So, the simplicity of Steem is in some ways a great thing, but as a blogger and writer, I actually like the simple markdown and editor here, but managing posts is so restrictive. "Submit a Story" as a single post is quite frustrating and I want something better at managing posts, content and images so I can write more content and smile doing it.

Limitations to Overcome

• Preview beside the editor, so you can see any area of your post, while editing and writing anywhere within your text, to prevent scrolling up and down.
• Have the ability to store multiple drafts for easy switching and working on any of them
• Ability to create and use text snippets so its easy to manage signatures, footer text and things you need to copy and paste into posts frequently.
• Last but not least, have a photo upload feature (especially for photographers) that gives easier linking options, photo full size links and drag 'n' drop uploads.

Introducing 'Steem Writer' Concept

Challenge 1 - 3rd Party Posting Security

So, certainly any steem app will have its challenges and the biggest one I see is posting has obvious security risks, so I'm proposing making a stand alone app only, that you can easily then copy and past the three fields into steemit's existing "Submit a Story" when you are ready to publish. This simplifies the app, by eliminating any post security issues yet still makes it very easy and simple to use. In the future, Steem Writer may be able to post directly and manage posting keys and security, but its a complex matter, so best avoided altogether at this point in my view.

Challenge 2 - Logins and Account Linking

Many of the steem apps have logins associated with them, and unfortunately, they all are separate from your actual steemit account. To avoid this challenge, Steem Writer would not require any logins. It would simply exist as a browser app and store its data in local storage so there is no need for accounts or logins. The downside of this, is that it stays local to your browser on one computer, so no switching between devices or work stations to access your drafts. This is something that could be expanded on in the future though if there is enough interest for the app and as integration tools become more available with steemit accounts. Storing the data online obviously solves this and I can certainly see it important in the future, but not needed right away.

Challenge 3 - Image Posting

I'm looking at a cloud image hosting service to integrate into the app and allow drag 'n' drop images with much easier setup of images and image links. Hosting a service for images will obviously come at a cost if there is significant usage, but I believe through a simple community contribution or by some means of voting for Steem Writer, there can easily be enough revenue to cover the image hosting costs and keep it free for all users (just some voting power needed). I know others have had this service (on and off) but it needs to be integrated into a writer app to be most useful.

I'll have to add a image drag 'n' drop box and then some easy way to put them into your text. Ideally, remembering all images for reuse and keeping your image library available in SteemWriter is what I'd like to build. Images are quite frustrating in Steemit to me today and I want to help fix that.

Your Thoughts?

So, I'd really love to hear people's thoughts and comments on building this, if there is interest and feedback, I'd like to discuss and consider any additional features if it fits into the simple model I'd like to start with.

Maybe these things are underway, but I don't know where and can't find much recent discussions on these topics. So, I'd love to hear from you? Your ideas and comments.