooden-table
grabcocque 12y ago
Hemingway is an app which makes terrible, and largely trivial stylistic advice. Fortunately, the real Hemingway had no truck with following such terrible "rules": http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=10416 http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=10416
- iQuercus 12y ago
  As with all tools, it depends on how you use it. If a writer lets software dictate his style, then he's hopeless. But I think this can be a good tool for helping you introduce more variety to your writing. It can help open up stylistic choices as opposed to auto-pilot writing. We've all written something with nary a thought, and usually it stinks. You don't have to follow its recommendations, but it can make you stop and re-evaluate what you've written, and that makes it more useful than one might imagine. As a first-line editing tool, I think it's clever, don't you?
Ixiaus 12y ago
I wish this were a LibreOffice plugin... [EDIT] I would pay for it too.
api 12y ago
I tried Writer Pro a while back and was pretty disappointed... it was expensive for what I felt was delivered. I might give this one a shot.
jenius 12y ago
I feel like this app would benefit massively from the touch of an actual designer rather than using default bootstrap. When you are trying to write, you want a minimal, elegant, and non-distracting interface, and those tacky and jarring glossy buttons really throw me off. I love the app though! If you can afford a couple hours of a designer's time (it's a simple interface, wouldn't take too much), I feel like the benefits would be huge. If you want my help with this, feel free to reach out, but I'm sure any designer would be glad to do it : )
pnathan 12y ago
Guiding towards short and simple writing forms the mind towards only being able to express short and simple thoughts. Whereas in reality, long, nuanced, and complex solutions are required to accommodate the many actors in many situations.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
thekylemontag 12y ago
Doesn’t open on Yosemite beta 4. Sad days. Hopefully soon.

137 points by ents 12y ago

Serious question: could they be sued by Hemingway's family for using his name on their product? I mean, if I made an app called "Tolkien" I might realistically run into trouble with his estate.

mcgarveymr 12y ago
Looks like they acquired proper licensing. The footer of the webpage states: "Hemingway™ is a trademark of Hemingway Ltd., used under exclusive license through Fashion Licensing of America, Inc., New York, NY 10001" Fashion Licensing of America's site states that the company is the exclusive licensing agent for Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

teamonkey 12y ago

Looks good! Two points from a Windows user. 1) I'm put off by the lack of Windows screenshots. I want to see what the interface is like before I commit to buying. 2) I'm sure I'm in the minority here but I'd like to see this as a Modern app. I like the distraction-free framing of the Modern interface on my notebook - I think it's especially constructive to writing. Modern apps also install and sync transparently across all my Windows devices. And honestly, the Windows store is lacking a decent editor like this. Another question: can you provide more details on the HTML export? Does it just generate a static page? Does it create some kind of site?

valarauca1 12y ago

I found the web app very useful I can't wait to actually use it in my daily work flow :)

patmcc 12y ago

The marketing copy is puzzling to me. Two things it highlights are what I would consider standard and required features for any text editor; the ability to work offline and the ability to save and edit text files. If your text editor can't save and edit text files (!?!) and can only be used online, it's hardly even worth calling a text editor. That Hemingway can do what's required is necessary, but why draw attention to those things instead of actual, you know, features? Edit: by the replies, I see these features make sense in comparison to Hemingway the web app. However, if this page is also intended for people not familiar with the web app, I stand by my points.

rguldener 12y ago
Most likely because the original app works in your browser and does pretty much the same as the desktop version: http://www.hemingwayapp.com/ http://www.hemingwayapp.com/
yebyen 12y ago
Because: http://www.hemingwayapp.com/ http://www.hemingwayapp.com/ This was a free web-only app that was featured on HackerNews front page before.
cruise02 12y ago
"can only be used online" doesn't make something not a text editor. The other point is "Save and open" not "save and edit." This is explained in the next paragraph. It's in contrast to the workflow in the online Hemingway app.

drivingmenuts 12y ago

No demo? It's a five dollar app. Of course, there's no demo because hey, it's only five dollars. This new marketing model blows.

louhike 12y ago
You can use the web version for free at http://www.hemingwayapp.com/ http://www.hemingwayapp.com/
briandear 12y ago
It's 5 dollars. Stop being cheap. Buy it if it sounds like something you'd like, if not, don't buy it. You don't get a demo of a movie when you buy it. You can't just watch half of it and then decide if you want to buy a ticket. It's pretty obnoxious when tech-types bitch about $5 yet have no problem billing clients $100+ per hour or making $100K+ per year as a developer of the very types of things about which they complain about paying $5. It's not unlike restaurant waiters not leaving tips when they themselves go out to eat. Not everything needs a demo. Perhaps a quick screencast or something if you feel like the screenshots don't do the product justice. But it's a text editor.. how much demo is actually needed?
- pdpi 12y ago
  > You don't get a demo of a movie when you buy it They're called "trailers".
  - briandear 12y ago
    And in software, it's called "screenshots."
    - comeonnow 12y ago
      If trailers are to films as screenshots are to software, then demos are to software as what exactly are to films? I think your argument is defunct, and I don't think it's bad to expect a demo, no matter how expensive or inexpensive a bit of software may be.

o0-0o 12y ago

Just for giggles, I ran the Satya Nadella letter[1] through here, and this is what I got: 39 of 186 sentences are hard to read. 35 of 186 sentences are very hard to read. 35 adverbs. Aim for 17 or fewer. 26 words or phrases can be simpler. 15 uses of passive voice. Aim for 37 or fewer. [1] http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/ceo/index.html http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/news/ceo/index.html

bronson 12y ago
Ha, good idea. That still seems too good a score. Maybe it should also flag lazy CEO words like harmonize, energizing, innovation, dialogue, synthesize, ubiquitous, ambient intelligence, digitize, maximize, empower, enable, ... etc. (Unless used for their original meaning, of course.) Any one is no big deal, but at one per sentence... oof.

willyyr 12y ago

Are there other languages supported apart from english?

HugoDias 12y ago
+1, but looks like it doesn't have.

latch 12y ago

Some initial feedback: 1 - My first CC was rejected 2 - The spelling hint (the red line) is bad. Just type "Hollowness" and, for me at least, it underlines "Hollownes" and doesn't pick up the last "s" until I move on to the next word (and then some) 3 - Themes / font / spacing and fullscreen would be nice 4 - Tried to save a file: Uncaught node.js Error Error: EACCES, open '/x.txt' (and now I can't go back, and I lost what I was writing) 5 - On startup, it now flashes the intro text, but then goes into write mode. Feels unpolished. 6 - Personally, I'd like something that helps me organize my writing a little bit. For now, I just use a folder with project view in sublime, which works great. Not sure I'm willing to give that up.

j-b 12y ago
This would be a really useful plugin for Microsoft Outlook. I would shell out the $4.99 for that. However, if I have to fire up a separate app to use this I might as well just use the free web app.

mrbill 12y ago

I'd like to be able to change the font size in the edit window.

swanson 12y ago

Would be happy to pay the $5 to be able to use this as an addon in Sublime Text (or Atom/vim/emacs/whatever you like) instead of having to use your editor app. I don't like having to switch to a new editor for writing. Any plans for this?

apetresc 12y ago

I can't wait to copy-paste one of Hemingway's novels into here and see how many issues it has with his writing.

briandear 12y ago
Please do! I'm interested. Theoretically, Hemingway should score perfect. Since it's his editor and all. And Faulkner would likely score near the bottom. Gertrude Stein would likely result in a stack level too deep error. "In the late summer of that year we lived in a house in a village that looked across the river and the plain to the mountains. We edited text every day. Carlos played the piano while we worked. The text editor was a good one, built like text editors should be built, solid and able to hold words well even when you hit the enter key in the irregular rhythm Carlos liked to use."

jasonkester 12y ago

Ironic that an app calling itself "Hemingway" would recommend against the word "Utilize". As a key example of "things to avoid" no less. Utilized in one of the more memorable exchanges in The Sun Also Rises: "Let us rejoice in our blessings. Let us utilize the fowls of the air. Let us utilize the product of the vine. Will you utilize a little, brother?" ... and so on for nearly ten pages, utilizing wine, pubs, etc. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=fAcAd5gFdB0C&lpg=PP1&dq=hemingway%20utilize&pg=PA126#v=onepage&q=hemingway%20utilize&f=false http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=fAcAd5gFdB0C&lpg=PP1&dq=h... I bet if you apply this tool to more of his writing, you'd find it neutered it completely, removing much of the magic that makes it so great.

louhike 12y ago
Hemingway App is a tool useful is you're not a great writer. If you want to write something original, or magic, you better not use it. I understand that you might not be criticizing the app directly, but as you are the top comment, I thought it would be useful as a reminder.
- soperj 12y ago
  I don't think that's necessarily true. I think you can use it to quickly identify passages that may need more work. As with all suggestions, take them with a grain of salt, but so far even with highly edited work, I find it can be useful.
- Bartweiss 12y ago
  I do think that attempts to create something original can be helped by this, but only if it's used carefully. After I've reworked something many times, the parts I've fiddled with the most are often too complicated and obscure. I've gotten a bit of use out of this, but only by throwing it at things which are already written and edited, and then ignoring most of it's suggestions. I end up treating it as a list of things to check, not a list of problems to fix.
ivan_ah 12y ago
So you're one of those people who like to use "utilize." I've always thought the word is used willy-nilly by people with feeble minds in order to "sound fancy," but you seem like an alright guy. Could you tell me why you'd want to use "utilize" instead of "use"? Do you intend a different meaning e.g. make-use-of-in-unexpeded-way, or do you see them as synonyms? To me, it sounds horrible---a buzzword and a French-isism (The French verb to use is utiliser).

rumblestrut 12y ago

I wrote them and suggested they have some type of liquor icon for "Write" and a coffee cup icon for "Edit" (a play on "Write drunk, edit sober," which he never said but everyone wrong attributes it to him). Sad it didn't make it in. Guess I'll keep writing sober.

elliotec 12y ago

This app is absolutely terrible. It's broken, but worse, it's wrong all the time.

mztan 12y ago

After reading the comments, I now understand why the marketing copy touts saving and open text files as a feature. Given that there is no mention of the web app (AFAICT) on this page and that I had never heard of Hemingway App before, I initially was very confused as to why, for a text editor, saving/opening files and editing text offline would even be worth mentioning. I'm not saying the copy is poorly written (in fact I think it's written quite well), I just think that perhaps not enough of it is directed at people like me. Maybe a simple link back to the web app and some text explaining it would suffice. Also, a minor nitpick: I think the usage of "Hemingway App" and "Hemingway Editor" is a bit confusing. I take it the web app is Hemingway App, and the desktop client is Hemingway Editor? Why, then, is the page title "Hemingway App for Mac OSX"? (side note, no love for Windows in the title?) Not sure why I chose this comment to be my very first comment on HN.

Tharkun 12y ago

Windows or Mac? No Linux support? sigh

aantix 12y ago

If your app truly is remarkable and provides a ton of value, please charge more than $5.

thoughtpalette 12y ago

Say I wanted to start writing an e-book, would this be an acceptable editor? Does it output to PDF,.mobi formats? or should I go with something like LaTeX?

bennesvig 12y ago
I'd use it for writing, but then copy over the text to something like Scrivener.
- thoughtpalette 12y ago
  Thanks for the recommendation. Scrivener looks powerful.
mcguire 12y ago
FYI, LaTeX is not an editor. Although it does produce good PDF's, given all of the LaTeX-to-HTML things I've seen, I would be sceptical of producing .mobi with it.
- thoughtpalette 12y ago
  Also good to know. Do you have any recommendations of text editors (online or native) that are markdown oriented and support those formats?

jaxn 12y ago

Could someone create a gmail plugin to filter my outgoing emails through this. Maybe it would help to make my emails clearer and more persuasive.

fl0wenol 12y ago
No, because instead of discerning if you're a dullard by the quality of your writing at a glance, I'll instead have to stumble through mechanically de-voiced inanity. At least without Hemmingway your stream-of-consciousness as committed to typed form can be examined and admired as a unique reflection of your particular damage.

datahipster 12y ago

+1 for a Vim plugin...

dbcooper 12y ago

A single screenshot of the Windows version would've been nice ...

StronglyTyped 12y ago
The program is a windows frame wrapped around their web app. It looks almost exactly the same.
- livejamie 12y ago
  The web app doesn't handle markdown, does it?

uncletaco 12y ago

Is the laptop on the front page a hackintosh? Or does the app default to OSX style windows on startup? Someone bite the bullet and tell me.

rjvin 12y ago
the most likely scenario is that the screen is simulated.
tnorthcutt 12y ago
It's just a screenshot of the Mac app, placed on a placeit stage: https://placeit.net/#!/stages/laptop-restaurant-wooden-table https://placeit.net/#!/stages/laptop-restaurant-wooden-table

grabcocque 12y ago

Hemingway is an app which makes terrible, and largely trivial stylistic advice. Fortunately, the real Hemingway had no truck with following such terrible "rules": http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=10416 http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=10416

iQuercus 12y ago
As with all tools, it depends on how you use it. If a writer lets software dictate his style, then he's hopeless. But I think this can be a good tool for helping you introduce more variety to your writing. It can help open up stylistic choices as opposed to auto-pilot writing. We've all written something with nary a thought, and usually it stinks. You don't have to follow its recommendations, but it can make you stop and re-evaluate what you've written, and that makes it more useful than one might imagine. As a first-line editing tool, I think it's clever, don't you?

Ixiaus 12y ago

I wish this were a LibreOffice plugin... [EDIT] I would pay for it too.

api 12y ago

I tried Writer Pro a while back and was pretty disappointed... it was expensive for what I felt was delivered. I might give this one a shot.

jenius 12y ago

I feel like this app would benefit massively from the touch of an actual designer rather than using default bootstrap. When you are trying to write, you want a minimal, elegant, and non-distracting interface, and those tacky and jarring glossy buttons really throw me off. I love the app though! If you can afford a couple hours of a designer's time (it's a simple interface, wouldn't take too much), I feel like the benefits would be huge. If you want my help with this, feel free to reach out, but I'm sure any designer would be glad to do it : )

pnathan 12y ago

Guiding towards short and simple writing forms the mind towards only being able to express short and simple thoughts. Whereas in reality, long, nuanced, and complex solutions are required to accommodate the many actors in many situations.

deleted 12y ago
[deleted]

thekylemontag 12y ago

Doesn’t open on Yosemite beta 4. Sad days. Hopefully soon.