Write or Die By Dr. Wicked

Recently, I wrote about a program that will turn off your internet for a while so you can write. If you missed it, check out Freedom to Write. Today, I'll give you the link to another great program that gives you incentive to get more words on the page.


I first heard about Write or Die by Dr. Wicked when I signed up for Nanowrimo last November. This free application goes by the tag, "Putting the 'Prod' in Productivity". If your output is at an all-time low, Dr. Wicked is happy to help.


With Write or Die, you select a word goal and a time goal. Then you choose the level of consequences (from gentle mode, all the way up to kamikaze and electric shock mode) and the grace period (forgiving, strict, or evil). And then you start typing. 


If you don't stop typing until you've met your word or time goal, you have nothing to worry about. It's when you pause (and fritter away your grace period) that you may break into a sweat.


In "gentle" mode, the consequence is a polite pop-up box, while "normal" mode will play an extremely annoying sound to encourage your fingers to get tapping. For the higher levels, the program will actually begin to delete your writing word by word until you get going again.


The author recommends it for writing on lunch breaks. It will make sure you get something done, after all, no writer can stand to see their words disappear unless they've hit the delete button themselves.


There are two forms of Write or Die: the free online version, and the $10 desktop version which enables you to work offline. The offline version includes several features not available in the online edition, like the ability to disable the backspace and save buttons, until you've met your goal. Talk about motivation!


If you've used Write or Die, leave a comment and tell us what you think about it.