Ulysses and Blot

So, I am beginning to get into some kind of writing flow.

For me it seems key to remove myself from social media whilst engaging my creative side. Social media just kills the creative process.

And part of that is having a website where I have zero analytics. Just as it’s a benefit (in my opinion) to the reader that there are no trackers or cookies, it works both ways. I am unable to see any kind of stats. I have no idea if anyone is reading. And I like it that way. It helps me be honest. It helps me not worry about what people think of me or my work.

And additionally, there is no comments box either. But I’m still considering whether to add one at some point. Or whether my email newsletter platform is the best way to handle feedback.

So I’m clearing space. Making an environment –albeit digitally — where I feel I undistracted, and even safe.

Another part of this is having a low friction workflow for publishing wherever I am. And that includes publishing with my thumbs, on my phone.

So I’ve taken another subscription with Ulysses on iOS. It’s linked to my Dropbox account. And my Blot blog publishes whatever I save into my Dropbox. It’s fairly smooth and trouble free. There’s only a small consideration to the file format, images, and quirks of the Ulysses version of markdown to consider.

It also means I am not dealing with publishing apps owned by publishing platforms. Ones that are trying to help me write or create, but where I always feel like some corporate giant is trying to co-create my work.

With Ulysses and Blot I am not being massaged by the platform, or the readers. But I still get to publish almost instantly. It really is as friction-free as it gets.

All I need to do now is add a few lines of metadata to the top of the file and move it into the right folder and we’re good to go.