iA Writer

[A draft. Click for a much larger view.]

Here’s a word in favor of iA Writer, which has become my favorite app for writing in iOS and macOS. No toolbar (unless you want to see one), beautifully designed monospaced fonts, and the joys of Markdown, which I should have started using years ago. Markdown makes for a much more congenial writing environment than HTML, and with keyboard shortcuts, it’s a cinch to learn. Did I mention that I should have started using Markdown years ago?

To create a blog post from a Markdown file,. I select the text, choose Copy HTML, and paste into the Blogger Compose window. Then I remove the paragraph tags — <p></p> — at the beginning and end of the text. (Blogger likes line breaks — <br /><br /> — between paragraphs, made in Markdown with the backward slash.)

In macOS, I still also write in MarsEdit, which also uses Markdown. I tend to think of MarsEdit as the app for writing something to post immediately, iA Writer as the app for writing something I’ll post at some point. I wrote this post this morning in iA Writer.

iA Writer is available for Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows. All versions have many more features than I’ve mentioned here. (HTML Preview is one.) All but the iOS app allow a free trial. Support via e-mail is friendly and fast. iA Writer is one (or two) of the best apps I’ve ever bought.

Did I mention that I should have started using Markdown years ago?

[The strikethrough that begins the screenshot draft is brought to you by iA Writer’s optional Style Check, which flags possible clichés, fillers, redundancies, and words and phrases of the writer’s choosing, but doesn’t overrule the writer. My only relation to iA Writer is that of a happy customer and careful writer.]