Just curious here, does anyone use a specific software program for writing other than Word or Word Perfect? I see there are so many programs available for creating a Novel or a Screen Play. Any recommendations?
If there's a screenplay program I can recomend it would be Celtx, because it's free, it's high quality, and it's easy to use. After you're done, you can make it into a PDF file without any effort. They also have an amazing support team with forums to answer your questions. As for programs that are good to write your book in. I have no idea. I personally wish I could seperate all my chapters into different sections on one document and have a simple way to rename them all or reorder them, or highlight specific words that I type so that I know that if I want to edit something later I could look at every place I've posted it and I can easily edit it... but all I have is microsoft word. Sorry.
I'd recomend yWriter as a program as i use it and its pretty good and very managable. But i'm using at the moment as it was free to download and didnt' take very long. You should check it out. xxLadyFrostxx PS...just type yWriter in google and it will give you the direct link.
There is no specific software program for writing other than Word or Word Perfect. What special program are you looking for? Something to write your story for you? There is no special program for this. You just sit down at your computer and type away. Or on paper. Which ever you prefer. Writing is writing. A program isn't going to help you get your thoughts onto paper.
such as what?... the only software i'd ever recommend is a formatting program, that's vital requisite for screenwriting... and among the non-freebies, i always recommend final draft, which i've used since it was 'born' back in the 80s, as it's the best, easiest-to-use... movie magic is a close second... there are a variety of cheaper-to-free alternatives, if you can't afford fd, or aren't serious enough about writing scripts to warrant the expense... i can't see any good reason for using software [besides ms word, that is] for any other type of writing... love and hugs, maia
I was unaware they had non-fiction writing software. I thought you could use MS Word for everything literary, or Corel Word Perfect (But then why pay for a fancy copy of MS Word?).
It would help if you told us what capabilities you are looking for. I typically only use MS Word. I don't write screenplays, but I have written plenty of papers for college, and technical documents for work. Are you looking for specific features not provided by word processing programs?
To help organize For organizational help with piles of research and formatting. I am old and nearly computer illiterate. About the only thing I have used the computer for is research. Any help and advice will be much appreciated.
Microsoft Word. Cheap, simple, and if you keep the electronic files neat, plentiful and properly organized, it is very good at storing everything you need.
writemor... if you need help learning how to organize/file your work, drop me a line and i can give you step-by-step instructions by email, on how to set up an easy to use system with your ms word... btw, i'm old, too [69]... and i learned by doing, from my late-40s on... love and hugs, maia maia3maia@hotmail.com
In conjuction with MS you may want to consider EndNote. Bulleted items 2 & 3 should fuifill your needs Product Information, via Google Millions of researchers, scholarly writers, students, and librarians use EndNote (patent pending) to search online bibliographic databases, organize their references, images and PDFs in any language, and create bibliographies and figure lists instantly. Instead of spending hours typing bibliographies, or using index cards to organize their references, they do it the easy way—by using EndNote! EndNote for Windows and Macintosh is a valuable all-in-one tool that integrates the following tasks into one program: * Search bibliographic databases on the Internet * Organize references, images, PDFs and other files * Construct your paper with built-in manuscript templates * Watch the bibliography and figure list appear as you write! Search bibliographic databases on the Internet: * * Using EndNote's Connect...and Search... commands, you can search Internet databases just as easily as you can search your EndNote library on your computer. * Simply open any of more than 1,500 predefined connection files and you're online and searching. * Access hundreds of remote bibliographic databases, including Web of Science, Ovid, PubMed, the Library of Congress, and university card catalogs from EndNote. * Connect to data sources worldwide—EndNote provides MARC formats that support native language libraries around the world. * Search remote bibliographic databases using EndNote's simple search window—great for locating specific references. * Export references directly from Web of Science, Highwire Press, Ovid, OCLC, ProQuest and more. * Save and load search strategies at the click of a button. * Drag and drop references between EndNote libraries in one simple step. No additional importing required. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Organize references, images, PDFs and other files in a library: * * Create an unlimited number of libraries of any size: In EndNote, bibliographic data is entered into a record by filling out a simple template that has the proper fields displayed for a given type of reference. There are 41 customizable reference types, covering a variety of materials from Ancient Texts to Web Pages, each with up to 52 fields for entering references and linking to PDF and image files. And you can organize references in any Unicode-supported language. * Organize image files: Track images including charts, figures and equations with a caption, keywords and more. * Store PDF and other files with your EndNote library: Organize up to 45 files per reference in the "File Attachment" field. Drag and drop files onto a reference for auto-linking and storage with the library references—links never break. * Group references: Create up to 500 custom groups in each EndNote library to access subsets of references instantly. * Customize the reference library display: Click-sort column headings, adjust column widths, and choose up to 8 fields to display. * Preview formatted references: Using the Preview pane in the library window, you can preview selected references in over 2,800 bibliographic styles. * Includes hundreds of import filters: There are many sources of bibliographic data that can be used to help you build your EndNote library of references. EndNote includes over 600 import filters for a variety of online database providers (e.g. Ovid, EBSCO). You can create and modify import filters as well. Once you've downloaded the references in a tagged format, choose the appropriate import filter to import the data into your EndNote library. * Link your EndNote records to the Web: Link your references to full-text articles or other material on the Web. You'll find links created automatically when you connect and search online resources within EndNote. * Use Term Lists for consistent data entry: Term Lists store glossaries of keywords, author names, or any other terms that are important to managing your references. As you enter new terms, EndNote suggests terms from these lists to facilitate data entry and to ensure terms are entered consistently. Pre-defined Journal Term Lists are provided for biomedicine, chemistry, and the humanities—complete with common abbreviations of journal names used in bibliographies. * Searching: Use Quick Search in the toolbar to search all fields in an EndNote library, or the Search... command for additional options. You can limit your searches to specific fields such as Author name, Year, or Keywords and select a variety of operators. * Global Editing: Use the Change Text, Change Field, and Move Field commands to modify existing references. These commands can automatically add a term to all or some of your references. These are useful tools for labeling groups of references as well as for fixing common typos or spelling mistakes. * Sorting: Set up multi-level sorts on up to five fields of your choice such as Year, Journal, and Title. Each level can be sorted in ascending or descending order. Column headings in the reference library window provide instant sorts on the displayed fields. * Customize Settings: The settings for customizing your EndNote library display, bibliographic preferences, and other options are organized in one easy-to-access Preferences panel. * Running EndNote on a Network: Use EndNote on a network and share libraries across mixed platforms. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Use Microsoft Word templates to create your manuscript: * EndNote includes built-in Word templates to guide you through the exacting manuscript requirements of publishers. You can select a predefined template from the Word > File > New dialog menu or from the EndNote > Tools menu to begin your publishing process. A Wizard is ready to assist you with the creation of a new manuscript. Completed manuscripts are now submission-ready with all the key elements in addition to EndNote’s instantly formatted in-text citations, bibliography and figure list. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Watch bibliographies appear as you write! * * Create instant bibliographies in Microsoft Word: Locate citations in Microsoft Word with Cite While You Write technology. Watch the bibliography appear as you insert citations in your manuscript. * Collaborate with colleagues easily: A traveling library of cited references follows the Microsoft Word document. When you're ready to send your paper to colleagues, the references travel with it. You can also transfer references directly from colleagues’ papers to use in your EndNote library with the export traveling library feature. * EndNote handles even the trickiest bibliographic details: EndNote includes bibliographic features that address a wide range of formatting issues in the humanities, biomedicine, physical, life, and social sciences. Here are some of the advanced formatting features EndNote handles with ease: * Shortened forms of references in footnotes, including "Ibid." * Numbered text notes within a bibliography * Options for anonymous works * Hanging indent option * Capitalization options for author names or title * Includes more than 2,800 bibliographic styles: EndNote comes with more than 2,800 predefined bibliographic styles for the leading journals. Each style can be modified, or you can create new styles. Word processor compatibility for Windows Word processor compatibility for Mac OS X
Two more suggestions: Have lots of hard copy: MSS, magazine articles, etc? You'll need a scanner and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The best is OmniPages 16. It will save you years of typing. Sagmun, a 79 year old grandfather and retired Design Manager with 40 years experience in publishing, marketing, and education learning to write.
I wouldn't recommend Ms word.... The reason for that is because it is glichy... but it is what I use because I never though of using other type of software. Thanks
I was using Adobe 's free online word processor, Buzzword, for quite some time, until I realized that an actual installed word processor would be better because I might not always have access to the internet. My primary requirements were: It cannot distract me from my writing, so extremely simplistic Word count needs to be there, as well as very basic formatting tools. A simple search online, and I found the perfect fit! Jarte is the most simplistic free word processor I've seen (way more feature filled than Wordpad). The Classic Mode doesn't look that simple, but switch to Minimal Mode and enable tabs, and you've got it going. Nothing distracts me from the writing now. What do you use?
Microsoft Word 2003. You may want to try OpenOffice.org / KOffice - I'm not sure how great or easy they are, but they're free, and I suppose they may be worth the try.
I just use Microsoft Worrd 2003 as well. Does everything I need it to, but I am looking for some novelist software. Any ideas?
Heres a screen shot, you see what I mean when I say no distractions, and looking at the load of text you have managed to get down helps a lot with morale. Ctrl + M for Word Count is all I use, once I've set the font. Note the tabbed documents, those are the two novels I'm currently working on.
Neid, have you ever looked into LaTeX? I've made some nice PDF files from it - don't know if any survived my double hard drive meltdown, however.
Just warning you... it may seem a bit complicated if you haven't seen much programming. Then again, I haven't done it in a while, so maybe it's not all that bad.
Open Office, when my favorite ubergeek set up my new computer he had forgotten his MS Office disc, and before he could get back over here with it, i had OO downloaded. Never once missed the MS version.
