The post below was written a while back while testing some offline features of the WordPress app on my ipad. They flow and style feels quite foreign to me, since I’ve improved plenty since this post was written.

I’ve only made minor edits to correct grammar and left the post relatively intact. I wanted to share the ideas of the original post as it stands. Enjoy my flow of ideas.

When working on certain tools, you have to test the methods by which they work as often as possible. Learn the tools well so that they never get in the way of the craft.
Many focus on getting amazing tools, they never take the time to master any one tool. That will not give the best result for the craft you’re pursuing.

I have been asked many times how is it that I can shoot amazing photos with a cellphone as well as a camera. I often reply that it’s the artist that takes the photo, not the tool taking the photo.

If I understand the method by which the tool works, I understand the limits of the tool. That way, I can do the work inside the limits of the tool.. or adjust for the limitations of the tool to make the photo come out great.

Sure, certain things can’t be compensated for. A bad lens, low resolution, pour light sensitivity.. Those things, you can’t adjust for as much. However, within the confines of the tool, you can do amazing work. That is why there are so many amazing photos coming from cellphones. The people using them know the tools that the cellphone has, know the apps to add, and also how to take amazing photos.

Without knowing how to take amazing photos, the cellphone is just a cellphone. The amazing work is because the artist is free to think creatively because they’re not thinking about the tool.

How does this relate to here and now? I’m working on learning the tools by which I write. Some are complex, others are simple. Finding the right combination of things to allow me the freedom to write is what I’m testing. I want to let ideals flow freely. The same way I don’ think about my camera when taking pix, I don’t want to think about where I’m typing to write a story.

Without testing, one can’t find out what the natural limits are. In performance mode, you’ve got to deliver. you can’t test nearly as much as you’d like.

In test mode, you can experiment as much as you’d like. You’re just leaning. Keep trying. Keep improving. And in time, you’ll have the tools that will work best for you.. and you’ll be able to create the art you’d like to create without having to think too much about how you’ll do the art you’re doing.

On that note, have a wonderful and amazing rest of day

The single biggest lesson I learned from this original post, when working with the WordPress app offline, it’s best to have the iPad in airplane mode. That makes it easier to type faster and experience less lag in the software (lag between what you type and what you see on the screen)

In airplane mode, the app will more easily and quickly save the post to the iPad. This is very important when working on a train in NYC underground and your stop just arrived unexpectedly. Without doing so, you’re likely to lose a good chunk of your work (no, this may not happen to everyone, this is just my trial and error learning)

Once you get to a wifi hotspot, then you can open the post and click save. it then saves to the cloud for you to work on later if you go the draft route.. or actually post  it right then and there on your site.

This process mentioned above is how i was able to eliminate the use of Evernote for very short quick posts. I still use Evernote and I love using Scrivener… but that will be for another time, another post. I didn’t even touch the use of Good Docs or Pages. Tools I still find good use for when writing certain types of content. But, there will be time to blog about that eventually… hopefully