Writer's Software

pthomas4

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Which is better, Scrivener or YWriter? I am outlining my novel, have YWriter, but folks I trust use Scrivener. Before I commit, I need to be sure.

Anyone out there have experience with either/both?
 

Osulagh

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Scrivener offers a free trial. Are you unwilling to commit to download it?


I tried using both, and opted for Libreoffice instead.
 

Hapax Legomenon

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It depends on what you need it for.

I used to use scrivener. The main reason was because it loaded an entire novel very fast. However, formatting and exporting had always been a pain. If you're someone who needs a lot of research notes and stuff a program like that might be a good idea, but for me, the deciding factor would be ease of exporting. The other thing about Scrivener is that the files can only be opened by scrivener and you can't attach to emails. So if your computer goes kaput and you have a backup you can't actually use that backup until you find another computer with scrivener on it, wheras if you have .doc or .rtf or .txt or whatever, most computers can open that or you can download free software to do that.

Then again, I have never used ywriter so you may be aware of these problems because they're the same problems ywriter has.

Currently I use MS Word for novels with a different document for each chapter and Evernote for notes and short stories. Both Libreoffice and Evernote are free, so they wouldn't require any commitment.

At this point I write my novels on
 

pthomas4

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Scrivener falls quickly out of the mix if export is a pain. What is Libreoffice? Will take a look, but am curious what YOU think the advantage is.
 

Hapax Legomenon

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LibreOffice is a word-processing software that does most of the same things Microsoft Word does for free. If you have a recent edition of Word and are not having any problems with it, you probably don't need LibreOffice.
 

Shed Dweller

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I'm pretty picky about interfaces, so judging by the screenshots of Scrivener compared to YWriter, I would choose Scrivener.

That said, I tried Scrivener for Windows when I first started getting my ideas down, and found myself trying to spend more time on learning the software than actually writing.

Personally, I go with the mindset that I'll use something simple until I outgrow it. So, I use Focuswriter at the moment, then I may move to Libre Office Writer, and then perhaps Scrivener at some point. I'm on Linux though, and that version of Scrivener is still in beta testing.
 

robjvargas

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LibreOffice is a suite of programs, just as is MS Office. LibreOffice Writer is the word processor in that suite. Comparing LibreOffice to MS Word is like comparing an orange tree to a single apple.
 

cmhbob

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I used yWriter for quite a while, and did the first draft of Sad Girl in it, but didn't like the feeling of doing later edits with it. Ended up going back to Word for the final edits.

But by the time I was ready to publish, I had switched to Linux as an operating system, and so was using OpenOffice. Remember that OpenOffice and LibreOffice are suites, just like MS Office. They all include a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, and database package. OO and LO will both save to .doc format as well as .html, and their html format is usually cleaner than that of MS Word.

But what I found as I was working to self publish is that 98% of the helpful hints that are out there refer to PC or Mac operating systems, so I was having troubles figuring out how to do a few things in OO, so I ended up going back to Windows and Word. It's just more comfortable.
 

Hapax Legomenon

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LibreOffice is indeed a suite, it's just that unless you are one of those people who like to use spreadsheets to outline, the spreadsheet, presentation, math, database, and drawing program are probably going to be of little use to you when you're actually writing. Also I don't think I've ever heard of anyone just downloading the parts of the suite they want, considering they're all free and the whole suite is easy to download. Maybe if you have a really shitty connection or very little space on your hard drive...

But yeah, LibreOffice writer is probably the one you want.
 
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Kaitlin Brianna

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I love scrivener for my novel. I didn't really expect to, I just downloaded the free trial because it was free and thought it was great. However, I mostly like it for plotting and organization - when I get to the point of doing final edits I may just do it in a word doc. I'm a pretty serious plotter on the pantser to plotter spectrum, and in the good old days (like, last year) I had my wall covered in post-it notes of plot points so I could constantly rearrange them. Now I can just click and drag.

I highly suggest you download the trial, there's really no reason not to if you're curious. Unlike a lot of free trials, it's fully functional.
 

pthomas4

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Hmmm

Thanks to all. I like the idea of using YWriter for my outlining process and as a reference while I write the book, but just using Word to do the writing itself. Will still noodle this, and look around at the other stuff, but so far that is my leaning.
 

Niner

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Has anyone any experience of using Gingko to plot and write? I've used it briefly for an academic course and it seems as though it would be worth a go.
 

Batspan

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Hi, Pat --

You've probably made up your mind by now. Scrivener is my favorite writing tool. I've been using it for more than a year and I've had no export problems. You can export into nearly any kind of file, including mobi. I discovered it's easy to upload Word to Kindle, so I haven't needed mobi files so far.

All the storyboarding tools are the best.

The cool thing about the trial is it's 30 non-consecutive days, so you can use it for a major project to decide if it suits.
 

fihr

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I use Scrivener too, and I'm a big fan. To start with, I took the hour or so to do the tutorial. It was a worthwhile investment to get an overview.

I love the snapshot feature that lets you instantly keep any version of any file. I can snapshot scenes or chapters, move them around easily, or archive them. It means I don't feel restricted at all rewriting - its so easy to roll it back again if something's not working out, and it's easy to find files as far back as I like without even thinking about how to store them.

I find it easy to export from Scrivener into any format for submission to any market. It did take a short while to familiarise myself with the formatting for compiling, but I just looked it up when I needed to, and now I know it well enough. I find it very flexible.

When I export to Word, I always check the final file, and maybe make one or two minor adjustments (remove a crosshatch under the title for example).
 

Craig McNeil

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I've used Scrivener to write my last two novels and really enjoy using it. I don't use 90% of its functionality but what I like is the fact it offers a distraction free workspace in which to write and IMHO that's what's important.