My initial idea was imagining a typewriter with disappearing ink. Doing some research I came across some apps that use a similar general idea, and Enzo was indeed one of them. But none of them did it exactly like I was picturing, so I decided to make one.
What’s the reasoning for no backspace? I understand not allowing edits before the current word but I am a very clumsy typer, and this made me pretty frustrated when every other word had a typo.
It may not be for you, then (and I don't think it's for me, either), but that seems consistent with the idea. You're supposed to let go of any kind of editing and just go go go. You can edit it later.
I’ve found that while trying to write down the ideas in my head, it’s very easy for me to lose my train of thought if I edit while I write, which I can’t seem to help but doing. Not being able to go back at all, or to glance at anything I’ve already written, has helped me keep my inner dialogue moving without interruption. It felt odd at first, but I very quickly got used to not editing myself.
I love the idea, but at least on android the text scrolls backwards as some people have already noticed. Also, my keyboard thinks that wrvy word needs to be capitalized for some reason so I'm typing backwards all caps. And with he no editing, if it was set up in a way that let my phone at least autocorrect my typos, I think that would go a long way to making this more usable.
But kudos for getting something out there, and I'm really excited to get to use it on my laptop where I'm sure it works better.
Yeah, I apologize for the Android bugs. I’d mostly intended for it to be a desktop app, and tested it on Linux and Mac, then did a couple mobile additions and tested it on iOS. I didn’t expect that Android would behave so much differently, particularly since it’s all in a browser, so that was pretty naive.
I’ve downloaded Android Studio for testing, so I’ll get to work figuring out where the bug is coming from.
This is so super delightful. I explored a similar space when I was first learning piano and was enjoying how freeing it is to have the melodies and mistakes sort of drift into the air.
Oh wow, I hadn’t come across this one while researching. As soon as I looked at it I felt pretty bad thinking someone had already built something exactly like mine 7 years ago. But playing around with it, it seems different enough that I don’t feel like I now need to toss mine in the trash. Phew.
I accidentally reloaded the page on my phone, thus losing all my (meaningless, auto-complete generated) text. So maybe an auto-save would be better?
Years ago there was a lightweight app for the then-current version of Mac OS X called Grandview. When invoked, it would fill your screen with a background color and you would see only a huge version of the single word you were currently typing. (I don't remember, but I think it might have displayed the entirety of the last sentence after you ended it too.) It also deactivated your backspace key so you could only keep typing. That was peak focused writing, and it was an awesome app. I miss it, and similar, small apps that did one thing incredibly well.
If this was Windows or Linux you could probably keep using it until the heat-death of the universe. One thing Apple does incredibly poorly is supporting their old software. To me it's a form of instability. You just can't trust any long term process on a mac (well, unless you completely forgo updating your OS).
Thank you for the comment. I’ve thought of adding auto save. I think my initial reason for not including it was that, if you can’t see what you’ve written, how would you know if you’re typing into a new blank doc or a previous auto save? It’s something I’ll think more on.
I am thinnking what if we made different variation to choose from like:
1. Sentence mode where after full-stop '.' the sentence fades away.
2. Word mode, yeah for words
4. New Line, after user enter "Enter"
5. Make it able to backspace.
6. ...
This is great! It’s the perfect implementation of stream-of-consciousness journaling, especially when you need to get your emotions out on the page. My college English professor used to recommend putting a towel over your laptop to encourage a flow state when writing. This is easier :) Will bookmark this and try it the next few times when I journal. Great job!
Doesn't seem to play nicely with diacritics. Any accents in a word get repeated like: ´é or ´ó and in the output file they end up even worse with the letter wrapping the text like étouch´é...
I love the idea! It just creates a very minimalistic feeling and helps my mind not get overwhelmed with big chunks of text. However, the no-edits thing is a bit frustrating personally. A solution would be to allow edits as long as the text is visible, plus increase the timeline the text stays in the view (the pace in the homepage is ideal i feel).
Aw, sorry to hear that. I remember encountering that bug a while back and was happy when I figured out a way to squash it. Admittedly I tested this app in browsers on Linux, Mac, and on an iPhone, but not Android. So I'll get a hold of an Android device and figure out a way to re-squash the backwards bug. Thanks for the heads up.
Would still like to correct mistakes instead of re-writing words again, make the last two or three words editable i guess ? idk... you want to make money ? how ?
Any inspiration from https://enso.sonnet.io?
I'm a big fan of everything Rafał Pastuszak does.
They also recently announced a public beta of a rewrite of that product
https://untested.sonnet.io/notes/new-enso-first-public-beta/
Oh - looks like it's been on HN too. Some good discussions...
New version: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44421776
Original: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38025073
My initial idea was imagining a typewriter with disappearing ink. Doing some research I came across some apps that use a similar general idea, and Enzo was indeed one of them. But none of them did it exactly like I was picturing, so I decided to make one.
Domain name reminded of Edna which was a show hn here https://edna.arslexis.io/#inbox
What’s the reasoning for no backspace? I understand not allowing edits before the current word but I am a very clumsy typer, and this made me pretty frustrated when every other word had a typo.
It may not be for you, then (and I don't think it's for me, either), but that seems consistent with the idea. You're supposed to let go of any kind of editing and just go go go. You can edit it later.
I’ve found that while trying to write down the ideas in my head, it’s very easy for me to lose my train of thought if I edit while I write, which I can’t seem to help but doing. Not being able to go back at all, or to glance at anything I’ve already written, has helped me keep my inner dialogue moving without interruption. It felt odd at first, but I very quickly got used to not editing myself.
Just let go bud. Type with your eyes closed, if that helps.
Get the idea written down before it gets lost in the "oops, i misspelled that wait... what was I going to say?" trap.
I find it to be a clever tool for those of us fastidious types that fixate on accuracy and end up failing to complete the larger goal.
I love the idea, but at least on android the text scrolls backwards as some people have already noticed. Also, my keyboard thinks that wrvy word needs to be capitalized for some reason so I'm typing backwards all caps. And with he no editing, if it was set up in a way that let my phone at least autocorrect my typos, I think that would go a long way to making this more usable.
But kudos for getting something out there, and I'm really excited to get to use it on my laptop where I'm sure it works better.
Yeah, I apologize for the Android bugs. I’d mostly intended for it to be a desktop app, and tested it on Linux and Mac, then did a couple mobile additions and tested it on iOS. I didn’t expect that Android would behave so much differently, particularly since it’s all in a browser, so that was pretty naive.
I’ve downloaded Android Studio for testing, so I’ll get to work figuring out where the bug is coming from.
This is so super delightful. I explored a similar space when I was first learning piano and was enjoying how freeing it is to have the melodies and mistakes sort of drift into the air.
In case the work proves useful to your endeavors: https://github.com/cj-dimaggio/transient-words
Oh wow, I hadn’t come across this one while researching. As soon as I looked at it I felt pretty bad thinking someone had already built something exactly like mine 7 years ago. But playing around with it, it seems different enough that I don’t feel like I now need to toss mine in the trash. Phew.
Great name.
I accidentally reloaded the page on my phone, thus losing all my (meaningless, auto-complete generated) text. So maybe an auto-save would be better?
Years ago there was a lightweight app for the then-current version of Mac OS X called Grandview. When invoked, it would fill your screen with a background color and you would see only a huge version of the single word you were currently typing. (I don't remember, but I think it might have displayed the entirety of the last sentence after you ended it too.) It also deactivated your backspace key so you could only keep typing. That was peak focused writing, and it was an awesome app. I miss it, and similar, small apps that did one thing incredibly well.
If this was Windows or Linux you could probably keep using it until the heat-death of the universe. One thing Apple does incredibly poorly is supporting their old software. To me it's a form of instability. You just can't trust any long term process on a mac (well, unless you completely forgo updating your OS).
Thank you for the comment. I’ve thought of adding auto save. I think my initial reason for not including it was that, if you can’t see what you’ve written, how would you know if you’re typing into a new blank doc or a previous auto save? It’s something I’ll think more on.
I am thinnking what if we made different variation to choose from like: 1. Sentence mode where after full-stop '.' the sentence fades away. 2. Word mode, yeah for words 4. New Line, after user enter "Enter" 5. Make it able to backspace. 6. ...
what about making this open source?
This is great! It’s the perfect implementation of stream-of-consciousness journaling, especially when you need to get your emotions out on the page. My college English professor used to recommend putting a towel over your laptop to encourage a flow state when writing. This is easier :) Will bookmark this and try it the next few times when I journal. Great job!
Thanks! I appreciate it.
Doesn't seem to play nicely with diacritics. Any accents in a word get repeated like: ´é or ´ó and in the output file they end up even worse with the letter wrapping the text like étouch´é...
Thank you for the feedback. I'm having trouble replicating this bug on desktop and iOS. Could you tell me what device you're using?
edit Nevermind, I've found it. I'll get to work on that and have it sorted out.
Also for Emacs: https://github.com/KeyWeeUsr/typewriter-roll-mode
I have a txt file with local variables:
I love the idea! It just creates a very minimalistic feeling and helps my mind not get overwhelmed with big chunks of text. However, the no-edits thing is a bit frustrating personally. A solution would be to allow edits as long as the text is visible, plus increase the timeline the text stays in the view (the pace in the homepage is ideal i feel).
Thank you. I don’t think I’ve landed on the fade duration sweet spot yet. I’ll experiment with much longer times and see how it feels.
Well ... On my Android phone it just types backward in capitals! Like
EB OT TON RO EB OT
And I had to type that in here because it won't select for copy. Not what I was hoping for!
Aw, sorry to hear that. I remember encountering that bug a while back and was happy when I figured out a way to squash it. Admittedly I tested this app in browsers on Linux, Mac, and on an iPhone, but not Android. So I'll get a hold of an Android device and figure out a way to re-squash the backwards bug. Thanks for the heads up.
There are classes of bugs that reproduce on Android simulator- might be worth downloading Android studio and checking.
I love this idea. Did you also think about showing the whole line or paragraph instead of just the current word?
Very cathartic - thank you for building. I’d rather not be able to recover that text at all.
I can't seem to enter spaces at all.
wow i really liked it can you add wind sound as it fades away?
I like the idea!
Cool story bro
Would still like to correct mistakes instead of re-writing words again, make the last two or three words editable i guess ? idk... you want to make money ? how ?
very fun idea.