While Matt Gemmell gave up his job as a software engineer for writing thrillers, Tiffany R. White has gone her way in the opposite direction. She studied English and had plans to write a book, but then realized that she preferred writing code over writing fiction. Today Tiffany is a front-end web developer. Writing, albeit of a more technical kind, still plays a major role in her life.
Tiffany R. White
Please tell us something about you and what you are working on.
I am a front-end web developer in Pittsburgh, PA, US. I am currently working on a web app called Check Yo Self (a riff on a 90’s rap song by Ice Cube) to check the spelling and grammar of your markdown blog posts. I am also working on a podcast with short episodes full of the latest developer news and insights.
Nick Wignall works as a psychologist in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he also resides with his wife and two young daughters, in an “old home that always needs fixing and repairs.” Despite many professional and private obligations, he manages to carve out regular writing time. Nick has published numerous articles and two books covering questions of psychology and self-help.
Please tell us about you and something you’re working on.
Nick Wignall
I like to say that I’m a clinical psychologist by day and an author by early morning.
As a psychologist and therapist, I do a type of counseling called cognitive behavioral therapy for folks struggling with insomnia and anxiety disorders like panic, OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder), and phobias. Unlike more traditional forms of therapy, it’s a very action- and goal-oriented form of counseling, so I’m often out driving with my clients who have driving phobias or helping my insomnia clients strategize a plan for a better evening routine.
But in addition to my clinical work during the day, I’m also interested in how we can apply the insights and techniques from the clinical psychology world to help folks meet the ordinary challenges of life – maintaining a consistent exercise routine, communicating more effectively with partners, getting quality sleep, finally finishing that novel we’ve been working on for years! So I spend my early morning hours writing and doing research either for articles on my website or future book projects.
With Quick Open, you can search your entire text library within seconds, and instantly open a sheet for editing — you don’t need to navigate through your group hierarchies. Sounds like a small thing? Hey, if you only save 10 seconds per sheet thanks to Quick Open, and you’re looking for six sheets per day for the next 30 years, this sums up to 8 days in total! You could spend this time on vacation or use to write a short story, for example.
So, if you usually click or tap through groups and subgroups before you start writing, today may be the day to change your habit and embrace Quick Open!
Work and live where other’s holiday – for Matt Oldfield this dream has come true. From the Indonesian island Bali, where he is residing with his family, he pulls the strings of his online dive travel agency ZuBlu. In our interview, he talks about his workflows and tools for managing the content of the company’s website. Also, Matt reveals what made him go to Bali and if his life is as dreamlike as it sounds.
Please tell us something about you and what you are working on.
Matt Oldfield
My name is Matt Oldfield, I am a photographer, writer, biologist and diver based in Bali, Indonesia, although originally from the UK. I left the cold and wet behind over 20 years ago and lived in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, for more than a decade, then did a lot of traveling before ending up in Bali nearly 6 years ago. My wife is from Java and we have a beautiful daughter – Saraswati – who was born in Bali.
Having worked as a freelance photographer and writer in Bali for the last 6 years, I recently launched a new online dive travel agency – ZuBlu – for which I am responsible for managing all of the site’s written content, amongst many other jobs!
Although I’ve spent most of my working life as an employee, from time to time I’ve taken freelance writing jobs. Since I work here, my favorite tool for these is… well, you guessed right. One reason for this is Ulysses’ attachments feature. So, while I believe attachments are helpful to almost any writer out there, I would like to share some special tips for freelance writers, taken from my own experience.
For starters, Ulysses attachments can be keywords, goals, notes as well as images and PDF files. They belong to a sheet, but not to the text on that sheet, i.e. they will not be included when you export. You can access attachments via the paperclip icon on the editor toolbar.
Access attachments in Ulysses for Mac (left) and iOS (right)
David is a teacher and administrator of his school’s science department, currently based on Long Island, New York. In his opinion, reflective practice is crucial for any educator; writing is his way to do it. Ulysses is not only his chosen tool for this but also helps him save time with his administrative chores.
Please tell us something about you and what you are working on.
David Knuffke
I’m an educator currently based on Long Island in New York. After 12 years as a teacher, I became the administrator in charge of the department I taught with during September of 2016. Next year, I’m moving back into the classroom and moving with my family to Singapore. Outside of my immediate job responsibilities, I work on a lot of different things related to education more broadly.
Which role does writing play in your life?
Writing is a primary way that I express myself in the larger world. My job requires me to write quite a bit, but outside of the responsibilities that I’m paid for, I write regularly for my blog, and for other professional organizations and associations that I’m a part of.
Apple’s Files app, released with iOS 11, allows you to access and manage your files from different sources in one place. Dealing with files and documents is now easier and much more transparent than before. You can open text documents for editing in Ulysses and import Word documents into Ulysses. You can of course also export your texts from Ulysses, and store them in a folder of your choice. Here is all you need to know.
Preparations
Before you start, you may want to add your preferred sources to Files. Open Files on your iPhone or iPad, go to Locations, and tap Edit top right. To make your storage providers of choice accessible via Files, turn on the respective toggles.
Ashley Warren’s world is about writing. As a content and research strategist, she composes blog posts, newsletters, social media posts, and white papers. As as creative writer, she lets mostly female protagonists embark to fantastic adventures in imaginary worlds. In our interview, she talks about how she got into writing, self-publishing, as well as her routines and workflows.
Please tell us something about you and what you are working on.
Ashley Warren
I’m Ashley Warren, and I’m a writer and researcher in Reno, Nevada. I live here with my husband, Andrew, who is a robotics engineer, and our cat, Sofie. Daily, I wear several hats: I’m a content, UX and research strategist; a research and writing consultant; and a creative writer. I hold a Master’s degree in Literacy Studies from the University of Nevada-Reno, which helped me hone both my research and writing skills.
My brain is regularly split between logic/analysis and untamed creativity. Right now, I have two main projects for early 2018: a speculative fiction short story anthology — working title Badlands — about how people are shaped by their environments; and a cross-genre role-play game (RPG) campaign called The Fractures. RPGs — such as Dungeons & Dragons — have really changed the way I approach storytelling, since it requires a logical approach just as much as a creative one: how can players get from point A to point B in the most interesting way possible? How can I create a unique, interesting world and atmosphere that people can delve into?
In last week’s announcement post you already learned about the most important new features in Ulysses’ latest version. There are a few further refinements we would like to point you to. Even if they’re about small details, they may – depending on your workflow – improve your working with Ulysses every day.
Use Shortcuts to Move Paragraphs
During the process of editing, you may realize that rearranging the order of your text is necessary. So far, you needed to cut paragraphs and paste them to their new location. With the new version, you can use the following shortcuts to move a paragraph up or down in your text:
⌃⌘↑ (control-command-up arrow)
⌃⌘↓ (control-command-down arrow)
Note: It does not matter where in your paragraph the cursor is placed, these shortcuts will move the entire paragraph.
Even if you don’t mind reaching for the mouse — try it out, it is much more convenient than the traditional way.
The Sweet Setup is a small yet classy website dedicated to apps, but with a twist. Among a number of good quality options, the authors aim to identify the best one: the best weather app, the best e-book reader, and so on. Ulysses had been honored as “The Best Pro Writing App for Mac (and iOS)” on The Sweet Setup, and Shawn Blanc, the site owner, uses Ulysses personally for all his writing and note taking. That’s why he wanted to help others learn Ulysses as well and discover everything it’s capable of doing.
