Microsoft Word

Yesterday, while roaming around the internet, I found this article by Heather Schwedel for Slate magazine:

Microsoft Word is the only word processor for people serious about words

The web title for the article is “Microsoft Word haters have it all wrong” and the first sentence of the article states the following:

The normal way to feel about Microsoft Word, I’ve gathered, is somewhere on a spectrum from muted tolerance to outright hatred.

Ms. Schwedel goes on to note she really likes Word, despite some “general consensus” which views the program negatively.

I guess I’ve been in a cave all this time.

As an author and someone who uses Microsoft Word on a near daily basis, I agree with Ms. Schwedel.  Mind you, as an author I’m pretty much always on the lookout for other word processing programs.  In my lifetime I’ve tried many, many word processing programs, hoping they might prove to be better than Word.  I’ve tried Scrivener, Word Perfect, Works, Screenwriter, Open Office, etc. etc. etc.

And I’ve always come back to Word.

This is my personal favorite word processing program yet I can understand if others don’t like it.  It’s about what you like and what works for you, of course.

But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t surprised to hear the general public doesn’t like it.

Why would that be?

The comments section of the article provides some peoples’ opinions of why they prefer other programs but, as I said before, to each their own.

Word simply “works” for me the best and perhaps familiarity is part of the reason, but while I’ll still keep my eyes open for other word processors, I’ve come to believe Word will stay with me until up to my last novel.