What do you use to Write?

I use MS Word because, frankly, it never occurred to me to use anything else. I cut my teeth on it, so it just feels natural to me. I've played around with free demos I've received of various novel-writing software programs, and every one of them fell short of the mark for me.

Kristen

I haven't even been here long, and already I'm tired of this question.

That said, I use Word. The vast majority of writers use Word because it is industry standard. Do you really care what I write with? Can I convince you to use something other than what you're accustomed to?

You post to fictionpress? Why? Do you realize that you're giving away first rights to your work by posting there? Why do you do that?

I haven't even been here long, and already I'm tired of this question.

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It comes up quite often, but with all the info on these boards, it can get overwhelming when you want to drum up some conversation.

You post to fictionpress? Why? Do you realize that you're giving away first rights to your work by posting there? Why do you do that?

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I'll echo this comment. When you post anything on the web, you are giving up the rights you need to sell your work. If you're just doing it for fun and don't plan to publish the works, then posting them will make no difference, but if you try to sell that work, you can't sell the first rights any longer.

If you want crits for your work, feel free to post some material in the Share Your Work section of our boards which is password protected. This helps you retain your rights to your work.

As for what programs I use: I use Microsoft Word and Pocket Word (on my PDA). I don't really use anything else.

If you check the FAQ in Writing Novels, you'll see a few debates about the various word processing programs out there and the benefits of them.

I use Word because it's on each of the 3 computers I use so I can work wherever I am.

I also like Word because I use the Track Changes feature when I've workshopping stories with my writing group or my editor.

( However, I always write the first draft of any short story in one sitting with the monitor turned off to ensure that the editor-on-my-shoulder stays out of the process until I'm ready for it. And I don't start the story untii I 'hear the first line or para in my head. Sometimes I've been toying with the story mentally for months, but have learend ot to start writing it unitl I have the voice, which the opening lines usually provide. )

LP

You can turn off the "annoying squigglies" in Word easy enough.

Got to Tools --> Options --> Spelling and Grammar --> Unclick the box that says "check spelling(grammar) while you type"

Voila! They are gone.

When you want to spell check you can run it manually.

BTW, I love Word. I have templates set up for most documents that I would need to write and just need to type, print and send it off.

10000

I like threads like this because I'm a geek and love playing with new software.

I write mainly in Word, but often use Rough Draft for, well, rough drafts. I like it because you have a little notepad out to the side where you can make notes as you're writing. Some people jot down ideas to revise. I usually use it to keep track of what all my characters look like. That way Jane Doe's green eyes stay green and don't suddenly become, say, violet or something.

I'm currently playing with yWriter for my middle-grade book that's sort of on the back burner. I need organization. I'm just such a lazy sod that I don't really make notes about my works or do timelines or anything like that. I just write them. I'm trying to find some organizational program (computer or not) that will work for me.

unfabulousxox said:

What do you guys use to write your stories?

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Creative imagination, with a dash of self-discipline and a working knowledge of our language.

(Don't you hate it when you're quoted out of context?)

Pen and paper.

Then, WordStar. Yes, you heard me.

Then, if I HAVE to, I translate it into Word. Word? Keh.

Sailor Kenshin said:

Pen and paper.

Then, WordStar. Yes, you heard me.

Then, if I HAVE to, I translate it into Word. Word? Keh.

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Have you ever tried the WordStar add-in for Word, so then you're already IN Word and no translation is needed? I haven't used it, but it seems like a timesaver if you're converting a lot of files.

Kristen

Write

I use pencil and paper for most of my first drafts. My notebook also has place to write down character names and the like.

When I'm not using a pencil and paper, I just use Word, even though I may have every modern word processor known to man on my computer. I have Word 2003, Word 2007, WordPerfect 12, WordPerfect X3, Works 2006, OpenOffice, RoughDraft, Atlantis, AbiWord, and at least half a dozen others. I had WordStar, but I wiped my hard drive, and now can't find the install program.

Why so many? Because I like knowing what's out there, and because I often get paid to use and/or write a review about word processors.

In all honesty, for simple writing and printing, I don't think it matters which processor a writer uses. As long as the writer likes it, it's fine. But the world gets more electronic each day, and when you start swapping files with agents and editors on a regular basis, it pays to have Word, and to know how to use it.

It's just a fact that 90% of the world uses Word, and this includes the vast majority of agents and editors. It's probably more like 99% in the publishng world. Having 100% compatibility with them is a must, and there simply isn't another word processor out there that won't cause formatting problems, or worse, at one time or another.

OpenOffice doesn't have perfect compatibility, but it comes closer than any other word processor I've seen, so if there's no Word, there should be OpenOffice.

Too, there may well be a file format war in the making, and if this proves to be the case, having a recent version of Word is going to be even moe important.

But I would say to wait for Word 2007. Word 2007 is a major, major step forward in several ways.

Jadezuki said:

The only problem I have is that occasionally, if I emailed a document to someone and they open it in Word, the spacing at the end would ALWAYS get screwed up - like the last two or three paragraphs would be single-spaced, and I would have to go back manually and fix it before I printed. Anyone have an idea why this happens?

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I recall when I was using open office it had a few small conversion bugs when transfering to word. The best thing to do would be to save as an RTF before emailing and that should keep it all straight...

Good Luck!
10000

Jadezuki said:

I use OpenOffice, because... it's the only thing on my laptop, really. My laptop (which I got with a scholarship at college) crashed at some point, had to be totally wiped and I moved from Windows 98 to 2000, so Word went away. I think my version of OpenOffice is probably outdated, but it gets the job done, and I'm used to it now. The only problem I have is that occasionally, if I emailed a document to someone and they open it in Word, the spacing at the end would ALWAYS get screwed up - like the last two or three paragraphs would be single-spaced, and I would have to go back manually and fix it before I printed. Anyone have an idea why this happens?

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It's just a lack of compatibilty. Word is Word, an no other word processor has 100% compatibility. You can ease this problem by keeping OpenOffice up to date. It's free, so why not? OpenOffice is now at version 2.0.3, and part of the OOo ungrade process is making sure it stays as compatible as possible with Word.

Using OpenOffice is fine, but you really need to keep the latest version, or there will be more and more format problems as time goes on.

Kristen King said:

I use MS Word because, frankly, it never occurred to me to use anything else.

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Ditto and then when it did occur to me I couldn't really be bothered finding and learning another program.

Jamesaritchie said:

But I would say to wait for Word 2007. Word 2007 is a major, major step forward in several ways.

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Really? My Husband has the beta version on his Laptop and I hated it. 2007 is an entirely new interface that made it awkward to find what I needed. It took me 10 minutes just to figure out how to save.
At the moment, it's also extremly buggy (I was trying to add something into the middle of my WIP and the view kept scrolling to the next page so that what I was writing was out of view).

They say the new format is supposed to assist those that don't know all the great things Word does by putting the features right in front of you. For me, an experienced user, it just made me dizzy trying to figure out what category each action I wanted to perform was slotted in.

To each his own I guess...
10000

smiley10000 said:

Really? My Husband has the beta version on his Laptop and I hated it. 2007 is an entirely new interface that made it awkward to find what I needed. It took me 10 minutes just to figure out how to save.
At the moment, it's also extremly buggy (I was trying to add something into the middle of my WIP and the view kept scrolling to the next page so that what I was writing was out of view).

They say the new format is supposed to assist those that don't know all the great things Word does by putting the features right in front of you. For me, an experienced user, it just made me dizzy trying to figure out what category each action I wanted to perform was slotted in.

To each his own I guess...
10000

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Keep using Wod 2007 and you'll soon love it. The more experienced you are with Word 2003 and before, the less you'll like Word 2007 when you first start to use it. You'll probably hate everything about it.

But once you actually learn where everything is in Word 2007, the easier and faster it is to do anything. After just a week or so of continuous use, I could do anything and everything faster in 2007 than in 2003. And I've taken courses in how to use 2003.

And, in fact, Word 2007 has a whole new approach to keyboard commands, and makes using all the common keyboards commands a snap You don't even have to memorize them. And you can customize keyboard commands specific to the way you use Word, again without having to memorizes any of them.

And for those who have little or no experience using Word at all, 2007 is much faster to learn. It takes someone brand new to Word less than a quarter of the time to master 2007 than it does to master an earlier version of Word. This is why I think MicroSoft got it right this time. The easier it is for new users to master a word processor, the better.

Just having a word processor where brand new user can use keyboards commands instead of the mouse, and without having to memorize those commands, is big plus.

I use MS Word. It's simple and it gets the job done. However, I plan to switch to OpenOffice when I get a new computer.

OOo

bsolah said:

I use MS Word. It's simple and it gets the job done. However, I plan to switch to OpenOffice when I get a new computer.

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OpenOffice is a good word processor, but it lacks many, many tools Word has, and it can sometimes have format probelms when swapping files with agents and editors.

I use MS Word for the exact same reasons Kristen cited.

Thanks for the heads up James. I think I'll stick to Word.

What do I use to write?

Words, mostly. I've taken to using sentences, and I find that paragraphs are interesting things. Someone recommended to me that I try punctuation, and I think I might give that a whirl in my next story, right when I'm trying out capitalization, which someone else mentioned. Oh, and adverbs. Can't write without adverbs, of course.

smiley10000 said:

They say the new format is supposed to assist those that don't know all the great things Word does by putting the features right in front of you.

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I hate that companies are doing things like this. Taking perfectly functional things and dumbing them down so the people too lazy to learn what's what can work them. This is the same issue I have with AOL.