Classic ilys is here for fun and archive and is totally not supported.








What is ilys?

ilys is a little robot that helps keep your creative juices flowing.

Why aren't my creative juices flowing?

In a nutshell: Our thoughts collide with each other and we get stuck. The writing process consists of two major phases which are mutually exclusive. These phases are creativity and editing. When these two are active at the same time, we suffer.

How will ilys help?

We help the editing-mind take a nap while the creative-mind goes wild with expression.

Cool, how does it work?

1. Tell ilys how many words you want to write.
2. Write your words.

What's so special about that?

You can't change what you've written until you've completed your goal. This means that the editing-mind is kept far away from the creative-mind. There is nothing else to do but write! The editing-mind will come to accept that it cannot change anything. Trusting that its fun will arrive soon enough, it simply lets go. Now the magic begins. Your creative-mind is absolutely free to let your words flow. You might see how putting these limits on the writing phase will create ultimate freedom in your expression. It does for me! Especially when I use it in full-screen mode by pressing F11 on our browser, which is usually Chrome.

How do I use ilys?

When you come to the welcome screen, ilys will ask you how many words you'd like to write. Enter that number into the yellow textbox. When you click on big "GO!" button, you'll be brought to a screen where you'll see a big typing box. That's the place you'll be writing in. You'll also see a word counter above it, an eye icon below it, as well as a progress bar at the bottom of the screen. By clicking on the eye, you can peek at what you're writing. You'll be unable to edit while peeking, or until you reach your word count goal. When you do that, you'll see an orange arrow on the right side of the big typing box. Clicking on this arrow will bring you to the edit screen where you can change your text. From the edit screen, you can click on the orange arrow on the left side of the screen to return to the big typing box and continue writing. Your work is being saved in the browser. If you close the browser and return to it, ilys will ask you if you want to continue where you left off. You can either continue, or start a new piece.

But what about typos?

Let them all go and fix them during the editing phase, which is AFTER the writing phase. Use ilys to get the words out and THEN fix the typos and everything else. While you write, notice yourself being interrupted by thoughts about typos and any number of other insignificant things. Any time you react to these thoughts, you interrupt your creative flow. Practice letting go of any thoughts that try to grab your attention. Let go of them, knowing that everything will be corrected during editing. You are safe to be absolutely free in your creation. Enjoy :-)

*** WARNING! ***

While ilys works great with most modern computers, there is the possibility that it won't work with yours. Please try it out with just a small number of words before starting out on a long session. You ought to be able to see the word counter and progress bar advancing as you type your words. You should also be able to get to the editing screen by clicking on the right side triangle after you've reached your word count goal. Please kick the tires on every device you want to work with until you're totally comfortable with it. If ilys is not working as expected, please consider updating the browser to the latest version and try again. And, please us know by sending feedback.

Wishing you outrageous creative fun and flow,
Michael Gurevich


ilys is so weird... Does it actually help?


How many words would you like to write now?

Would you like to continue your saved writing?

 
Start typing...