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Best Software for Writing

One of the first software applications that actually gave me a good way of handling my material was a product called Z-Write, which allowed you to work independently on a number of chapters/scenes, outlines, reference material, etc, and then merge them later into one cohesive output file that you can then reformat and make publishing ready. Unfortunately, they stopped developing it.
But fortunately a new product came along that did everything Z-write did and a lot more...and that's Scrivener.
What I like about Scrivener is that it allows me to be a writer with it, meaning it gives me plenty of space within the program to do my notes, outlines, have my research files (images, videos, text, html, etc.) in one place, the ability to compose scenes, have various VERSIONS of those scenes, select and choose which part of the scenes I want to keep in the final version, and be able to compose all of these elements into a particular form, such as a Novel, a screenplay, a stage play, a comic book script, etc.
And the best part is that you can do it all in one program, that way you're not searching around a folder for a ton of different word documents or excel sheets.
You can go to Scrivener's website and see for yourself the variety of different features it has. For me, its the best bang for your book. It's a program that was designed with "Writers" in mind, rather than have the writer forced to use a specific application or format.
But I do have Microsot Word, which is great for finalizing your finished document, by the way. It's got some very advanced editing features that are pretty nifty. And that's ultimately what I use Word for. Once I've "written" the book, then I compile it into RTF (you can actually, by the way, compile your work into a variety of different formats, such as PDF, HTML, .epub, or just plain manuscript ready submission, etc. etc.) and then use Word to "finish" the book, creating table of contents and then make it ready for publication if you self-publish, or make it manuscript ready for an editor or publisher.

Thanks so much for your insight into Scrivener - I've been happy with it so far, I just thought I should ask around and see what people are using.
Thanks again.
Amanda

At the moment, I use LaTeX because it's fairly easy to format (just google and the answer's normally there). It's also easy to organise chapters and swap things around as necessary.
It doesn't let me sort notes etc. though, which is where Scriviner might be useful.

I just looked at Scriviner (thanks for the recommendation) and think it appears visually similar to MS's OneNote which I already own, used briefly, and gave up on. Anyone ever compare the two?


What a great post, Anthony! I'm in the process of starting my next novel, and already have so many one page, Word docs that it's already getting hectic. I will definitely take a look at Scriviner. I really am not in the market for something beyond $100 dollars, but still you've sold me on at least taking a look.
Thanks!

What I did was work on each short story as a separate word document, That way I could jump from one story to the other as I worked pretty quickly. Then, when I had honed each story to what I wanted, I Carefully formatted each using the standard word styles for headline and copy, etc. imported each word file, making them function like chapters. Then, when Scrivener exports the file, Its pretty much formatted.
I also used Word because it was easier for me to insert illustrations before some of my stories. I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to do that in Scrivener. Everytime I tried it, and used the help instructions, it didn't seem to work WITHIN scrivener. But I placed the art first into word, then imported word, it worked.

What I did was work on each short story as a separate word document, That way I could jump from one story t..."
Good to know. I've installed Scrivener and so far its pretty impressive. I already imported the manuscript for my published book and separated it into chapters. It was so much easier to identify flaws in small(-ish) chunks than scrolling through 300+ pages or searching by chapter number.
I found MS OneNote to be annoying tedious, particularly when bring information into the program. The only similarity I can see between OneNote and Scrivener is in the most basic layout and capabilities.
Scriveners export tool puts it over the top for me. I can add my cover when I upload to Amazon.
Question to Scrivener users: Does the license you buy cover more than one system. I do some of my writing on my desktop but the large majority is on my Laptop. Anyone know if one license can be made to cover both systems (neither are mac)?

Hope that helps.

Thanks! That answered my question. The below is an excerpt from their license agreement (they misspell license! Is it an English thing?).
"This licence agreement enables you and your family members to use the Software on your own respective computers within your household but you may not copy or transfer the Software to any other computer or hard drive. Any members of your family not residing at your
address for eight months of any year or more are not family members for the purposes of this licence agreement must purchase a separate Software licence."
Thanks again!




then you'll like scrivener, because one of the interfaces looks like post-it notes on corkboard.



Yup it's an English thing. Americans spell it with an s, everyone else spells it with a c. Well, two cs, IYSWIM ;)

Yup it's an English thing. Americans spell it with an s, everyone else spells it with a c. Well, two cs, IYSWIM ;)"
British English. Verb: License. Noun: Licence


I use Apple Pages for the majority of my work, and if you're into a more "minimalist" approach, I suggest giving it a try. Pages pleases me because it's got all the bells and whistles I might want but nicely tucks them into the background for when I just want to write. Plus I used to have an iPad and tended to bounce back and forth between my system at home and the tablet when I was out and about. Pages will also export to just about any format I might conceivably need and doesn't bork my formatting too much in the process - except going to ePub, which tends to become an issue since I no longer have an iPad to double check the files with and calibre doesn't seem to like Pages' ePub exports for some reason.
I can see why some folks would be in love with Scrivener, but I honestly think having all those extras would drive me batty. I tend to have Pages open, and Chrome open behind it in case I need to Google something - quick reference, spelling of a famous name or place, alternative word, that kind of thing - and prefer that lack of clutter. I think my brain would melt down and I'd spend more time clicking around and diddling with the different windows and options than actually writing which seems counterintuitive, especially if I spent money for the privilege of doing so... XD
But, again, my brain is defective and tends to run off on it's own. I started with a typewriter, then migrated to ancient relics of the word processing past, such as T/S Word and Deskmate Type; I learned to get by with such tools and long ago grew accustomed to shuffling things around via cut/paste and massive amounts of deletion. XD Changing how I do things at this point would likely be more impediment than benefit. But hey, just my 2 cents.


true, but to me the advantage is when it formats and exports. Since I formatted my own book without help, Scrivener was invaluable.


Thanks in advance.
Gamal

I agree some of its features can be daunting and I certainly don't use all of them, but fro writing simple organising and formatting I find its very straightforward. The tutorial and web site help as do forums and some published guides

I could recommend that you get an Iphone LOL. Check if there is an Android version of Textilus. It is from the folks who brought us Scrivener and sinks between the two.

http://www.ivona.com/en/reader/

I bet my novel would sound really "smart" if read back in a British Accent


The transition was relatively straightforward, but it does take time to learn different aspects even simple copy and paste are different cmd v instead of ctrl v, but I still have to ctrl v from inside Parallels and my new work laptop will be windows so I can't completely give it up. In the end one isn't better than the other it's just what suits, you could always try a Linux!


Yes I have it for letters and I had to use it for some Smashwords formatting where Scrivener let me down or Shamshwords did, I haven't transitioned to Pages, Numbers or Keynote yet from the MS Office equivalent, as for Windows to Mac for Office no problem at all in fact that made the mac easier because I kept Office. After all I couldn't care less about the OS I just want the Apps. I use Parallels less and less and really only for Paint Shop Pro, a media interface called Zappiti and an old version of MS Money I cling onto. I still have my old PCs sitting switched off and silent should I ever need to fire them up. I have an iMac so everything is neat and tidy on one large screen.

But for those that just want to WRITE, without all the bells and whistles, Scrivener is probably a better bet. There are a lot less distracting options, and you won't find yourself spending hours playing with character relationships and locations etc.

I've examined almost every writing software out there, at one time or another. Specifically for novelists, I would add a vote to the others (above) for the free tool YWriter5. Like Scrivener, it keeps chapters secure in their own files in the Windows directory for safety. If it does a 'compile' process in the background, that happens invisibly, and exports very nicely to a number of formats.
If it only had a script engine like Scrivener or FinalDraft (instead of just novel format engine) I would rate it the best product I've ever seen. But the creator is a novelist and so that's how he slanted it.


Scrivener (mentioned by several people above) is certainly competent but I feel it needs just a little more 'under the hood'. More outlining tools; more type of hierarchical trees; more helpers, trackers and places to pre-fill-data in, beforehand.
Oh well. Seems like no software (I've reviewed at least 50 packages) does it all.

I still use Word for later formatting.
Jodi
ETA: The only thing that I do dislike is you can't have normal paragraphing. But I do that formatting later.

Since it's non-fiction, there's not a lot of creative stuff going on. Just your basic writing. He also uses a different Word file for each chapter, but it's a real pain for figuring out if he's used a certain term before, because I need to go back and do a word search through every chapter. Maybe my expectations are too high, but it just seems like it could be done more easily with something else.
Any comments or suggestions would be welcome and appreciated.
Tracey


Editing, as you know is different from the original writing, and as it's already been written (bar the changes you're making), I'd say that Word is fine for formatting and final 'laying out' of his work (tabs, bullets, etc) and, with it's strong dictionary and other spelling 'help', I'd say stick with it.
It SOUNDS as if he's using different tabs, different formatting per file, and this may be contributing to the 'wonkiness' you're experiencing.
If YOU are the one editing things, why don't you import all the chapters into one file? That way you have everything in one place. Spend some time creating your 'body' and 'heading' (or whatever you need) in a blank file, import his stuff as plain text, and formatting style (if not his questionable content) is a breeze.
MY suggestion, for what it's worth, would be to get HIM to use a different application (Scrivener, yWriter, Write It Now). These allow him to write his different chapters, whilst still 'keeping them together'. When he's happy, he can export each chapter as RTF for you do do your magic...



WordPad? Not sure if you're brave or crazy.... Next someone will say they write everything in Notepad or Sticky Notes :D
Best Regards,
Jo