Ask HN: How to setup a distraction-free Linux setup for writing

[devanil]

There's no way around it: if there's internet available, I'll disperse. I thought about buying one of those modern typewriters (like the Freewrite), but they're expensive or impossible to find where I live.

I thought: I'm going to take my old notebook and install Linux that will only be used for writing only. What do you recommend installing for this purpose? I have intermediate knowledge of Linux, but I didn't want to spend a lot of time configuring it.

[ofalkaed]

If your main computer uses linux you can use a script to start your writing app and have that script disable distractions for a certain amount of time. Simplest would probably have it start the writing program full screen and disable all WM/DE key bindings and hide any panels if it does not already do so in full screen so you can not leave full screen/open other apps until you quit the writing app. If you do not use a DE/session manager you can have an .xinitrc which does not start a WM and only starts the writing app, so when you want to write you log out and start X with the writing .xinitrc. This may be possible to do with a DE/session manager but I have very little experience with those so can not say.

If you just want to turn your old laptop into a fancy word processor just have your .xinitrc only start the writing app and you will not have access to anything else.

I suppose for these methods you would also need to have the script temporarily set your xdg default browser to something which is not a browser if your writing app uses the browser for help files since that would allow you to open a browser.

Why not just turn off all the devices and get out the pen and paper?

Edit: Probably easier to just have the script turn off networking than playing with the xdg defaults.

[dvas]

Maybe this could be useful.

I had a similar need where I always wanted to be able to start writing at a moment's notice, ideally with a key-bind of some sort where I didn't have to wait for the editor splash screen and various indexing operations.

I have created a flow where a key-binded system command would invoke a script which did the following:

1. Create a new instance of a terminal in full-screen mode / maximised (key binding can allow you to open up a terminal instance with parameters to specify view options)

2. In the newly created instance, open up a command line editor (vim in my case).

^^ The above is a simple starting point, however, you could add extra steps like disabling the network interface for a set period in the script, adding templates to different key-binding invocations etc.

[bolle]

Check this blogpost about a distraction free, minimalist writing device: https://taoofmac.com/space/blog/2023/09/22/1230

[fragmede]

Setup the extra laptop, get all the software you need installed, and then... open it up and take out the wifi card. Find a USB stick or three, and then use that to get documents on and off the machine.

Or get a Remarkable 2, which technically has wifi, but not enough to be distracting (for me, anyway).

[suyula]

Debian without the GUI, and your favourite CLI text editor. You turn it on, log in, run "vi book.txt", and you're writing.