⚛ 📝 How to set up Atom for writing

Be sure to choose an editor you like. Understand what's on the market an make sure you know the main features of each editor. I decided to use Atom since it was very easy to get going and is very customizable.

Atom’s core is very unique from other text editors in that it is “hackable to the core.” Because of this, the code editor is a tool that can be customized to do almost anything. In fact, there’s even a built-in package manager to download community-developed addons (there are tons of useful packages available that make coding much more flexible in Atom).

With that in mind I tried to enhance it for writing purposes.

"Out of perfection nothing can be made. Every process involves breaking something up." ― Joseph Campbell, Mythologist

Set up your basic atom environment 🔻

Style your syntax highlighting and themes as you please. Scroll through your core settings and configure it the way you like. Core features:

Understand the splitting pane feature, which allows you to split your window. This way you can set your layout easily and simplifies previewing your markdown files or comparing with other files.
Use multi select with pressing cmd while clicking. It allows to have multiple cursors in your document.
Be aware of your package management which allows you to edit your settings for your packages.
Use the mini map feature to navigate through longer files

Key shortcuts are (Mac):

cmd + p: opening a file with the fuzzy finder
cmd + f: opening the find and replace panel (also possible to open find in project)
cmd + shift + p: opening command palette

Project Management 🔻

The tree view displays your current project folder structure
Dragging folders into Atom opens a new window and displays it as new project
Organize local in the desired folder structure
Organize on Github:

GitHub repositories are places where writers can share their work with the world and solicit feedback, while others can fork the story and make their own variation. Here are some examples of researchers, textbook authors, event organizers, and novelists using GitHub for the written word.

Folders can be structured in books or series with submodules.

⚖ Makes sure to know your licenses and copyrights when publishing online! ⚖

Atom Packages for writing 🔻

Because Atom can be extended with user-created packages, it makes it easy to find specialized ones for writing. What I found useful are:

language-markdown

Adds grammar support for Markdown (including Github flavored, AtomDoc, Markdown Extra, CriticMark, YAML/TOML front-matter, and R Markdown), and smart context-aware behavior to lists, and keyboard shortcuts for inline emphasis.
markdown-enhanced-preview

Basically provides a preview, but with many additional features
latex

For compiling LaTeX documents from within Atom.
git-plus

using git inside atom without using a terminal
auto-update-packages

Auto updating installed packages

What's missing till now are more integrations to online platforms like medium.com for example. However, I'm pretty sure the community will provide something in the near future. 😄

Learn how to write a Readme file 🔻

There are many guides on how to write a good Readme file. Unfortunately not enough people take time to read them, which causes irritation in many coding projects. Github itself provides a detailed guide on how to write documentation on Github ℹ️

As The Art of Readme suggests:

A README is a module consumer's first -- and maybe only -- look into your creation. The consumer wants a module to fulfill their need, so you must explain exactly what need your module fills, and how effectively it does so.

and

Your job is to

tell them what it is (with context)

show them what it looks like in action

show them how they use it

tell them any other relevant details

This not only applies to writing code, but also to writing in general (on Github).

Make sure to provide an overview and sufficient information, but also excitement for visitors. 😉

Conclusion

In the end Atom is a text editor. One that you can setup the way you like, and that's the power of it. Learn your tools and get the best out of them. I am very open for further suggestions. 😄

Please leave comments, feedback and suggestions as I am always trying to improve.
Share your thoughts - it's never been easier 😄

📝 How to set up Atom for writing