What writing software do you use?

[lisamarie]

My trial is expiring soon on Microsoft Word 2007 and I'll have to either purchase it or find something comparable. I had been using Word 2000 forever until my laptop died and I had to get one w/Vista. (Vista only uses 2003 or 2007 Word, which I do not have).

Just curious what other writers use and like.

[Rich]

I thought writing software was more of a customize thing. (I didn't even know that there was an MSW 2007.)

I use MSW 2003, which gives me all that I need. For the most part, any MSW program from the mid-nineties on would do as well.

The text is the thing.

[jennifer75]

Usually BIC, but sometimes a Papermate Flexgrip, both in Medium Point, blue ink.

[Codger]

I'm sure that this has been discussed elsewhere, but can't say which forum.

What will it cost you to purchase Word 2003 or 2007?

I used M$ Word for many years, and it's way overengineered (feature bloat). I only used it because it has become the defacto standard. However, I mostly create manuscripts using Courier 12 pitch, double-spaced, so almost any editor/word processor will do. I use the .rtf output format option, which produces files that are universally interchangeable with other word processors.

I recently bought an Apple iMac and have an inviolable rule that NOTHING from M$ will be installed on my virus-free Mac. So I use a freeware product called OpenOffice that includes a word processor, a spreadsheet and other goodies. They all produce files compatible with MS products.

I guess it depends on wether you need specific features only found in Word, or not.

[Scrawler]

I use MS word, but my husband is tempting me with Open Office (http://www.openoffice.org/)
He loves it, and I'm going to give it a try this week.

[lisamarie]

Thanks, I just downloaded Open Office. But I can't figure out how to get my MS word stuff to open up on it. I'll have to wait to ask my computer savvy friend.

[kristie911]

I just use Word. It's functional and I know how to use it, so I hesitate to change. Though I've heard plenty of good things about Open Office. But I'm not going to try downloading it on my dial-up connection...I don't have a free year or so to wait for it to download. :)

[Dave.C.Robinson]

Right now I use MSWord. I have used Open Office but find Word 2007 works really well with my writing style so I stick to it.

[Scothoser]

I've tried a couple of word processors out there, and nothing can really beat Word for the sheer number of features, bells and whistles that's rolled into it. But for practical usage, I prefer Google Docs. While Word is great for a number of different things, Google Docs is perfect for my writing. I can write at any computer I'm at as long as it has an Internet Connection, because the document is stored online. I can also organize my documents into folders, so I know where everything is, and exclude non-essential documents from my list.

Open office is brilliant for anyone that needs a full featured word processor without the expense. If you are looking for something that's free to save money, Open Office may be where you want to go. If you are looking for Mobility, I would definitely recommend Google Docs.

[maestrowork]

Word.

I am now using iWork/Pages for the Mac to do outlining of my new WIP. I also use Omni-Outliner, but I prefer Pages.

[RumpleTumbler]

You might want to check out some of these threads (http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/search.php?searchid=2047864) in addition to what is being posted in this one.

[JerseyGirl1962]

My trial is expiring soon on Microsoft Word 2007 and I'll have to either purchase it or find something comparable. I had been using Word 2000 forever until my laptop died and I had to get one w/Vista. (Vista only uses 2003 or 2007 Word, which I do not have).

I absolutely HATE Word, but I have no choice when I'm at work. (Just my 2 cents, of course.) I learned on WordPerfect, which I think is more logically set up (and that's what's on my laptop).

Anyway, I use a free program called YWriter (http://www.spacejock.com/yWriter.html). Simon Haynes puts it, and, yes, he's a writer (he's on the Water Cooler from time to time). It's a nifty little program that you can put on thumb drives, which means you can bring your story along with you, wherever you go.

If you want to go with full-fledged word processor, try Open Office (http://www.openoffice.org/). It's free; I use it at home, and it fills the bill quite nicely.

~Nancy

[Shady Lane]

Word
word
word

everything you wanted in Word



P.S. Anyone who can identify what I am satire-ing gets a rep point.

[Mel]

I have Word 2000 but never use it. Open Office is what I use and love it.

If you right click your WIP there's a list to choose from. If Open Office isn't showing there then click Choose Program at the bottom, then go to your programs and find Open Office and click it. It should open it just fine. After that Open Office should be on the list.

[Adam Israel]

I'm on a Mac, so I use Scrivener (http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.html) to do all my writing, and only occasionally use Word for final formatting of a manuscript.

[chartreuse]

I have an ancient version of MS Word on my iMac. Works fine for my purposes.

[scarletpeaches]

MS Word 2000, courtesy of an ex-boyfriend. All I got from that relationship was a broken heart and some WP software. :D

[LilliCray]

My old laptop had WordPerfect, and I loved it. Unfortunately for me, my new laptop only has Microsoft Works (and a trial for Word, but I'm not going to bother dealing with that one).

I downloaded Open Office recently, and that works pretty well, though I prefer WPerfect and Works.

[JimmyB27]

For the Mac users with Open Office, take a look at NeoOffice (http://www.neooffice.org). It's a Mac native port of Open Office, so you don't have to mess around with all that X11 stuff.

[Dhewco]

lol, I read the first few posts and started to worry I was the only one to use WordPerfect. Finally, a couple people said they had it. At least that's something. I love WordPerfect. I've used it since they came out with 5.0. When I lost a computer and my new computer had Word on it, I cried. There was just something about Word that didn't work for me.

As soon as I could, I bought a laptop that had WordPerfect. (I had other reasons for buying a laptop, of course.) Now, I have WP on both desktop and laptop. That's the way it should be.


David

[Adam Israel]

lol, I read the first few posts and started to worry I was the only one to use WordPerfect. Finally, a couple people said they had it. At least that's something. I love WordPerfect. I've used it since they came out with 5.0. When I lost a computer and my new computer had Word on it, I cried. There was just something about Word that didn't work for me.

As soon as I could, I bought a laptop that had WordPerfect. (I had other reasons for buying a laptop, of course.) Now, I have WP on both desktop and laptop. That's the way it should be.


David


I heard a few editors at NASFiC this weekend complain about WordPerfect, actually. They complained about some of the problems with converting submissions from WP to Word and missing characters, like end quotation marks.

[JimmyB27]

I heard a few editors at NASFiC this weekend complain about WordPerfect, actually. They complained about some of the problems with converting submissions from WP to Word and missing characters, like end quotation marks.

Maybe they should be complaining that MS Word doesn't read WordPerfect files correctly.

[Adam Israel]

Maybe they should be complaining that MS Word doesn't read WordPerfect files correctly.

*shrug*

I have no problem using Word for my final manuscript cleanup. Whatever makes it easier for the editor.

[Dhewco]

I have Microsoft Word on my desktop, but I can't find my numbers so I can register it. So, I don't bother. I might try that yWriter others mention.


David

[celeber]

I use microsoft word. It is what I am most comforatble with and know the ins and outs of.
I am interested in seeing some of the others mentioned though.

[ZannaPerry]

I use microsoft office.

[Ravenlocks]

I use WordPerfect for my fiction mostly because that's what came on my laptop, although I have to say I do enjoy stickin' it to Microsoft by not using their product. WP will save in TONS of formats, way more than Word, and it usually transfers into the new format pretty well (I've only had a problem with it once). It also reads the same tons of formats, which Word doesn't. So yeah, WP all the way!

Some screenwriters trying to turn novelist use the novel template in Final Draft, but I don't recommend it because the formating is wrong.

[Shadow_Ferret]

My trial is expiring soon on Microsoft Word 2007 and I'll have to either purchase it or find something comparable. I had been using Word 2000 forever until my laptop died and I had to get one w/Vista. (Vista only uses 2003 or 2007 Word, which I do not have).

Just curious what other writers use and like.
I think you are mistaken because I have Word 97 loaded on my new vista machine.

Load it and see before you spend money on a newer version.

[lisamarie]

oh, thanks. I'll try it.

[bt_author]

MS Word. It is the world standard and therefore more editors are likely to have less trouble with it. Having said that, I write a lot of short stories too and most of those are submitted in rtf, so I may as well use notepad or wordpad.

Yes MS has lots of issues with bugs and viruses but it is usually the Mac and Unix based users who write those viruses and then complain about MS taking over the world. Who cares. Use paint on a cave wall if it will help get the story out but for most users, whatever the editor requests in the guidelines. If your program can produce that type of document, you're on the write track!

:D

[bt_author]

And shadow ferret is right - word 2K should work.

[wyntermoon]

I loved WP but am now stuck with Word (ick, hate it, can't get the OE$U@#@ headers right) and work a lot in Google docs which I adore for the aforementioned mobility and the ability for beta readers to pop on for updates whenever they wish. :)

[jmindigo]

I used Word back when I was young and innocent, but after the great program rebellion of '05 Word refused to work on my laptop and simply clogs up my desktop. I currently use RoughDraft (http://www.salsbury.f2s.com/), just because I love having a notepad that just hangs out on the sidebar so I don't have to stop writing or open a new file to jot down quick notes.

I'll also second OpenOffice. It works quite well and doesn't bog things down on my system as much as Word. It's also very similar to Word. It and Roughdraft are free downloads so give them a try and if they don't work for you no harm done. ^^

[Wolvel]

I use a gel ink pen and a 150 count notebook.

[reenkam]

I use Word 2007. It looks like, does cool stuff, and I know how to use it.

And, for the record, neither me nor anyone I know has ever had a virus with Microsoft Office programs...

[Enraptured]

Microsoft Word (Word 2002 currently). It does what I want it to do, and I've been using it for years; switching would be more trouble than it's worth.

[ZannaPerry]

I use a gel ink pen and a 150 count notebook.

Ha! Me too before my hand started cramping. ;)

[MerryDay]

I go back and forth between using plain old Word and using the fancier Liquid Story Binder (http://blackobelisksoftware.com/index.htm) - which I love, but can be a little overwhelming sometimes.

[lisamarie]

I think you are mistaken because I have Word 97 loaded on my new vista machine.

Load it and see before you spend money on a newer version.

Thank you for suggesting this. I finally tried loading my Word 2000 on my Vista laptop and it works perfectly. I was told at Best Buy I'd have to buy the 2007 version.:rant:

[DocBrown]

I agree that Open Office is worth a try. It is very customizable and if you're into that sort of thing like I am it can be done very intuitively. I had the entire program customized by the end of the third day I was using it.

I am writing a Sci-Fi novel so I even created my own dictionary to hold all of my bizarre names and such. I am sure you can do all this in Word, but with the help files in Open Office I had it created in less than 2 minutes. Great program! :)


Thank you for suggesting this. I finally tried loading my Word 2000 on my Vista laptop and it works perfectly. I was told at Best Buy I'd have to buy the 2007 version.


No offense, but you shouldn't be listening to a mass market retail outlet for computer advice. ;)

They don't make much money by telling you to use your old software that works perfectly fine.

Speaking of perfectly fine. Even though it looks like you'll be using your '97 version. Another nice and simple alternative is using Wordpad. It is installed on every windows machine (including Vista) and does 98% of everything you could ever ask of a word processing program. No frills, but no confusion either.

[skelly]

PageFour.

Google it.

All the coolest writers use it. If you don't, you will never be published and ugly people will laugh at you.

:)

[Oberon]

I use Word on my Mac, and still have aggravating problems. I had a novel in Palatino, and read at one point that agents like Times New Roman, so I decided to change the font. It screwed up the whole thing. First line indents were off, spacing between words looked really weird, all the chapters were unseparated, my whole format was screwed. I had to go through the whole damn ms word for word, and I still don't like it.

[Jamesaritchie]

Pen and paper for first drafts, WordPerfect X3 for everything else. I have Word, and like it very much, but WordPerfect X3 allows me to open, edit, or write pdf files.

[a_sharp]

After 10 years with Word, I decided to try others. PageFour was cool but not what I wanted. Went to OpenOffice for almost a year, then decided the macros I use for formatting just didn't have equivalents in OOwriter. I'm back to Word 2003, but I hate the multiple windows for mulitple docs. I suppose Word 2007 has doc tabs? Not worth the money to upgrade though.

I go back and forth between using plain old Word and using the fancier Liquid Story Binder - which I love, but can be a little overwhelming sometimes.
Merryday, howzit overwhelming? Maybe I'll rob a bank and get Liquid Story Binder, but it looks like eye candy plus every written gimmick known to man since the Gutenberg Bible. Please say more.

[Zara Ravenwood]

Right now, RoughDraft. (With Word for spell cheeking, as it has the best dictonary I've found yet.) I've tryed Word,Works, Open office and Jarte as well. What I like about RoughtDraft is that it has a a notepad that runs alongside your doc., is compatable with WordWeb, and safes things as RTF. files. It's got other features I haven't fiddled with yet and is deisgened for writters.

[Billingsgate]

I was content with Word for years. But I found that it is a nightmare when it comes to organizing book chapters, notes and so on. I tried WriteItNow (www.ravenheadservices.com) and I have become hooked. It's an interface just for book-length manuscripts, with all the character and idea notes easily at hand, and great ease in organizing and reorganizing chapters. A new version will come out soon which has a built-in notecard-style idea organizer. I don't work for them, I'm just enthusing about the program. It has made my work so much less stressful since I started using it. It's not expensive, so I recommend it.

[lisamarie]

Since I write screenplays I use Word mostly for notes. Although I do have stories, short stories and articles in Word, also. I'm probably an idiot b/c I'm sure I can use Movie Magic Screenwriting software for notes, too, I just haven't looked.

[scarletpeaches]

I use MyBrain v.2.0

[lkp]

I use a program called Nota Bene. It is especially designed for academic writing. It also converts easily to other formats, like .rtf or MSWord, so editors and agents remain happy. Which is good because I hate MSWord with the heat of 1,000 suns. Using it is like fornicating through a matress.

[Inkwell]

Great timing for this thread. I just bought a new laptop and am debating which software to use. I think I'm going to give OpenOffice a shot.

[She_wulf]

If I could divorce myself from Microsoft, I'd do it. But I like knowing all the short cuts and having the "comments" option for critiques.

I'm pathetic!

[HED]

A writer has made a blog post highlighting alternatives to Microsoft Word : http://stevenpoole.net/blog/goodbye-cruel-word/

Personnaly, I use a mix of Q10 (http://baara.com/q10/) and SciTE (+ wordcount plugin). Word is too heavy, I prefere portable + fullscreen software.

[Hillgate]

MS Word 2000, courtesy of an ex-boyfriend. All I got from that relationship was a broken heart and some WP software. :D

But you've still got the WP software...:)

[arkady]

Yes MS has lots of issues with bugs and viruses but it is usually the Mac and Unix based users who write those viruses and then complain about MS taking over the world.

Paranoid conspiracy theories, anyone?

[arkady]

I recently bought an Apple iMac and have an inviolable rule that NOTHING from M$ will be installed on my virus-free Mac. So I use a freeware product called OpenOffice that includes a word processor, a spreadsheet and other goodies. They all produce files compatible with MS products.

You might prefer NeoOffice, the native OS X port of Open Office (no X 11 required):

http://www.neooffice.org/neojava/en/index.php

[She_wulf]

Paranoid conspiracy theories, anyone?

My main problem with Word is all the "cross compatibility" junk they add to the software to make it talk to other programs like Excel and Outlook. Honestly, they should come out with a $40-60 version called WordLite that only is a text editing software with annotations. Forget importing databases, spreadsheets, mail addy's, making websites, etc. $169+ is too much to spend on a typewriter.


BTW, if it didn't have all the cross compatibility stuff, there wouldn't be as many viruses as they are mostly macros that exploit the add-on features.

[Hillgate]

Doesn't matter what you use as long as you can PDF it when you're done!

[Priene]

Q10. Fast to load and light and it makes typewriter noises when you click. I know it's an anachronism but I don't care...

[allenparker]

I use WP. If I had to use Word, I'd quit writing. I would just cut my fingers and bleed the stories on the page. It would hurt less.

[BenPanced]

I only use Word to format the end product. My main processor is Z-Write, a Mac only (neener!) program. It's really nice because you can open a file and divide it up into different sections, changing the order and add more sections, if necessary. An entire novel file in Z-Write is roughly the same size as a single chapter in Word. I can do some basic formatting, like bold and underline, and the programmers have admitted that spell check is wonky (you have to use an add-on, and they can really screw up underlines you've done), so I just copy and paste into Word to do it.

[Shane Fitzsimmons]

I use MSWord also. I see no reason to use anything else. All you really need in writing software is something with a good spellchecker that can count your words for you and is capable of changing fonts and putting things in italics. Grammar checkers are basically worthless anyway, and more bells and whistles than what I listed above aren't going to improve the quality of your writing one iota. MSWord gives you everything you need to format a quality manuscript.

But really, any software with a good spellchecker is good software.

[Jamesaritchie]

I think the point here is that whatever you like is good, whatever you hate is bad. Novels are written with wetware, not software, so pick anything you like and it'll work out fine, as long as the wetware is good.

[Dave.C.Robinson]

I think the point here is that whatever you like is good, whatever you hate is bad. Novels are written with wetware, not software, so pick anything you like and it'll work out fine, as long as the wetware is good.

I agree.

I'm working on a novel which had the first draft done in Abiword, the first major revision in Open Office, and now I'm using Word. It doesn't matter.