Overcoming Writer's Block: How to Achieve Card Writing with Ulysses? - Minority#
#Omnivore
Highlights#
During the practice, I made some improvements based on Nabokov's "write cards first, then piece them together," not by first establishing the structure or writing the cards and then considering the structure, but by allowing the article's structure and content cards to grow simultaneously ⤴️ ^875eaea2
The author's modifications here align very well with my operational methods and needs. If everything is written first and then arranged and organized, it would be a huge waste of time. My current writing method is also about allowing structure and content to grow together.
- There is a core idea to express;
- Write down whatever comes to mind around this idea;
- During the writing process, the structure of the article gradually emerges;
- Adjust the order of the cards based on the emerging structure;
- Add transitions between the cards, continue writing cards until the article is complete. ⤴️ ^80434cd4
This sequence is very similar to the writing method I am currently using.
The first benefit: easy to enter a flow state ⤴️ ^42d9561a
Writing and revising are two completely different modes of thinking, and frequent revisions can severely affect the fluency of writing. ⤴️ ^8b724928
The second benefit: forming minimal action units, reducing the difficulty of action ⤴️ ^50238fcd
The third benefit: capturing inspiration anytime ⤴️ ^9546d2b7
Overcoming Writer's Block: How to Achieve Card Writing with Ulysses?
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Due to work reasons, I write quite a bit, with over 700 long articles published in recent years, not to mention countless short articles. Friends often ask me what writing tools I recommend. After all, there are many software options available for writing, with vastly different functions and prices.
My answer is: don't rush to get recommendations; first consider the process that suits you best, then identify the pain points in that process, and finally look at which software can solve those pain points.
When it comes to writing, everyone has different abilities to control information, different logical thinking skills during output, and varying frequencies, intensities, and habits in daily copywriting work. Blindly looking at software recommended by others actually reverses the order above, changing your process for the sake of a particular software being "good."
I'm sharing Ulysses with you not just to recommend it as "very useful," but because its small designs solve specific pain points in my writing process. I looked through the shares from predecessors, and indeed very few people mentioned these functions. Let's follow the initial order: first discuss the writing process, then the pain points in that process, and finally return to which features of Ulysses address these pain points.
Three Writing Processes#
Assuming I now have a central idea to express, and I also have some supporting materials and thoughts in my mind, how should I connect them to form a readable article?
In summary, there are roughly three processes, which I call linear writing, tree writing, and network writing.
Linear Writing#
This method is the easiest to understand and is the most commonly used by most people: open a blank document and start writing from the first word all the way to the last paragraph.
However, this method is the most challenging to execute.
Anyone who has written an article knows that ideas feel very clear in the mind, but once you start writing, you often get stuck. For example, is this example appropriate? Is that set of data quoted accurately? When you get stuck, you have to stop to check the information, and by the time you return to the article, you've already forgotten a large part of your initial thoughts.
Another important factor is the mindset; every time you face a blank page, the thought of filling it with thousands of characters can be terrifying, making it hard to start.
The card note-taking method that everyone often talks about is a good approach; I personally stick to it and have read many friends' articles discussing how to use the card note-taking method in detail. However, very few people discuss the output phase from notes to articles. It seems that once enough knowledge cards are accumulated, you can "retrieve" some cards from the knowledge base, open the document, and write effortlessly.
But personal records and actual writing output are completely different things.
The reality is that no matter how much you accumulate, facing a blank document can still leave you feeling lost. Various difficulties constantly emerge in your mind: have I gathered enough evidence? Is this topic really good? Has someone already published a better article than mine?
Thus, we often temporarily set aside the task of "output," and after a while, we think, "Why write? Let's talk about it later." Many times, a good piece of content gets delayed like this.
So in my personal practice, aside from some very short articles, I rarely use pure linear writing methods.
Tree Writing#
Tree writing involves first outlining the content, dividing it into several large sections, and then breaking it down into smaller sections, with the text arranged according to primary, secondary, and tertiary headings, ultimately forming a long article.
Common tools include mind maps or outline note-taking software, as well as tools that perfectly combine the two, such as Mubu.
Let's take a look at the process of tree writing:
- Have a core idea to express
- Carefully organize and design a tree structure around this idea
- Add details to each node of the tree structure
- Complete the article.
The problem arises in the second step: without any "building blocks" in hand, it's very difficult to construct a structure out of thin air, and it's hard to think comprehensively.
The third step is even more challenging. From my own experience, using mind maps or outline notes for writing is a "high-energy" mode for the brain. It requires you to constantly think about the tree structure of the article while writing—where does this paragraph I'm writing fit under which title and level? If you suddenly want to discuss something else, do you need to go back and readjust the outline? You must constantly switch your attention between the overall structure of the article and the micro-level of text output, and this switching of thought patterns is very energy-consuming throughout the writing process.
In the past, to avoid this issue, I would separate the "drafting" and "formal writing" modes, using mind maps only to build the framework, and writing details only after the framework was established, never doing both at the same time to avoid distraction. However, even so, it was still difficult to execute.
Steven Pinker said: "The difficulty of writing lies in expressing networked thoughts in a linear format through a tree structure." The challenge is that you can never suppress your brain's networked thinking. Whether you're building the structure of the article, giving a specific example, or adjusting the order of paragraphs, many sparks of inspiration will pop up in your mind, leading you to think of related knowledge. Once these ideas emerge, you must stop your current work and quickly write them down somewhere. If you need to look back at what you've already written while writing or think about where this new idea fits into the tree structure, it consumes a lot of mental energy.
From my personal experience, the only situation where mind maps are relatively suitable is structured recording, such as recording the core content of a book or taking notes for a course. In this case, the tree structure of knowledge has already been organized and processed by someone else, so you don't need to think about whether the content you're recording should go in the first chapter or the fifth chapter; you just need to restore the linear output of the other person into a tree structure, writing down your thoughts within the established structure.
But strictly speaking, this has already entered the realm of "note-taking," rather than "writing."
Network Writing#
Network writing comes from Nabokov's "card writing" method, where he neither writes chapter by chapter from beginning to end nor prepares a detailed outline before filling in the details. Instead, he has a relatively vague idea and writes paragraphs on individual cards, then pieces the existing cards together like a jigsaw puzzle to form a complete work.
Compared to tree "outline writing," card writing does not completely disregard the structure of the article but changes the creative process.
==During practice, I made some improvements based on Nabokov's "write cards first, then piece them together," not by first establishing the structure or writing the cards and then considering the structure, but by allowing the article's structure and content cards to grow simultaneously==. The specific process is as follows:
- ==Have a core idea to express;==
- ==Write down whatever comes to mind around this idea;==
- ==During the writing process, the structure of the article gradually emerges;==
- ==Adjust the order of the cards based on the emerging structure;==
- ==Add transitions between the cards, continue writing cards until the article is complete.==
The key point here is that while writing each line of text, the brain does not stop thinking; structure does not wait until all cards are written. Generally, when about 70-80% of the writing is done, the structure of the article has already emerged. After that, the actions of "adding cards" and "optimizing structure" proceed simultaneously.
Advantages of Card Writing#
Next, we mention that network writing and card writing are essentially the same thing.
What are the benefits of network writing compared to linear and tree writing? I summarize three points.
==The first benefit: easy to enter a flow state==#
As mentioned earlier, thinking about structure while writing is a high-energy mode, while writing cards is a low-energy mode. Writing each card does not require considering its position in the article; you can focus solely on clarifying one thing.
Another behavior that hinders us from entering a flow state is the impulse to revise.
When we write articles, we always need to look back to see if the text we've just typed is coherent with the previous content. Once we look back, we often find rough expressions in the earlier text and can't help but meticulously revise them. This is a big taboo in writing; ==writing and revising are two completely different modes of thinking, and frequent revisions can severely affect the fluency of writing.==
Using card writing, each time you face an independent page, you can't see what you've written before, so you simply don't look at it, and the coherence issue can naturally be resolved later.
==The second benefit: forming minimal action units, reducing the difficulty of action==#
This is actually a trick for the brain. When you plan to sit down at the computer to write a long article, there is often a sense of dread, which is the biggest challenge of linear writing.
However, the psychological cost of "writing a card" is much lower. Even if it's only for 10 minutes or just 100 words, you can easily take action, and before you know it, you've accumulated thousands of words. This is also why we often think about "watching a few short videos," and in the end, we spend more time than watching a movie.
Conversely, for the step of "organizing the article structure," card writing is also easier to initiate than outline writing. When you've written some cards and "postponed" the action of designing the article structure, you already have a lot of ammunition, making it much easier than trying to design a structure with no materials at all. It's like trying to imagine what a house built with blocks looks like out of thin air; when you already have a set of blocks, it's much easier to build the house.
==The third benefit: capturing inspiration anytime==#
Inspiration often comes with reading, thinking, and writing. Especially when you have an ongoing article project, inspiration tends to come unexpectedly.
For example, while writing an article, you suddenly think of a related story, but you don't want to interrupt your current train of thought. You can simply create a new card, jot down a rough title as a reminder, and then return to your current work, later refining it. Similarly, during conversations or while reading a book, if you find an example that perfectly illustrates a point in your article, you can write it down as a card without worrying about making it perfect.
I have no intention of belittling or judging which writing method is superior. For me, the card writing method is not a "more correct" method but a "more easily executable" method. It lowers the difficulty of each step of thinking and action, making it easier for me to write. The best method is the one that suits you.
Challenges in Achieving Card Writing#
Nabokov's classic card writing method utilizes paper, pen, and index cards, while we today certainly need to use digital software to achieve it.
I first thought of using card note-taking software to complete the writing. But soon I realized that note-taking and writing articles are completely different tasks; it's impossible to casually pull out a few cards from hundreds or thousands of note cards to piece together an article, and each time I write an article, a significant portion of the content is still non-existent in the note card box.
Later, I turned to using "cards + whiteboard" software, as whiteboards naturally do not require consideration of structure; the cards are laid out together, and you can write and connect them simultaneously, perfectly aligning with my habit of "growing structure and content together."
However, these tools have a problem: "writing cards is enjoyable, but organizing them later is a hassle," especially when writing very long articles, where dozens or hundreds of cards are laid out on the whiteboard, making structural organization very exhausting.
Most whiteboard software has two modes: either showing only card titles or displaying the full text of the cards. Many titles are temporary markers and won't actually become subheadings in the article; looking at titles alone later will make it hard to remember the content. On the other hand, displaying the full text can overwhelm the whiteboard with information.
A bigger issue is that most whiteboard tools cannot connect cards together to directly form a long article. In other words, after arranging the cards in order, you still have to copy the content from each card one by one into another software. This process is not only cumbersome but also prone to text format incompatibility and image loss.
In exploring solutions to these problems, I tried various software, each with its own issues. Some solved one problem but introduced new ones. Every product that is well-known to the public has its own positioning and audience, and it is certainly a tool that developers have thoughtfully created to solve specific troubles. In my process and needs, Ulysses happens to be the one that fits perfectly.
Ulysses is a writing software that supports synchronization across Mac, iPad, and iPhone, with a simple and elegant function, especially good support for writing long articles or even books, and many writers use it to write books.
The software features a common three-column layout, which the developers refer to as Library, Manuscript List, and Editor from left to right.
Seeing this design, most people would habitually treat the left library as a folder, the middle manuscript list as complete articles, and the right side as the article's editing interface. This understanding is certainly fine, but I don't use it that way.
I set the left side as the Article Area, where the titles of each long article appear; the middle area is set as the Card Area, used to store individual cards.
What if I need to manage articles categorically? Ulysses provides a "Project" feature in the left library, allowing different articles to be organized into categories.
The daily writing process involves establishing individual cards in the middle manuscript area (which for me is the card area).
By holding down Command + 1/2/3, you can directly switch between the library, manuscript list, and text editing areas. The small arrows allow you to jump between different cards, and pressing Command + N anywhere in the card list creates a new card below it.
This shortcut operation, combined with perfect support for Markdown format, allows me to keep my hands on the keyboard, freely switch between different articles and cards, and complete the creation and editing of each card.
When writing each card, my attention remains focused on the content of that card, without thinking about the overall structure of the article or looking back at already written cards. When I've written several cards and the structure of the article begins to emerge, I start to build the cards together, which is also my favorite feature of Ulysses.
In the middle area, selecting a card displays its content on the right. If you hold down Command or Shift to select multiple cards, the right side will show all their content in order.
Dragging a card or selecting multiple cards to drag allows you to change their order in the article.
Remember I mentioned earlier that many whiteboard + card tools either show only titles or display the full text of the cards? After actual use, you'll find that Ulysses's design of displaying "one line title + three lines of text preview" in the card area is excellent. It allows for quick recall of card content while adjusting the order without overwhelming your view with text.
If there are several cards that often need to be associated together, you can select them, right-click, and choose "Join Manuscripts," so they will always remain selected together, and the editing area will display all content, moving together when dragged.
To permanently merge several cards, select them, right-click, and choose "Merge Manuscripts," and they will become one card in order.
Of course, where there is merging, there is also splitting. You can right-click at any position in the card content and select "Split Here."
Sometimes while writing, you may find that one paragraph is more suitable for another position in the article, so you can extract that paragraph and move it to the back for later use.
I continuously adjust the order of the cards during the writing process, gradually merging them until the number of cards approaches the final number of sections in the article.
In the process of piecing together card writing, there will definitely be issues such as incoherence and repeated text between paragraphs. Once the cards are mostly written and the order is adjusted, I select all cards in the middle area, and the right editing area will show the overall appearance of the article, allowing me to preview the entire article and modify the connections between card contexts.
After confirming that the article flows smoothly, I formally merge multiple cards into a complete long article. It's worth mentioning that Ulysses allows you to export all illustrations in the article to your local machine with one click. Just choose TextBundle when exporting, and then right-click to select "Show Package Contents."
When writing, I often need to insert screenshots. It can be cumbersome to take a screenshot locally and then insert it into the document; with Ulysses, you can directly paste screenshots into the article, and finally export them to your local machine with one click, without compressing the images.
In summary, Ulysses has solved several troubles in my card writing process:
- How to conveniently adjust the order of cards
- How to preview each card with reasonable information volume during organization
- How to turn organized cards into a complete article with one click
As of now, this solution is still quite perfect.
Conclusion: Other Advantages and My Choice#
Of course, Ulysses is not a tool specifically developed for the card writing method; regardless of your preferred writing process, it is an excellent writing tool. For example, the following features are also functions I really like.
Setting Writing Goals and Advancing Multiple Articles#
Ulysses supports setting goals for each long article and each card, which can be word count, line count, paragraph count, etc. After setting, a circular progress bar appears next to the title, and you can click to see detailed progress information, keeping track of the completion of your work at all times.
In many cases, I do not write an article from start to finish but work on several "in-progress" articles simultaneously.
While reading or reviewing notes, I can enter a particular article at any time, create a card, and write something, watching the progress bar gradually turn green, and one article after another is born unexpectedly, which truly brings a sense of happiness.
Local First, Multi-Device Synchronization#
Many friends are very concerned about whether a writing tool supports local saving, mainly for security reasons. I don't have high demands for document security, as finished drafts will ultimately be exported for publication. The biggest benefit of local-first for me is smoothness; during the writing process, I need to switch between various cards frequently. If it's an online document, even a 0.1-second delay can feel awkward.
Ulysses excels in this regard. I previously had almost no need for multi-device synchronization in writing software (as opposed to note-taking software), mainly because I rarely wrote articles on mobile devices. You can hardly imagine pulling out your phone while waiting for the subway, opening a long document you were halfway through, and writing a paragraph.
However, Ulysses, combined with the card writing method, has made multi-device writing a reality. When inspiration strikes, I can easily jot down a card on a mobile device, which is no more difficult than sending a WeChat message, making me more willing to do it.
I have an iPad Air, and if writing requires my fingers to constantly poke around on the screen, it would be very inefficient. But because Ulysses allows me to create, edit, and switch cards using shortcuts, I find myself more often pulling out my iPad to write a few paragraphs. So, it's not that Ulysses does multi-device synchronization better than other software; it's that it makes multi-device writing practically meaningful.
Unexpected Gain: Synchronizing Card Notes#
I have been using Obsidian to accumulate card notes, where each card is stored as an independent local file.
Recently, I unexpectedly discovered that Ulysses supports synchronizing external folders, automatically recognizing all Markdown files within. This has bridged the gap between my notes and writing, allowing me to find inspiration from card notes anytime and even edit local notes in Obsidian in reverse.
Even more conveniently, it can recognize the tags added to notes in Obsidian (called keywords in Ulysses) and apply filters to the text content or keyword content, allowing notes with specific content in Obsidian to be displayed in a separate group through filtering.
Ulysses has many commendable features, such as dual-window, revision mode, immersive writing, typewriter mode, and various export formats, which I won't elaborate on here.
If there's anything I hope for, it's mainly support for GIF format. The GIF images inserted into Ulysses appear as static images in preview mode but play normally after export. Additionally, Ulysses retains the display of Markdown syntax during text editing rather than WYSIWYG; it only converts to the final style during export. For someone who values simplicity like me, I hope at least an option for WYSIWYG can be provided.
Of course, Ulysses is not an all-in-one tool, and I personally do not recommend all-in-one solutions. Although they all deal with text, different scenarios have completely different needs.
For example, for later reading, I need multi-device synchronization, article analysis, highlighting, and export annotations, so I would choose Raindrop or Cubox. For inspiration recording, I need lightweight, ready-to-use, review functionality, and tag classification, and flomo has always been my top choice. For card notes, I need security, stability, local saving, bidirectional linking, and knowledge graphs, and Obsidian is currently my optimal solution...
I wouldn't use Ulysses for these tasks, but in the scenario of "writing a several-thousand-word manuscript," Ulysses has perfectly met all my needs for practicing card writing.
I hope today's sharing can provide you with some inspiration and help in your writing.
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