Fans of the typewriter remain a vehement group. They view the typewriter as something really special, a tool which makes the connection between languages.
One of the attractions of a typewriter is that it offers a distraction-free alternative of modern day methods for producing a document. They challenge the writer to concentrate on what really matters – the content. They force the writer to think.
In many countries, the typewriter has been firmly consigned to history by the computer. Yet, the computer is jam-packed with distractions. The desktop with its cluttered interface, the chatter of social media, the almost limitless content of the internet, the chirping email notifications, the list of distractions is endless. When writing, concentration is vital.
Fortunately, there are computer applications which are designed to offer a distraction-free environment, to ensure the writer has mental clarity, by not being distracted by the operating system and a cluttered interface.
Here is our take on the finest distraction-free applications to help you focus on writing without interruption. Each of the applications run under Linux, most are available as desktop applications. All of the tools are open source software.
Click the links in the table below to learn more about each tool.
| Distraction-Free Tools for Writers | |
|---|---|
| FocusWriter | Simple, distraction-free word processor |
| Mark Text | Simple and elegant Markdown editor |
| Apostrophe | Editor that stays out your way |
| Quoll Writer | Desktop writing application written in Java |
| ghostwriter | Distraction-free writing experience offering a clean interface |
| Bibisco | Novel writing software |
| TextRoom | Basic full-screen rich text editor for writers |
| Abricotine | Markdown editor built for the desktop with inline preview functionality |
| PyRoom | Editor that stays out of your way |
| Manuskript | Tool for those writer who like to organize and plan everything before writing |
This article has been revamped in line with our recent announcement.
 Read our complete collection of recommended free and open source software. Our curated compilation covers all categories of software. Spotted a useful open source Linux program not covered on our site? Please let us know by completing this form. The software collection forms part of our series of informative articles for Linux enthusiasts. There are hundreds of in-depth reviews, open source alternatives to proprietary software from large corporations like Google, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, IBM, Cisco, Oracle, and Autodesk. There are also fun things to try, hardware, free programming books and tutorials, and much more. |
Textroom has not seen any development activity in ten years. And it does not install on recent Debian-based systems because the dependencies are no longer available. Consider deleting it from this list.
We haven’t tried TextRoom on Debian recently, but the software currently compiles flawlessly on many distros including Arch-based distros. Given that they are bleeding edge distros and Debian isn’t, it’s likely that your system is broken in some way.
Just because a program hasn’t seen any development for years doesn’t itself warrant removal.
Stop using Debian.
TextRoom is great software, don’t delete it from the recommendations.
While I didn’t try very hard, TextRoom doesn’t install on Ubuntu. If anyone has it working on Ubuntu, let me know please.
I see NOONE got it Installed on Ubuntu! Duh ! I think John had a point confirmed by Alex. Maybe don’t delete but at least Notify it is a problem
I’ve successfully compiled TextRoom on Ubuntu and Arch, for the latter there’s a package in the AUR.
TextRoom currently works well under many distros we’ve tried. We won’t be removing the entry from this roundup.