I very much suspect that's because I'm still on XP. As for OO's security hole, I'm not sure I understand. This is stand-alone software that doesn't need an internet connection to use, once you've downloaded and installed it. So where's the security hole? And more to the point what risks does that security hole open users to?
LO and OO both have some vulnerabilities, but OO apparently has more. Even though you don't need internet, a lot of people are connected when they use their computer and some of the vulnerabilities can be exploited as long as you are online, whether the program requires it or not.
Heh. In theory at least. Having the vulnerability there is different from having someone actively exploiting it and finding your computer to do it, but they should still patch this stuff.
The best writing program is the one you spend the most time using. All files can be converted to PDF. All written PDF can be converted to other writing programs. Try different software and use the one that feels the most fluent for you.
So, I have been looking for a program to writ my short stories and novels in. Also it would be good to have something to put my jot notes on. Does anyone know any cheap programs because Word is way too much money for me
What have you got on your computer now? All you need is something that accepts typing, really. Eventually you'll need to export as a .doc file, but for just writing? Notepad or anything else would probably work, if you don't want to spend money. OpenOffice/LibreOffice if you want more bells and whistles.
As of right now I am using a trial for ZenWriter but the only thing is that it lacks a few features that I would like to have
I guess the features I am talking about are things such as highlighting certain text, bullets for my jot notes, and spell check when I miss type and don't notice it
Kyle, can I suggest that if you're writing a short story, you probably need nothing more than a wordprocessor, and LibreOffice gives the most for your money, because it is very powerful (despite its outmoded UI) and free; for novels, oStorybook is under development for all major platforms - Win, Linux, and the other one (smile). Like LO, it is also free. It allows you to create your prose in LO, while structuring your longer pieces in oS. It can be downloaded from here: http://ostorybook.tuxfamily.org/forum.php?lng=en&cat=1 I would be totally unconcerned about any piece of software having a large number of features you may not use - I think that any serious, focussed writer will be intent on the words they want to get on screen/page and not be concerned about other aspects of their software. I've made my views clear about other software in this sub-forum, and if you're interested, you can find them.
I use scrivener for longer pieces and Focus Writer for short stuff. Always make a backup on a cloud, print it out (save my whole manuscript that way) and put it on my blog
Literature and Latte does not pay me anything to tell you that I have tried three dozen apps dedicated to writing since 1977 and the winner is: Scrivener. That applies doubly if you write novel length fiction or non-fiction. Here's why: Output is clean - no secret code is added (like Microsoft Word/Works) Research - you can drag and drop it into its own area of your masterpiece for easy reference Split screen functionality - built in, horizontal or vertical. Great when you are 80k words in and can't remember the event in chapter 1 that you want to refer back to Automatic backup with versioning and syncs with cloud storage, never lose a moment's work There are 100 other reasons I love Scrivener, but these are the compelling ones. On the down side, it takes a week to learn all the features. It costs about $50 USD
If you have a mac pages it's pretty sweet, really easy to use and can save files in pretty much every format
I have a 365 office package which comes with word 2016, never bothered trying to use anything else for writing.
I've got a trial copy of scrivener but i'm having issues getting it to accept an update payment so currently i'm writing in open office - end of the day the best software is whatever you have to hand when creative inspiration strikes - never forget shakespear wrote with a quill pen and ink - you don't atually need all this fancy software malarkey - a cheap pad and a 10p biro will do
As a word processor Scrivener is not much better than any other, but as a manuscript organising and management tool, it is fantastic.
The best writing software is the one that doesn't demand you relearn how to use software, doesn't crash or 'go to sleep' while you're working, doesn't dazzle you with hundreds of features you'll never use (trying to be everything to everyone) and yet doesn't have so few features that you keep wishing it had such-n-such. All this and it lets you save, then later, reload files as well as displays them in a sane manner so you know how many 8.5x11 pages you've written. And I have yet to find one that fits all that in 31 years of looking. I've settled for Word. You'll settle for whatever best suits your style and/or doesn't piss you off too often.
I haven't seen any mention of SoftMaker. The name isn't appealing, there's no denying that. I was using my computer's default Wordpad to write - which mostly consisted of notes-to-self material. Then I started looking at online magazines and their short story requirements - the word count. The wordpad does not have that feature, and it didn't take many lines of me counting the words manually before I screamed "Effff this, life is too short!" Fortunately, a bright idea popped up alongside my head like a speech bubble in a comic - What about free word processors? So, I did some research, looked for one that provided the features I wanted, and one that just 'seemed' right. So I chose the one that happens to have a name that comes across as a product that makes men impotent. Now, I cannot give a proper, thorough review, I've not explored it, I've just been using it to write, and keep track of my word count. Word count, let's start with that. The navigation to its word count feature was a little off-putting, in other words - I had to do a web search to find its location. As an aside, downloading this program also provides a spreadsheet maker and powerpoint, haven't tinkered with those, yet. Files can be converted to multiple formats. A complaint, which is minor for me because I constantly save my files, is that it has had an error and closed down on a few occasions. As I said, due to my habits, I did not lose any unsaved work. As of now, I am more than content with it. Surely someone is going to inform me with some bad news about it.
Never heard of it, but it sounds like a less stable version of OpenOffice or LibreOffice. You might find those have all the same advantages but without the errors/shutting down. Also, there are websites that will calculate word count for you at a single click of a button. Different programmes/sites come up with different word counts, depending on how they calculate it, but everyone in publishing knows that and gives some leeway.
There's one for Mac called StoryMill it's a bit like Scrivener but has a simple time-line feature integrated into it. http://marinersoftware.com/products/storymill/
