Summary
Highlights
The video introduces Obsidian, a highly customizable note-taking app, as a powerful tool for writers. The speaker, Josh, explains that he has been using it for his writing sessions, which he streams on Twitch and YouTube, and has received questions about his setup. He then guides viewers on how to download Obsidian, noting its availability across multiple platforms (iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, Linux). Users can create a 'vault' to store their writing projects, and the app uses Markdown for formatting. While primarily a note-taking app, its strength lies in its extensive plugin ecosystem.
Josh deep dives into Obsidian's plugins, starting with core plugins that come pre-installed. He recommends keeping 'Templates' and 'File Recovery' enabled. The true power of Obsidian, he explains, comes from its almost 1,800 community plugins. He highlights several crucial ones for writers: 'Longform' to organize stories into chapters and compile them into a single file; 'Novel Word Count' for tracking word count, pages, and reading time; 'Red Pen' as a proofreader to identify areas for improvement like passive voice and intensifiers; and 'Remember Cursor Position' for easy navigation between files.
Further enhancing the writing experience, Josh introduces 'Soundscapes' for playing background music and ambient sounds, noting its copyright-free options suitable for streaming. He also recommends 'Text to Speech' for proofreading by listening to the written text and 'Typewriter Scroll' for a focused writing environment that keeps the cursor centered and dims previous lines. The 'Writing Goals' plugin is demonstrated, showing how to set up word goals for individual files and visualize progress.
For managing writing sessions, Josh recommends two Pomodoro timer plugins: 'Word Sprint' for structured sprints with a prominent timer that pauses writing when time is up, and 'Status Bar Pomodoro Timer' for automatic breaks (though it doesn't stop typing). He then tackles a more complex setup: 'Enhanced Export'. He walks through downloading and installing Pandoc, an external tool required for this plugin, and configuring its path within Obsidian. This plugin allows exporting written work into various formats like Markdown, HTML, PDF, and Word documents.
Josh showcases the 'Editing Toolbar' plugin, which provides familiar word processor-like formatting options. He particularly highlights its 'Workplace Fullscreen' and 'Full Screen Focus Mode' for distraction-free writing. Other useful plugins mentioned include 'Fantasy Name Generator' for character names, and 'Font Size Adjuster' for better readability during streams. He then moves on to story planning, offering a template for plotters (available in the description) that can be imported into Obsidian's 'Templates' folder.
Obsidian's 'Canvas' feature is presented as an excellent tool for visual plot planning, similar to an index card method. Users can create notes for plot points, arrange them, and draw connections between them. The canvas can also be used as a 'mood board' for visual inspiration. Finally, the 'Graph View' or 'Mind Map' is introduced, which visually represents all connections within the vault. This feature is useful for tracking character mentions and plot elements across multiple stories or chapters, allowing writers to ensure consistency and identify areas needing more development.
The video concludes with the process of finalizing and exporting a completed story using the 'Longform' and 'Enhanced Export' plugins. Josh demonstrates how to compile individual chapters into a single note and then export it into various formats like PDF or Word. He emphasizes that this streamlined process prepares the story for editors, beta readers, or self-publication. He thanks viewers and invites them to watch his ongoing editing and writing streams.