As an aspiring writer in college, distractions can be the death of me. I find when I need to write, or even want to write, I sit down to a blank word processor and quickly get distracted by my favorite websites, or find that I start cleaning in stead. And when I do begin writing I get sidetracked by formatting and spell checks as I write and the thoughts remain lodged inside my brain.  I have been reading about other writers who use Linux, and the ways in which they use open source technology to assist their writing. Most writers who use Linux use generic text editors, and do not worry about spelling, grammar, or formatting untill the thoughts are freed from their mind.  I am surprised, that this hadn’t occurred to me before. I have become so attached to my word processor, or rather the idea of it. I wanted to know what text editors these writers preferred. In most cases it was the simplest editors like kwrite, gedit, or mousepad. Then I ran across the idea of full screen editors, or distraction free editors. Most are for windows or  mac, and some are proprietary. I did find some open source alternatives for Linux.

• JDarkRoom is a single file Java applet, making it cross platform in a single file.
• PyRoom is written in python and packaged for Fedora, Ubuntu/Debian, and Gentoo, along with a regular source tarball.
• RubyRoom is written in Ruby and provides a tarball; however, I could not get it to work on my Debian system.
• DarkCopy is a web application that can be accessed on any browser.

These text editors are not fooling wen they mean distraction free. Most rely on key bindings to provide basic functionality for opening and saving files. They have no window border, and provide minimal interface. The benefit is you are left with only you and your text. I found easy for me to get into the frame of mind required for writing and was able to bang out part of a speech I have been procrastinating on for months. It felt kind of like just having a pen and paper like when I write poetry. Finlay, i settled on PyRoom; I liked the look and feel of it the most and found it easy to configure . If you are a writer (using any operating system) I suggest exploring the world of distraction free text editors. You can start by reading this article on TechMalaya.com