Thanks for that very helpful post. I guess one of the main differences between Writer and Apple’s Pages is that Writer is online, whereas Apple’s Pages is a program you have on your computer.

I wonder if using Writer as I suggest in my post would help with internet procrastination? If you see Writer as your home page, would you be more likely to write something, and then be in the mood to work, or would you click away immediately to surf aimlessly?

Of course, you could also set your computer up so that your text program loads on boot-up – NotePad or Pages or whatever. That might help too.

The whole point of this is to actually get yourself into the habit of writing as soon as you boot up or access the internet.

If you’re a writer, you probably need all the writing help you can get!

Great blog! Congratulations.

‘Writer’ is a fascinating idea and, as you say, could be a useful tool for people who are trying to get something written. One problem with word processing programs is that they have so many bells and whistles that it’s easy to get distracted fiddling with the formatting or solving problems that don’t really exist yet (at least in your particular project).

However, as a Mac owner and user, I’ve discovered a word processing program that offers at least a few of the features that this site does. It’s Apple’s Pages, which has a setting whereby you just see the blank page on a black screen without the formatting paraphernalia. I bought it, used it for a while and was rather unimpressed with it at first, but with familiarity I’ve come to like it rather more. And if you open it first thing every morning, it would do all the other things you suggest above.

Of course, if you don’t have a Mac, my suggestion isn’t much use, and Writer is the way to go.