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McAnally's (The Community Pub) => Author Craft => Topic started by: Cooper on November 08, 2007, 05:48:28 AM
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Besides the usual popular word processors, like Apple's Pages and Microsoft Office's Word, are there any programs that help write novels? I found one and thats Avenir.
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I don't know if this qualifies,
I use a voice to text program from "Naturally Speaking". It takes me from a 25 word a minuet two finger typist to a 120 word a minuet writer. the biggest problem is that I tend to get ahead of my story line and have to spend time blocking word groups together. Oh yeah the software occasionally get creative about what I say too, like substituting "Friends and lovers" for "Springs and Levers" in a tech article....
Regards,
Kevin
Besides the usual popular word processors, like Apple's Pages and Microsoft Office's Word, are there any programs that help write novels? I found one and thats Avenir.
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Here's one (and it's free!)
http://www.spacejock.com/yWriter.html
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I just downloaded the spacejock software. I haven't used it much, but it seems like it might be helpful to those outliner types.
I have been wanting to get that program called "Writer's Blocks". It looked pretty interesting, but it's like 150 bucks.
Right now it's good 'ol Word, though.
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i use Storyist on the Mac. Great piece of software, keeps everything neat and together. Sheets for characters, notes, chapters and sections.
http://www.storyist.com
PJ
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I use Scrivener for Mac. I like it so far, helps with outlining. It costs around $35, but I think it is worth it.
http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.html
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I used to have that "good old Word", but after a serious virus, I had to format my computer. Let's just say I got my microsoft word stuff for free and leave it at that. Now, I have to use that Open Office crap that likes to freeze up on my slightly reatarded computer so I use "ye old Legal Pad and pencil" (and my blog :) I can't wait until I save up nough money for the new version of a different brand of something-of-the-other Office that can be converted to Microsoft Word documents whenever
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I use the good old gray matter to keep track of plot and characters. If things get to complicated for my own brain to keep track of, they are probably to complicated for the reader too.
For notes and the manuscript, I still use the same old word processor I used for my papers back at Uni. If I had to use Microsoft Word, I'd be going nuts within a week.
Other than that, the most important thing to use is a USB stick where you keep different versions of the text and all the notes. I carry the stick in my pocket whenever I leave the house (in case it burns down while I'm away) or on my bedside table at night, in case the house burns down at night and I have to grab the stick and jump out the window. After each finished Chapter, I copy the lot onto a CD, and whenever I am visiting my parents or in-laws, I deposit the newest CD at their place in case some other unforeseen catastrophe happens at my place.
Did I mention my husband works as IT storage consultant and has been drilling me for years that anybody who loses important data has only himself to blame for? :D
Oh, and of course a thesaurus, and -- since I am not writing in my native language -- a dictionary of collocations and a German-English dictionary. The collocations dictionary is a real book, the others online and on my computer.
P.S. Don't waste too much time on gadgets, just write the novel!
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I used to have that "good old Word", but after a serious virus, I had to format my computer. Let's just say I got my microsoft word stuff for free and leave it at that. Now, I have to use that Open Office crap that likes to freeze up on my slightly reatarded computer so I use "ye old Legal Pad and pencil" (and my blog :)
*shudder*
I have to use Microsoft Word at work sometimes, and it's torture. I type faster than I talk, and I wouldn't consider using anything other than emacs for writing novels, unless the people who made Protext for DOS were distributing a Linux version.
One of the very minor good points to having to hire a replacement for one of my programming team recently was being able to write in the ad "Resumes in plain text only; no Word documents" and then reject anyone who sent me a Word document straight away, because it meant they weren't actually reading the ad.
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I'm sort of electronically challenged, so what's so bad about Micrsoft word? I have to use it for school (double-spacing and all that jazz-when really it should be about what's in the paper not its font or paragraph format)
Why do people hate Microsoft word? ???
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I just downloaded the spacejock software. I haven't used it much, but it seems like it might be helpful to those outliner types.
I have been wanting to get that program called "Writer's Blocks". It looked pretty interesting, but it's like 150 bucks.
Right now it's good 'ol Word, though.
What's the gist of Spacejock? I'm always looking for a helpful program (I sometimes use Dramatica, but not often).
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I'm sort of electronically challenged, so what's so bad about Micrsoft word? I have to use it for school (double-spacing and all that jazz-when really it should be about what's in the paper not its font or paragraph format)
Why do people hate Microsoft word? ???
Well, because it's crashy with documents of any size, because it's a pig to make all the associated bits and bobs show up in colours I can actually read - I have very sensitive eyes and really need to do any reading of any length on a screen with bright text on a dark background - because the interface is a poorly organised mess even once you have killed the darned paperclip, and above all, because writing text and formatting it are separate functions which it's a dopey notion to conflate.
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I'm sort of electronically challenged, so what's so bad about Micrsoft word?
Because all the default settings are wrong and the program is doing funny stuff to your text and you have to spend too much time trying to figure out why the program is doing it and how to make it stop doing it. Word tries to be smarter than the writer when it is plain dumb. It also messes around with your formatting. If I define half a dozen paragraph formats I know what I am doing and I want to use this half dozen formats, really, honestly, and I don't want the program to try to second-guess me and define new formats where it thinks I might like some until the list of formats is ten feet long and it is impossible to find the one you want. Whenever I do have to write a text in Word because there is no way around it I feel like I am standing on quicksand, my text and formatting utterly unstable.
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Well, I DL'ed spacejock and found it essentially useless. Maybe it's just me, but after trying several different programs I'd rather just hash it all out in outline form in MS Word (which has never, ever given me any kind of problem).
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Well, I DL'ed spacejock and found it essentially useless. Maybe it's just me, but after trying several different programs I'd rather just hash it all out in outline form in MS Word (which has never, ever given me any kind of problem).
I second this :)
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I use one by GSP called Novel Writer (Standard version). I'm a relly sporadic writer, and this allows me to create backstories for each of my characters and leave strategic links mid-story to the backstories. It also has sections for notes and ideas, and an events module which tracks your story like a gantt chart. I find this helps me not to do stupid things with the timing of my story, which I'm otherwise apt to do.
If you want some fun, it has a storyline generator, which I use to make my OH laugh but I don't think I would use it for my 'real' story.
I looked at buying the super duper jumped up version but couldn't see it was going to offer me more (it would store up to 25,000 characters, compared to the 8,000 or so that the standard version stores).
I like the format of it, it exports nicely into Word etc, and you can program how you want the export to look, including generating a front page with wordcount etc.
No, I don't work for them, just happen to find it comfortable to use :)
I picked it up for £3 at a supermarket, but up until then had been more than happy with Word. I could probably go back to Word quite happily if the need arose. I don't know how compatible it is with Windows Vista, if anyone has that - the blurb only states compatibility with Windows 98/Me/2000/XP. Says nothing about Macs.
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Here's one (and it's free!)
http://www.spacejock.com/yWriter.html
I use ywriter too. Along with freemind -- the mind-mapping software the author who created ywriter uses for plotting. http://www.spacejock.com.au/PlottingANovel.html
It works for my disorganized brain. I'm not an outliner, but freemind helps me get my ideas onto paper in a way that I can use when it's time to write the novel.
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I got a Macbook several months ago for all my productivity stuff, like writing and photos and such, and my b/f found me a program that I really love. http://www.jerssoftwarehut.com/AboutJNW.shtml (http://www.jerssoftwarehut.com/AboutJNW.shtml) It automatically outlines, gives word count for manuscript/paperback formats, lets you put in all kinds of notes just by highlighting and clicking, and it's just so much easier to find everything, unlike Word. The newest version of yWriter looks sorta like it, but I couldn't say completely cause I haven't used a PC for writing since I got the Mac.