Modern Writing

It’s so quiet. It’s so peaceful right now, as I write this. The sun is shining, the wind is blowing. It’s a good day in Wellington. There’s a Writers and Readers Festival coming up next week. And this is what I’m thinking about and working on today: writing. I should be outside soaking up the sun, doing something—anything—but instead, I’m at my desk, thinking about writing. Here I am, writing about writing—a new category on my blog, Writing.

It’s both the best and the worst time in history to be a writer. With more tools than ever and the rise of large language models, software can now generate legible, grammatically correct text with just a prompt. Sometimes, it feels like the robots are encroaching on our territory. But these tools aren’t here to replace us; they’re here to expand what’s possible for anyone who wants to write. With tools like ChatGPT, there’s no excuse not to start—they’re ready to help you generate ideas, provide feedback, or enhance your writing.

These tools don’t just put words on the page; they bring organisation and coherence to scattered ideas, turning fragments into something meaningful. It’s like having an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for writing. Much like how programmers rely on an IDE to manage the complexity of code, a structured environment can make all the difference for a writer, too.

Am I drafting this blog post on a typewriter? No—I started in Obsidian. For me, Obsidian isn’t just a blank page; it’s a workspace that allows me to manage my writing like code. I use it in combination with a Git repository to check in commits, track versions, and organise ideas in a way that feels natural and productive—far more suited to my workflow than Word or Google Docs. This setup isn’t about just writing down words; it’s about creating a system that lets ideas grow, connect, and evolve in a structured, manageable way.

Still, as efficient as this setup is, the process sometimes feels fragmented. I find myself copying drafts over to ChatGPT for feedback, then pasting revisions back into Obsidian. Adding LanguageTool into the mix only complicates things with red squiggles flagging every possible error, pulling me away from the actual writing. Eventually, I got tired of all the distractions. I set aside the apps, picked up a pen, and started writing in a notebook instead—just me, the page, and a little quiet to think.

Now, I have about three or four pages of handwritten notes guiding me toward some kind of completion. I open the WordPress block editor—the Gutenberg engine—which offers a “distraction-free mode.” With a quick “Ctrl-Shift-\” and F11 for full screen, I’m looking at a blank page in the centre of my three-screen setup, —let’s just close the windows in those—ok, now free from the digital noise around me. I paste in my Obsidian draft and start writing the rest.

One of Gutenberg’s features is the ability to save drafts and revisions as you go. It’s a bit clunky, but it’s functional, and many writers have already developed the habit of saving drafts. For those used to Google Docs’ autosave, the manual save might feel archaic, but it mirrors the functionality of versioning in a Git repo. As a part-time writer of software code, I want my writing process to follow a similar pattern, with Obsidian as an IDE on top of a Git repo.

When it comes to deploying this work, my process is less streamlined. I started writing this post seven months ago, scribbled notes in Obsidian over time, and just recently returned to it, handwritten notes in hand, piecing it together in WordPress over a couple of days before finally clicking publish. To stay competitive and prolific, I’ll need to think more like a programmer, refining my workflow as I go.

This is just the start. Here on the blog, I’ll document my journey in shaping these processes. I have a set of topics I want to tackle: Information Overload, Digital Art, AI art, blockchain, and my “Coblage” work, which recently passed the four-year mark. There’s also “The Drones Over The Lotus Pond” series, and a poetry project called “The Veil.” These ideas have been simmering for years, but it’s time to start getting them out. And with that, I’m whacking the blue publish button.


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