As part of our Back to School series last year, I covered some of my favorite writing tools. Many of the writing applications I've mentioned there and elsewhere have full-screen, distraction-free editing modes, ala WriteRoom, which gets plenty of mention here at TUAW. The full-screen editing feature now seems to be a standard, and most apps that offer the option do a fine job of implementing it. Therefore, if one was to write an app along the lines of WriteRoom, it would have to do something out of the ordinary to get any traction. Ommwriter, a new single-purpose writing app, does just that.

The whole idea behind Ommwriter is to provide a zen-like atmosphere, not just a blank screen. While conforming well to standard text controls in OS X, it creates an interface that's quite pleasing to the eye. The ears are not left wanting, though, and the app provides a choice of several background soundscapes to help block out distractions. You only have 3 fonts to choose from, and they cannot be intermingled. There's no access to the menubar, just a series of rather elegant controls to the side of the resizable writing area. The background is gray, with optional faded landscape scenery. It's quite pretty, and is quite conducive to concentration ... and writing, of course.