MooersLab / writingLogTemplateInOrg

Template for writing.log in org-mode

Writing log for org-mode

Use this writing log in parallel to the main writing project document to track your progress and record your plans.

Org-mode is a rich variant of markdown (see cheatsheet) that can read directly some LaTeX code. The remaining LaTeX code can be used in a code block for LaTeX.

Use the org-mode markdown code as normal and re-use the LaTeX code as templates for figures and tables with captions.

Features

• 20 considerations for planning a manuscript.
• A table of contents that is automatically generated and hyperlinked.
• An automatically generated index that is hyperlinked.
• Support for generating a references cited section from a Bibtex library.
• A writing log section for recording notes by each day's accomplishments.
• Plot of wordcount by writing session to track your progress.
• Use org-clock and clock tables to track and summarize your effort.

Introduction

The writing log is a document that is external to the manuscript. It is used to store the plans and progress made on a one manuscript. It is tool for enhancing your focus and sustaining forward momentum on the writing project. It is also tool that ease re-engagement in an interrupted writing project. It is like a master thinking document or second brain for a writing project.

Instructions for using the writing log are found in the annotations in the template. You can delete these after they are no longer needed.

Version 0.3 of the writing log is divided into four sections:

• project initiation
• daily entries
• future additions and tangents
• Guidelines, checklists, protocols, and helpful tips

The subsections of these four sections are shown below.

Project initiation

• Rationale
• Audience
• Target journals
• Related projects
• Potential Introduction
• Potential Results
• Potential Discussion points
• Prior discussion points
• Potential titles
• Potential keywords
• Potential abstract
• Abbreviations
• Potential collaborators
• Potential competitors
• Potential reviewers
• Draft cover letter

Daily entries

• Daily protocol
• Daily Log
• Update writing progress notebook
• Update personal knowledge base
• Timeline or Benchmarks
• Next action
• To be done
• Word Count

Future additions and tangents

• Ideas to consider adding to the manuscript
  • Introduction
  • Results
  • Discussion
• To be done someday
• Spin off writing projects

Guidelines, checklists, protocols, helpful hints

• Tips for using Overleaf
• Protocol for running Grammarly in Overleaf
• Guidelines for debugging the annotated bibliography
• Graphical Abstract
• Guidelines for benchmarks
• Guidelines for using Writing Progress Notebook
• Guidelines for using a personal knowledge base

Usage

• git clone https://github.com/MooersLab/writingLogTemplateInOrg into the folder containing your current writing project.
• Start Emacs, perhaps using the latex-emacs profile.
• Load the writingLogTemplate.org file into Emacs via C-x C-f.

Configure yasnippets

You may want to enable yasnippets to make available your latex-mode and org-mode snippets while editing the writinglog.org file in org-mode.

1. In your ~/.emacs.d/snippets/latex-mode, create a file named .yas-parents.
2. Add the following to this file:

latex-mode
org-mode

3. Under the Yasnippets pulldown, select reload everything or in the minibuffer, enter M-x yas-reload-all.

Essential keybindings for editing this file in in org-mode:

• C-g to abort current command.
• C-x C-c to quit Emacs
• C-x C-s to save the current document.
• C-c C-e l o to export to pdflatex and bibtex and open the resulting PDF in default PDF viewer.
• C-x u to undo the last change.
• M-UP or M-DOWN to shift lines up and down. UP and Down are the arrow keys.

The latex-emacs profile can access org-mode because it is built into Emacs.

Related projects of possible interest

• Org-mode manuscript template
• LaTeX manuscript template
• Writing log template in LaTeX (compiles on Overleaf and in Emacs)
• Writing log template in reStructuredText reStructuredText is used by programmers for documentation.
• Writing log template in Markdown Markdown variant. Read and rendered to PDF by most good text editors.
• Writing log template in ODT ODT can be read by Open Office, LibreOffice and MS Word.
• Writing log template in DOCX for MS Word MS Word variant. Probably the least suitable format for this task.
• Slideshow template in LaTeX
• Annotated bibliography Template in LaTeX
• LaTeX manuscript template
• Org-mode manuscript template
• Slideshow template in LaTeX
• Annotated bibliography Template in LaTeX
• Diary for 2024 in LaTeX- latex-emacs profile
• default Emacs profile
• snippets for latex-mode in Emacs
• Quizzes about Emacs to improve recall of keybindings
• Slides from talk about GhostText, Data Science Workshop, July 2022
• Video link to talk about GhostText, Data Science Workshop, July 2022
• Slideshow about using LaTeX in Emacs, Berlin Emacs Meetup, 31 August 2022
• The writer's crede