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# New writing app deletes your work if you don’t concentrate
- URL: https://www.killscreen.com/new-writing-app-deletes-your-work-if-you-dont-concentrate/
- Published: 2016-03-04T16:00:54.000Z
- Updated: 2016-03-04T10:00:03.000Z
- Description: I’ve never been a writing-within-hours-of-the-deadline type of person. In college, I was probably an anomaly of a student. I’d write my papers in advance, then pop into my professors’ office hours for feedback before turning in a final draft. Some peers called me an overachiever. Others had no idea
- Author: Caty Mccarthy
- Tags: News, app, manuel ebert, productivity, Roguelike, Survival, the most dangerous writing app, writing, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2024-07-26 09:39

I’ve never been a writing-within-hours-of-the-deadline type of person. In college, I was probably an anomaly of a student. I’d write my papers in advance, then pop into my professors’ office hours for feedback before turning in a final draft. Some peers called me an overachiever. Others had no idea how I could ever not write a paper the night before it was due, fueled by Five Hour Energy Shots and Totino’s Pizza Rolls. The answer was always simple: I set myself early personal deadlines *because* I’m easily distracted, and needed the extra time to slowly gnaw away at a project. That’s why designer, developer, and neuroscientist [Manuel Ebert](http://1450.me/?ref=killscreen.com)’s pressure-driven *The Most Dangerous Writing App* is practically tailor-made for me, and even for that matter, my peers who incidentally put things off until the very last minute.

An arcade-like exercise in how well an individual can work under pressure

Ebert’s app seeks to change the wandering mindset that comes with being sat at a computer with intense, pointed pressure. You set a goal for yourself, say, your objective is half an hour, and get typing—except there’s a catch. The catch is that if you stop writing for more than five seconds, all your progress is lost. Pretty high stakes for a measly writing management application. No more listening to a podcast or deciding to window-browse Amazon while you’re writing, otherwise you’ll be punished.

![writingapp2](https://storage.ghost.io/c/25/84/2584b75d-4bd6-4cce-8259-f1d1c65abbb5/content/images/previously/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/writingapp2.gif)

Its design in this sense is similar to recent roguelike survival games *Downwell* and *Nuclear Throne*: strive to reach the goal, most likely fail in the process, only to start from the beginning once more, like your soul wasn’t just crushed moments prior. *The Most Dangerous Writing App* is an arcade-like exercise in how well an individual can work under pressure. The app exists as a potential solution to the ever-growing problem of waning productivity in the age of the net.

Described by Ebert in the description as, “designed to shut down your inner editor and get you into a state of flow,” the app might not be the best route into creating that rare perfect first draft. Instead, it’s better served to get your creativity flowing in a natural state. So, journalists, students, and other writers from all around: turn on your favorite background music and take *The Most Dangerous Writing App* for a spin. Write until your fingers cramp up and your brain stops functioning, because if you don’t, it’s game over.

*Got writer’s block? Test The Most Dangerous Writing App for yourself [here](http://www.themostdangerouswritingapp.com/?ref=killscreen.com). (That is, if you dare.)*