Word Diff Mode | A Better Tool for Writers Who Edit as They Go
Finally! I'm doing a video about my little word diff counter. Talk about procrastination.
Here's the blog post that goes along with this video: https://chrismaiorana.com/word-diff-c...
How do you measure productivity in writing? Or, how do you know when is a good time to stop working and take a break?
If I rush through a piece of writing in a sprint to the finish, the output quality starts to degrade.
This is why writers like to set word count goals. For example, 500 to 1000 words daily can ensure solid daily output without burning out.
A word count goal does a few things well:
1. Provides a simple system for daily work
2. Measures output
3. Signals stopping time
It’s an easy approach and gets the job done. It cuts down on procrastination by giving you a simple daily target.
But word count goals have a few problems.
They only count addition. So they’re no good when you start editing.
For some writers, constant rereading and editing is part of the process. (This is how I like to write.)
In this case, word count goals only represent a fraction of the daily work.
What rewriters need is a counter that always counts up whether you are adding or deleting. This metric would account for change rather than raw addition. By incorporating Git, we can achieve this in Emacs.