Q10

In early October I wrote about 750Words.com, a site that pushed a subscriber to write at least 750 words a day. The problem, as I eventually discovered, is that your work is being saved onto their site. While one can always export, there's a risk in the meantime that work will be lost, which is what happened to me one day when the site's server was down or malfunctioning and my output wasn't saved. Goodbye 750Words. It didn't work out for me, but I know others who love it, and I say good for them. If it helps with discipline, it's a good thing.

But today I saw a note on Galleycat about Q10, a program that attempts to help you block out distractions by blacking out your computer screen so that you're just typing words, not word-processing. It even has sound effects--like a typewriter. It has a built-in timer and other settings that one can use to help keep one's mind on the work, and I'm looking forward to using it when I begin working on something new. (I don't think it's so great for editing a long manuscript that's already in MS Word.) But take a look and give it a try . . .