Not usually a fan of gadgets and gizmos from the tech world—they’re just more artificial solutions to problems caused by earlier artificial solutions to yet earlier problems. But: a team from Spain has created something that immediately changed the way I write—the entire writing experience actually.
HerraizSoto&Co., from Barcelona, created the OmmWriter, a free word processor that completely takes over your computer, blanks out your screen, and stops your notifications. No chimes when someone gchats you, no tones when a new email pops up. No constantly being distracted by that news story you have pulled up behind your current window. No seeing other programs in your dock and remembering something you were going to do. This is a program that offers simplicity again. “Welcome back to concentrating,” it says as it opens. And it feels good.
It’s precisely because the OmmWriter disables the technology we’ve surrounded ourselves with that it actually serves a positive purpose in creative pursuits. From the team that created it:
OmmWriter Dana is a humble attempt to recapture what technology has snatched away from us today: our capacity to concentrate. OmmWriter is a simple text processor that firmly believes in making writing a pleasure once again, vindicating the close relationship between writer and paper. The more intimate the relation, the smoother the flow of inspiration.
The default screen is a snowy scene, a few trees near the horizon, clear, fresh, and white, like paper. Ambient music is available, as is silence. You can choose a plain white or gray screen as well. And from the moment I downloaded it, it was a pleasure to write. It was more intimate. And smooth. Somehow the designers had stumbled onto something new and yet simple and intuitive. Perhaps this was because it was never meant to be a product.
OmmWriter emerged as an internal tool to help transport us away from the humdrum noise; allowing us to be at one with ourselves and our ideas. All said and done, after having created something so valuable, we figured that OmmWriter was just too good to keep to ourselves.
In describing OmmWriter, the creative team quotes an anonymous wiseman who said, “We are all at the mercy of our wild monkey minds.” And so, when you’ve had your fill of writing, or, by necessity, you must re-enter the world, the program reminds you: “Restarting notifications. Your mind, a wild monkey.”