Journal Entry
Windows writing solutions
A friend of mine asked via email about Windows versions of anything nearly as cool as Scrivener (which is Mac OS-X only), which I highly recommend.
On Windows the two closest items people have suggested here at TobiasBuckell.com are:
yWriter (by author Simon Haynes) and Microsoft’s OneNote and MasterFreelancer has a bunch of different, and very expensive, author-oriented writing software, but all well above $100.
I also recommend people check out using the document map feature in MS Word to get some of that same functionality.
Check out outlining in Word and using Document Mapping.
You can get Word to work as a basic hierarchal outliner with a two pane interface, although I find it can be frustrating at times getting styles to work properly to get my doc maps lined up just right, but it works for a bare essentials kind of thing.
For those of you writing who are reading along, what do you use in Windows to write with?
Filed under the topic Tech on March 14th 2007 at 5:57 am. You can subscribe to the RSS feed for this entry to keep track of comments. You can also use to trackback.
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1. Mary on Mar 14th, 2007 at 10:28 am
I don’t have anything fancy to organize all my writing stuff. I have a few dozen excel and MS Word files organized in folders – my notes, outlines, timeline, storyboard, brainstorming, rough draft… I don’t want to spend a lot of money on writing software. I haven’t tried using the provided outline tools in Word. May have to try that out.
Searching Google just now, I found Chrysanth NETime Author. Don’t know how good it is, but it’s only $69.97 (still more than I want to spend, but less pricey than most out there).
2. Joseph Charpak on Mar 14th, 2007 at 10:29 am
Author Jerry Pournelle swears by Microsoft’s OneNote:
“using a (HP TabletPC) tablet with wireless connection and OneNote can change your life”
-The User’s Column, December, 2006
Column 317, part 2
http://www.chaosmanorreviews.com/open_archives/jep_column-317-b.php
3. David Chunn on Mar 14th, 2007 at 12:00 pm
When I suffered Windows, I used RoughDraft (freeware) for years. It’s a good little tabbed wordprocessor with a sidebar for notes. Then I switched to Word, because the number of simple typos that accumulate over the course of a novel is tremendous, and I’m a fairly accurate typist. Word corrects most of those as I go. I didn’t have any fancy doodads on Windows. (Honestly, I didn’t even bother to learn how to use styles.)
I’m a Mac guy now. I use SuperNotecard (formerly Miss Lonely Notes, a title which I preferred) for plotting and research and Word for everything else. I now use styles and the document map to move around. Otherwise, I have some scattered files here and there.
Scrivener looks interesting, though. I’ll have to give it a thorough check.
4. Kristine Smith on Mar 14th, 2007 at 12:07 pm
Scrivener offers a 30-day free trial of the fully-functional program, which is nice. I bought it. If I only ever use the Corkboard function, it will be worth the $34.99. I love Corkboard, which is a virtual corkboard complete with index cards that can be filled in, moved around, etc.
5. Tobias Buckell on Mar 14th, 2007 at 12:12 pm
And scrivener has the full screen option that I do so love dearly.
6. Jim on Mar 14th, 2007 at 12:18 pm
yWriter’s actually pretty fabulous, and it carries the added benefit of being free. I use it for longer projects and another called RoughDraft for short stories.
7. Rick Novy on Mar 14th, 2007 at 1:36 pm
I use Word, but I don’t generally outline. When I do, it’s scribbles on index cards. That, only when I have the idea for the novel many years before I can get to the project, so I can throw them into a drawer for later memory retrieval. Once I start writing, the whole story is pretty much already inside my head. Horrible if I ever need to collaborate, but that’s the way I work.
8. spyscribbler on Mar 14th, 2007 at 3:18 pm
Mindola SuperNotecard is great for “laying” out notecards. It’s pleasant and clean, and so versatile that you could plot and write a whole novel in there.
Microsoft OneNote is THE best program I’ve ever had to organize my life. I can keep several notebooks open at once, one for each website, for each novel, for my hobbies, for my life … it’s absolutely amazing. You can try it for free; you’ll be hooked. I don’t know how I ever lived without it, and I’ve only been using it for two months.
Have you ever used any blog editors? Have you ever rated them?
9. Chris Gerrib on Mar 14th, 2007 at 9:19 pm
Well, definitely not a pro writer, but straight-ole-Word seems to work for me. I write my outline and print it out, or keep it open in a seperate window.
10. David Chunn on Mar 14th, 2007 at 10:30 pm
Well, I checked out Scrivener. By the gods, I’m in love. Wow. It’s like SuperNotecard, TextEdit, and a desktop smashed together.
Thanks, Tobias.
You’ve made a convert.
11. Mfitz on Mar 16th, 2007 at 8:19 am
I’m using a old version of WordPerfect, and I have no complaints, in fact I like it a lot more than the MSWord on my work computer.
But, I don’t outlineon my computer. I make plot flowcharts on really big pieces of paper in colored pencils, with circles, arrows and wiggly lines…I’m dyslexic my brain’s different.
Maybe that’s why I’m not getting rich and famous from story sales yet. The WordPerfect not the dyslexia.
12. tobias s buckell on Mar 16th, 2007 at 2:02 pm
9 and 20 ways, guys. Mary, I know a lot of writers who love WordPerfect.
This is all so interesting. I proposed a panel topic for Penguicon that will be Tools and Creativity: how they influence each other. I’m hoping to get some coders and writers on it, and Karl Schroeder, because I love hearing and seeing how different people work!
13. spra on Feb 25th, 2008 at 11:13 am
There’s something similar for windows: Liquid Story Binder . You’ll find it on http://www.blackobelisksoftware.com/ . It’s $45.95 and has a 30 days free trial. It’s a bit stuffed with document types (outline, timeline, association list, checklist…) but seems to have everything you need, including fullsceen mode