Using Desk 3

I’ve recently upgraded to the new version of Desk, which is a great desktop app for blogging. Before I was using the previous version, but I decided that it’s time to upgrade.

In version 2 you could setup links to WordPress, Blogger (if you still use this) and Medium. Now in version 3 it’s just for WordPress. I suppose this is because WordPress is the leader in blogs so there is a big market for Desk to just focus on WordPress.

The developer of Desk, John Saddington, has also created an app just for writting to Medium, called MNML, which looks a nice app, but as someone who doesn’t write on just Medium I thought I’d just stick with Desk.

Desk has some nice features, it has full-screen mode, so you can just concentrate on writing and not be distracted by other app, like Twitter or Slack. It also allows you export your posts to either HTML, PDF, Word or Markdown. The Markdown option is useful as then I can take that MD file and add it to Medium if I want to cross post to Medium.

The UI of Desk is really clean and simple, when in the full-screen mode all you have is the editor, without any other windows. In version 3 you now has two side panels that show the list of blog posts you’ve written and all the tags you’ve created as you write. You can now create groups, so if you want to group a series of posts together, maybe you had a series of posts on a theme or you want to group by month then the groups tab is ideal.

I do feel that when upgrading from version 2 to 3 I’ve lost something by not being able to now post to other blogging engines like Medium and Blogger, but if you are a hardcore writter using WordPress then Desk 3 is a great app for you.

Why write

There has been a big discussion in the Inline slack group about the 30 day writing challenge. The main theme of the discussion was about how some people are finding it hard to write something every day. It was a good discussion because finding the time to sit down and write something does take commitment and planning.

It did make me think about the reason why people write, why do some people manage to write a blog post without fail, day in day out.

There are a number of reasons why people write regularly on there blog, one to build up a following in order to promote their business. The other is because some people just love writing, they love the creative process that writing provides.

If you are writing for the simple reason that you love writing and love the creative process, then worring about how many people are reading your posts doesn’t matter. Even the quality of your posts shouldn’t matter. Just getting something out there is the more important thing.

The cool thing I find out about the 30 Day Writing Challenge is that taking part has forced me to get into habit of writing. I don’t care about writing top quality blog posts, but instead I care about practicing writing a daily blog post.

Halfway through 30dwc

 For those taking part in the 30 day writing challenge, we are now half way through according to Marc, who started off this challenge.

So far I’ve been enjoying the challenge it’s been good to take a challenge of doing something every day for 30 days. Forcing yourself to write a blog post, to come up with a subject and get a post written each day has been a challenge.

Some people has made writing a post as part of their morning routine. Some people have been writing large essays, I’ve decided to go down the route of having a mix between longer posts and small micro blogging posts. I’ve also tried to have a theme for my posts from being a contractor to indie development.

It’s been good to have a challenge where you have to do something every day. It goes to show that if you want to pick up a new hobby or habit a 30 day challenge is a good way to start something new.