Thread: Which word processor do you use?

I'm sure most people use Microsoft Word. The problem with Word is that it isn't included with the computer that I bought from my former roommate, and I have no access to a product key. I have no desire to find a fake or free key, as this is a form of theft that I don't feel like being a part of. Actually I have a serious distaste for any kind of theft, so please don't suggest that if you want to stay on my good side.

I do have Microsoft Works, and that has been a simple and useful tool to get me back into writing. I have a couple of qualms with it:

-The format is incompatible with many of my friends' computers for some reason. I don't know why, but it is inconvenient as hell for me to not be able to send a direct file to people.

-The spell check is inaccurate and intrusive. I can't tell you how angry I get when I constantly have to "outsmart" my word processor because it thinks that it knows how to spell Hawai'ian words. I don't mind if it thinks that I'm wrong, but it insists on automatically changing the spelling of words that I know to be spelled correctly.

-I have used words that exist i dictionaries which register to the processor as nonexistent. Yes, I could tell it to ignore the mistake, but it is a major inconvenience to me at times.

So, among other issues, I was lucky enough to "stumble upon" a website full of open source programs for writers. Everything from word processors to organizational tools. Unfortunately, I am flying blind here, and want to avoid downloading more programs than I need to (don't want a weak word processor, specifically. The rest is details). So if anyone has any suggestions, I would be totally stoked. Here is the link, if anyone has reviews on any of these, or any other word processors, I would be totally stoked!

Aloha,
InSickHealth

50 Awesome Open Source Resources for Writers and Writing Majors

Also, I should have mentioned that the link has a plethora of seemingly amazing tools for online writers. Please share these with anyone that you feel could benefit from any of these programs. I am very excited to have found/bookmarked this page, myself! I plan on downloading a handful of these tools once I get back from my next beer run.

At the Learning Centre back in England (used by schools and others) where I worked, we had MS Office installed on all the machines, we also had Open Office Writer (second on the list of your link) which I tried a couple of times and found it to be very similar to MS Office. It is a free download so it's worth giving it a try.

Open Office is favourite and fully compatible with Word.

Open Office writer is what got until I could get Microsoft Office 2010. But now that I am using it, I don't see any reason to get Microsoft Office anymore.

Thanks! That was all i needed to know! I appreciate the advice! you all just made my life alittle bit easier!

Two thoughts here:

1) yWriter is first on the list, and it should be. It is an awesome writing tool. It's easy to create chapters and scenes, and it couldn't be simpler to move them around (drag and drop). It has a zillion more in-depth tools, like assigning POV characters, word counts per character, customizable scene ratings, storyboard mode, daily word count target, and items/location tracking, among others. It's 100% safe, I can't say enough good things about it, and I would recommend it to any writer.

2) Everyone should use the OpenOffice suite instead of MS Office.

Dan didn't mention what yWriter doesn't include. Like spell checkers or any sort of formating tools. Makes it great for pumping the text out, no annoying red lines or other distractions. But you still need another processer on top of it.

I generally do most of my writing on napkins, but I won't tell you where I steal them from.

Originally Posted by BoredMormon

Dan didn't mention what yWriter doesn't include. Like spell checkers or any sort of formating tools. Makes it great for pumping the text out, no annoying red lines or other distractions. But you still need another processer on top of it.

I don't know which yWriter you're referring to, but it has a spell check and pretty robust formatting tools. Maybe I just got a special copy.

If you're really bored, you should have time to actually try it out before you contradict me. In the meantime, here are some screenshots to get you started:

yWriter5 - Free novel writing software to help you write a book

I tried yWriter. All of that you mention just gets in the way of actually writing. I'll stick with Notepad.

Yeah, one thing a writer doesn't need is the ability to move scenes around and keep track of key elements. Optional functionality getting in the way of your writing sounds like a you problem. I mean that in an "everybody's different" way, not in a sarcastic one.

Seeing as I used it to revise my first novel, write my second, and am 11,000 words into my third after less than two weeks, it sure doesn't get in mine.

I've written in Notepad, Word, Works, Writer, Google Docs, Zoho, and yWriter, to name seven, and I never once thought any of them got in the way of me putting fingertip to key.

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it, but I will still recommend that any writer give it a look.

Too many years in the bush with pocket notebook and pencil. And 11,000 words in one week was about right for an active wire service stringer in the field in my day.

Ooohhh, an "in my day' reference. I'm suitably impressed. I guess it's irrelevant that I have a full-time job that doesn't involve writing, a wife, and a two-year-old. If I wrote full-time, 20k would be an off week. But I'll try to increase my output to a level that you deem acceptable, I promise.

So, you find all of those newfangled features too distracting because you used to write with a pencil and paper, but don't find a computer itself to be a distraction? Interesting. Like I said...a you problem.

Double post, dangit.

Repurposed to mention that I just finished up 1900+ words today on breaks. Is that enough, or should I quit immediately?