When WriteRoom 2.0 was released some weeks ago, I wrote:
The one change I’m less keen on is the way files are managed. In 1.0, all your files were saved automatically until you explicitly deleted them. On opening WriteRoom, every currently active file was opened, ready to use. WriteRoom 2.0 changes this behavior, and you now need to save files in a specific location and with a suitable filename before you can quit the app.
Now, having been using it for several weeks, I can see that Jesse Grosjean’s decision to change the way the app worked was the right one. Now, WriteRoom works more like every other application, and can open and save documents created elsewhere and in other apps. My head was stuck in a particular mode of working, and I couldn’t see the benefits of changing.
Since then, though, I’ve found the new method hugely useful. Normally, I’ll create a new piece of writing using my Idea Automator Workflow, and save it as a text file for later editing in TextMate. That still works fine.
But now I’ve also got a Workflow, saved as a Finder Plug-in, that opens any selected file in WriteRoom. The files I’ve previously created as text files can be opened up for full screen editing in a snap. Stuff which needs to worked on in a window still can be; stuff that needs some creative thought or imagination can be sent to WriteRoom for distraction-free concentration.
If you're seriously into your writing, then you simply have to check out Scrivener. It has a full screen mode just as nice if not nicer than Writeroom, but goes WAY beyond that, with some seriously nifty tools for writers.
Andy: Yes, I have tried Scrivener. In fact, I just finished writing a review of it for MacUser (UK) magazine. I intend to post something about it here soon. It's a very impressive application.