Is it Time for me to Ditch Ulysses?

Over the last week or so I’ve been experimenting with Craft for writing. Scripts, Twitter threads, podcast episodes, and blog posts have all made their way into a new space I created explicitly for writing.

Syncing Feeling

Part of the reason is because I’m experiencing iCloud syncing issues with Ulysses every few months, and the thing they recommend, log out of all devices and log back in, is something I very-much don’t want to do.

I haven’t done a lot of recon on this, but it could be when I add or upgrade a new device…which I do too frequently to fix repeatedly.

Consolidation

The other reason for me possibly ditching Ulysses is consolidation. I do all of my other note taking and idea capture in Craft. I even write scripts for WP Review and sponsor reads there already, since all of my other planning documentation is in Craft.

So using Craft to write would eliminate one app from my content creation process. And while I’m doing a live stream this Wednesday (January 24, 2022) on trying Obsidian, I’m not confident I’ll make the switch.

This isn’t the first time I’m trying Obsidian, and I’m not sure it’s for me. But the live stream is an excuse to dedicate an hour to giving it a go.

Craft X

The final reason I’m considering Craft for this task is that they’re rolling out Obsidian-like extensions in a program called Craft X. So while Craft is a great iOS and Mac app, the X program will hopefully make it a good overall system for writing and publishing.

Last year the rolled out a web version of the app, so this feels like a natural successor. And this program gives me hope for my wishlist in making Craft the perfect writing app.

Wishlist

While I’ve been happily writing in the app for a week or so now, there are a few things I’d like to see.

First and foremost, publishing directly to WordPress. I’m hopeful this will happen for 2 reasons:

• Craft has excellent Markdown export. Right now I copy the Markdown, paste it into the WordPress editor, and I’m good to fo.
• There are 2 Craft X extensions: Craft to Ghost and Craft to Medium. I can’t help but think WordPress is next or soon.

I’d like a keyboard shortcut to switch between spaces. I’m moving between my main space, which is my brain dump, and the writing space, which is much cleaner, frequently. A native keyboard shortcut would be swell.

Related, space-level writing settings would be fantastic. To help me determine which space I’m in, all of my writing documents use the serif styles.

Finally, I’d love to see footnote support in Markdown. Ulysses makes it super easy to add footnotes, which translate nicely in the blog posts. Seeing that in Craft would be great. Again, Craft X has a “power tools” add-on, so I suspect this can be added, or is in the works.

What do you use to write?

What are you using to write? How often do you rethink your process? Let me know in the comments!