Smashkey Freewriter (MacOS): Improve Creativity, Unblock Writing

Smashkey Freewrite is a MacOS freewriting app to help you grow your creative ideas and unblock your writing through a restrictive pre-writing experience.

In Smashkey, there's no spellchecking, there's no formatting, you can't select any text, you can't navigate with the arrow keys, and the delete key is disabled by default. But... why?

All of these things get in the way of the one thing you're supposed to be doing: writing.

"Free writing is traditionally regarded as a prewriting technique practiced in academic environments, in which a person writes continuously for a set period of time with limited concern for rhetoric, conventions, and mechanics, sometimes working from a specific prompt" -- Sharon Marshall (A case for private freewriting in the classroom)

Who’s it for

• Creative writers whose inner editing critic gets in the way
• Non linear writers, prewriters
• Writers who are easily distracted
• Writers who are wanting to establish habit

What’s it like

Smashkey's writing experience is similar to a typewriter. Unlike traditional editors, Smashkey will only display 5 lines at a time. As you type, each line will roll up (instead of down like Word or Notepad). Your cursor will start vertically centred.

• The interface is intentionally minimalist and restricted, for an optimal distraction-free experience.
• At the bottom of Smashkey is a hidden status bar, activated by hovering in the general area. There you can see the elapsed time of your writing and number of words.
• A secondary timer can be set to count down if you want added pressure to write.
• You can also see your writing history in the Writing Sessions view. This is ideal to see if you're really establishing a writing habit over a period of time.
• No lock in. Smashkey will never replace Word or Notion. You can copy from Preview mode or export as plain text.

"The benefits of freewriting revolve around organization, brainstorming, and inspiration, as well as beating writer’s block and relieving certain anxieties. Just getting anything written, even if it is imperfect, can jump-start creativity." -- Grammarly

What you get

This license key purchase is for version 1. All updates and fixes for this version are included in this key. All key holders will be e-mailed when new versions are uploaded to Gumroad. In the future, when we roll out a major version (v2), a new key can be purchased.

You can enter the key via Smashkey > Help > Enter License... online connection required to validate the key, however, feel free to contact me if this is not possible and I can provide you with an alternative download upon proof of purchase.

System Requirements

• MacOS 12 (Monterey) and up
• Optimized for MacOS 13 (Ventura)

About the founder

Shayne Kasai is a screenplay writer, composer, and builder. His works have been featured in various film festivals:

• Winner: Moondance (Short Screenplay For Kids)
• Official Selection: San Diego International Kids’ Film Festival
• 2019 Write Brothers Screenplay Competition Winner (2nd place), Canada International Film Festival
• Official Selection: Kinesis
• Official Selection: Trailer Fest Film Festival
• Quarter Finalist: Marquee Lights Competition