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| Photo credit: vkotis on Flickr |
After I was gifted with a copy of Office, however, I’d expected that I’d go back to my Word-using days and that would be the end of it.
Except it wasn’t.
I can’t fully explain why I still use Pages to write my blog posts. I tried switching back to Word, but it felt weird—the format was different, the posts looked different and I found I was more comfortable writing my posts in Pages, as I’d become accustomed to. However, while Pages has become my blog post writing go-to software, I don’t use it for novel writing or editing.
I’ve written a post on why Scrivener is awesome in the past, so I won’t reiterate the whole thing, but basically I’ve found that Scrivener is my favorite software for first draft writing and major plot structure changes, largely because of the cork board and daily writing goal features. As I start to get into critiques and more detailed edits, however, I switch over to Word.
Maybe there’s a commenting feature in Scrivener and I just haven’t found it, but Word is a pretty universal program and I have yet to find software to beat it’s commenting system. I love that I can color code my comments by CP and perhaps the habit-forming part of me doesn’t want to let go of Word after using it for years as my novel-writing software. I still translate all of my changes back to Scrivener (copy and paste is a beautiful thing), but for final edits, at least so far, I like to use Word.
So I’m weird and I switch around between Pages, Scrivener and Word, but now I want to hear from you: what word processing programs do you use, and which is your favorite?
27 comments:
I usually start writing on tthe Open Office word processor, but then I switch to either Yarny or yWriter. I think I like Yarny better, though I still have to fall in love with either software. I also tried ZenWriter a while back, but didn't feel comfortable enough. I guess I'm still trying to find a software that I really, really like.
I think these answers are going to be interesting, because I suspect people are going to mention software I didn't realize existed.
I've vaguely heard of Yarny and yWriter, but I've never opened either (or ZenWriter, for that matter). I'm assuming they're minimalist writing programs?
Also, I completely understand searching for the right program. Every word processor has a different feel, and it's important to find the one that suits you. Good luck!
I'm a die-hard Word user, but it's good to know that there are other options out there. The MS Office suite is expensive!
Yarny, it's free and makes everything so much easier to organise and keep track of. Anything else I've tried doesn't feel natural, including Scrivener.
It certainly is! It's a shame they don't allow you to buy the programs separately, either...
Interesting! What is Yarny's organizational system like?
I completely agree that Scrivener is awesome. I can't say enough wonderful things about it.
I'm trying to use solely use Scrivener, but I am also a pro at distracting myself with simply organizing everything. Scrivener's binders are seriously the greatest feature of putting together novels/collections/etc. I use it to easily gather, review, and edit my comedy, poetry, and WIPs. However, because it's so feature rich, I end up wasting a ton of time trying to figure stuff out or play around with settings. So when I really want to lock my self into writing, I open up Writeroom for some full-screen, distraction-free goodness.
Personally, I despise Word for a ton of reasons and the cherry on top for me is the price. I don't like Pages either because it just feels like an Apple-fied version of Word. Also, since I would just end up importing into Scrivener anyways, .doc and .docx files just don't import as cleanly as .txt or .rtf and both Word and Pages sort of half-ass it on making sure that those file types save properly.
Scrivener does have highlighting, footnote, and comments features! I use them all the time for editing my work. It is also does fairly well exporting/importing them into/from .doc files, so your critique-ers and critquees will be able to see them. I'd take the time to go through their Intro document. It's beefy, but you don't need to read even half of it to get a ton of super helpful tips and see the best features!
You might find this ridiculous, but I use the Notes app on my iPod like crazy. I wrote an entire story on their once (scrolling was hell), but I'm stuck on it. I think it's the warm, yellow notepad background that makes me feel less pressured than the blank white pages on most processors. However, Word is where my heart is. Even when I finished that story on Notes, I transferred it to Word to edit it. I still use Notes as an intermediary for when I can't access my computer.
I love Scrivener because I'm a total organization freak. It's great being able to separate scenes and chapters and to make research folders and characters and have it all in one place. Plus, it's so easy to move things around and jump to different sections. I used word before, but having just one plain document was just so boring. My friend uses it though because she likes writing rough drafts in that sporadic-kind of way where you just keep writing until the end. To each their own, I guess.
I've tried Scrivener out, and I'm embarrassed (and perhaps a bit defensive?) to admit that I find it nearly incomprehensible. I think the organization, or assumed organization, has to do with it. I just don't structure things in the manner that Scrivener seems to want me to. It tries to be helpful, really it does. I'm just prickly and resistant.
Really, I liked Word 95 (or was it 98?) quite a lot. I knew where everything was for formatting particulars, it behaved the way I wanted it to. It was just beautiful. Now I use Open Office on my laptop and have (I think?) the next to newest version of Windows on my desktop, in its bizarre tabbed reformatted glory.
I'm going to be that geek and say Emacs. I love it because it allows me to write without all the razzle-dazzle getting in the way. It is free, open-source, and works on WIndows, Mac and Linux, and I have all of them. Together with something like Dropbox or Google Drive I can access my stuff everywhere.
Yes! Love Scrivener. And I still have much more to learn about it. :)
So it DOES have a commenting feature! I knew it had to be buried in there somewhere. I honestly still only know the basics from Scrivener, so I'll have to definitely go through that intro doc. Thanks for the tip! :D
As for Word, I totally understand having issues with it--it's far from a perfect software and gives us all plenty to gripe about, price point aside. And I get what you mean about Pages--I mostly bought it because I didn't want to pay for the full Office suite, but still wanted a Word-like program, so you're right about it being very similar to Word.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Austin!
Really? I...never would have guessed that. Huh.
I think the ability to effortlessly move scenes around is another huge plus of Scrivener. Truth be told, I'd never really needed that function until just recently, but I couldn't be happier that I have the program now that it's a necessity. :)
On another note, I could see how Word would work better for a stream-of-consciousness-type work. Scrivener's great strength is in it's structure and organization, but stream-of-consciousness doesn't always necessitate structure in the initial draft (although I imagine it wouldn't hurt).
You're definitely not the first person I've heard say that they didn't get Scrivener. No software is perfect for everyone, and Scrivener is no different, so no need to feel embarrassed about it. :)
Also, the first time I opened a Scrivener trial, I didn't see what the big deal was and I got confused and said "forget it" and uninstalled it. It wasn't until many months later and many raving reviews later that I gave it a second chance and really started to like it. So I understand.
I also completely understand what you mean about going from clean Word to tabbed Word. I still get a little lost in the tabs at time (I'm pretty sure I mostly just jump from the default tab to the review tab and usually ignore everything in between). It definitely takes some adjusting.
That's a new one--I've never heard of Emacs. Dropbox synchronization sounds nice, though. :)
It's a good way to keep writing. When I'm away from my laptop, I can just pull out my iPod and keep writing, and when I get back, my Notes sync onto my laptop. Forever writing! :)
Yeah, the Emacs editor is mostly a programmer thing. It is overkill for the normal writer in many ways unless you already use it. Dropbox and its clones are pretty much the best thing. Your stuff is always online and, best of all, you don't even have to remember to create backups!
Yes! Dropbox is a huge lifesaver. Speaking of which, I should probably get around to updating my files...
I use the word processor in Google Drive, particularly if I'm working on my laptop. I have Word, OpenOffice, Scrivener, Pages, and Ommwriter, but for some reason I'd just as soon use Drive.
Huh. I've actually never tried Google Drive, but I've been hearing more and more about the Google applications. Very interesting.
I suppose I could see that. :)
i just started using Ulysses for my creative writing. It allows for the integration of notes (for research), and can export in a number of formats, including HTML and eBook documents. It also has iCloud integration.
They just released a new version (Ulysses 3), and it seems to be a bit different from its previous version (which I'm using). I LOVE writing in plain text, which it excels at.
http://www.ulyssesapp.com/
I use Vim occasionally (when I'm working in the terminal). But I could never get proficient enough with it to benefit from its efficiency.
Nice! I used Vi a couple of times but for some reason ended up with emacs instead of vim as my main editor. And you are right, that learning curve is steep especially if one doesn't have to use it that often.
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