Bastien tweets a pointer to an interesting article on using Git for
writing:
Interesting read on using #git for #writers : https://t.co/1qQe481zK7 … Not just via the @AtomEditor but also GNU #emacs, as explored here https://t.co/4qNCIyP5LU and discussed here https://t.co/d3alOHxudI cc @oncletom
— Bastien Guerry (@bzg2) April 9, 2019
Although the article, by Seth Kenlon, is advertised as considering the question “Why (prose) writers should use Git,” I think the more important takeaway is that writers should embrace plain text. Kenlon makes a persuasive case that authors would be better off trashing their word processors and using a combination of a text editor and Markdown.
Kenlon’s text editor of choice is Atom (although he does mention Emacs as an alternative), which is, I think, leaving money on the table. Other than the obvious but subjective judgment that Emacs is a better, more customizable editor, it is virtually universally acknowledged that Magit is the best Git interface—integrated or not—and that Org mode markup is superior to Markdown, especially when its Babel interface is taken into consideration.
Of course, those are the opinions of an Emacs partisan so others may disagree but it’s hard to see how one can argue about Magit or Org mode. In any event, the important point stands: embrace plain text. If you do any writing at all, you should take a look at Kenlon’s article, especially if you’re still using Word or one of its evil offspring.