<![CDATA[Worst Draft - Blog]]>Thu, 11 Jul 2024 20:33:48 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[Fresh and 100% Clean!]]>Tue, 05 Apr 2016 18:57:07 GMThttp://www.worstdraft.com/blog/fresh-and-100-cleanRejoice! Worst Draft has been awarded the most coveted title of 100% CLEAN. Softpedia Labs, an independent software company, has tested our no-frills text editor and determined something that you've known all along: Worst Draft ain't got no baggage! No adware, malware, spyware, bad hair, over share, OR EVEN Renaissance faire. Just sweet, sweet software.
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So without further ado... LET THE PARTY BEGIN!
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]]><![CDATA[A good start and some great feedback]]>Wed, 02 Sep 2015 00:05:50 GMThttp://www.worstdraft.com/blog/a-good-startI published Worst Draft at the end of last year, but didn’t promote it at all. Like my writing, I was constantly revising and pushing back the release date. It took me a long time to get over the imperfections and just put it out there. I’m so happy I did.

Thanks to the good people at Reddit's /r/writing, Worst Draft has been downloaded over 500 times this week! The response has been overwhelmingly positive: there are a lot of writers like me who struggle to complete their first drafts, and a lot of them are happy to have this free tool to help. They've given some great suggestions for future versions. Here are a few that I’m working on:
  • Motivational metrics – The next big step for Worst Draft is to implement user-defined benchmarks for each project. These will be paired with data that tells you about your ideal usage: what time of day you write the most, what day of the week is your most productive, the time it will take you to meet your goal at your current rate, etc. 
  • Import feature – Many writers want to use Worst Draft to work on an existing project. This wasn’t the original intent of the program, but I think that having the option to import would be really helpful.
  • Word count – Currently, the program only tracks words typed per session. Soon, there will be an easier way to check your word count for the whole project.
  • Customize your Worst Draft – Display inversion for users who prefer to write on a dark background.
Thanks to all the new users who have given such great feedback. I hope to have an updated version soon that includes these features. Until then, happy writing!

]]><![CDATA[National Novel Writing Month]]>Sat, 01 Nov 2014 21:04:49 GMThttp://www.worstdraft.com/blog/nanowimoToday is the perfect time to start this blog because it’s the first day of National Novel Writing Month! For those unfamiliar, NNWM challenges writers to complete a 50k word novel in 30 days. This is a great exercise in writing forward: powering through your pages without editing. If you were to write every day (which a lot of people won’t), then you would have to type five pages per day. That’s a lot for any writer to accomplish. The best way to do it is to NEVER LOOK BACK.

This is the theme of Worst Draft. Too many people approach writing as something that should be mastered on the first try. We edit as we type, hemming and hawing down the page as we try to find the right words. But why? you ask. Why shouldn't I want to do it right the first time?

Most things we do in life have the same destination regardless of the path we chose to get there. Repainting your living room, cooking dinner, building Ikea furniture. You can enjoy the process, but you always have an idea about what the outcome will be: a blue wall, chicken paprika, a crappy dresser.

Writing is something entirely different from anything else we do in life. The process can yield a product that is nothing like what you thought you were going to create in the first place. It’s getting lost in the woods and finding yourself at the base of an active volcano, ready to blow. There’s no logical way in or out so editing while writing will hold you back. Get into the groove and let your imagination take over.

That’s why I advocate for a Worst Draft. This is a chance to give your imagination free range over your project before logic steps in and says, Wait, since when do vampires sparkle like disco balls in the sun? A writer’s first step will always be a gamble, but that’s a bet you can afford to take. There will always be other drafts to revise. So make a promise to yourself before you begin that you will never let anyone see your Worst Draft.

Did you do it? Feel better? You should. Now shut up! You've got a novel to write.

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