Notes and Drafts

For serious writing, start with a great text editor, customize it, and then get organized.

I write a lot for work. A plaintext system works for me because the file format is as simple as can be, and I can assemble some of the best tools for each job—Sublime Text for writing and editing, Pandoc for conversion to other file formats, and Git for revision history—to create a lightning-fast system for writing notes and drafts.

I created a system based around using a computer for what it's best at—typing and search—and reducing tedious activities such as browsing through folders and (to a minor extent) moving files around with the mouse.

Thanks to this system, I can create new notes in seconds, quickly find anything I've ever written, export my plaintext drafts to formatted Word documents, keep a history of prior versions of my notes and drafts securely on my own system, and never have` to think about where new thoughts and ideas should go before I start writing them.

In my opinion, having the best tools for the job is critical, so ditch Word and Notepad and start writing in a real text editor: I prefer Sublime Text, and will show you how to set it up for great writing.

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