There was once a time when I was obsessed with bells and whistles. If there was a new feature in a piece of software, I wanted it. More sliders, buttons and fiddly bits was always better.
Lately though, my tastes have changed dramatically. Once my bread-and-butter app, (so much so that it automatically opened on startup) I can't remember the last time I opened Microsoft Word. And I doubt I'll ever go back. These days, I'm finding myself living more and more inside simple text-editors for grinding out writing projects, grocery lists, html, and pretty much everything else I do on my Mac.
One of my favorite new writing tools is WriteRoom by Hog Bay Software ($24.95). The genius of WriteRoom is that it's stripped-down interface doesn't let you do much besides write. Essentially, WriteRoom gives you a full-screen blank slate, with no buttons, menus, or other distractions. WriteRoom can even be set up to completely obscure all your other open windows. So instead of fiddling with tables, line-spacing, or your iTunes playlist, you can just sit down and write. As it turns out, rather than being a limiting experience, the ability to focus 100% on content is quite liberating.
