For whatever reason I have an allergic reaction to the phrase “distraction-free,” but as I’ve waffled back and forth between org-mode and Markdown as the starting point for prose I’ve also thought about how my model writing app on macOS is probably iA Writer, because it’s just so easy on the eyes. I kinda buy the limited choice it offers, too. That might be why it edges out Ulysses.
So I’ve given writeroom-mode for Emacs a spin and it does a nice job of presenting a simple, clean writing screen. No modeline, pulls the margins in, and you can enlarge the font (and pick a variable pitch one).
On a macBook with Emacs running in full screen mode it is, indeed, pretty distraction free. Using the monokai-pro theme, it’s plenty contrasty, but not glaring.
It’s sort of nice having a good Emacs build again. When I have an overloaded config with too much going on, things feel sort of rickety and weird and there’s an underlying sense of non-calm under the surface that makes it hard to use as a creative tool.
When it’s set up for simplicity and stability – when there’s less junk going on – it’s able to just sort of look nice and feel comfortable.