What writing software do you prefer?

[AllenWoody]

Hello all,

I've been writing for several years now using Google Docs. It has some features that I like, namely the ability to share drafts with my friend/editor to get her comments and feedback, it's free, and I can write from more than one machine (although I rarely do). Oh, and I know my work is safe from a catastrophic machine failure (yes, I do back up my laptop).

What I'm not so in love with is the spelling/grammar checker. It catches a few basic things but perplexingly does not call out errors that seem obvious. There's also no support for any advanced features such as outlining, character sheets, etc. It's wonderful for a free tool, but I'm curious what others are using.

I certainly don't mind paying for the right software. I use a Mac, if that matters.

Thanks... AW

 

[NotWise]

I use LibreOffice with the Language Tool extension. It's an office suite, and Writer is a fairly full-service word processor, but it doesn't provide specialized features like character sheets. At least some of those features might be available through extensions. I haven't checked.

LibreOffice is available for Mac.

 

[RelentlessOnanism]

I use Pages, as it's the included word processing software on my iPad. It suffices for my needs, although Literotica won't accept it if you try and upload it as a file. I would therefore prefer to use Microsoft Word, but that is no longer free on the latest iPads.

 

[AlinaX]

I used to use iA Writer a lot, when I had an iPad as well as a Mac, but these days I've switched to Google Docs. Definitely worth checking out iA Writer, though, as a general writing tool. I can't promise the grammar checker is any better than Google Docs though.

 

[Blind_Justice]

OpenOffice Writer on my desktop rig, Word mobile to re-read my crimes against literature in bed the next morning.

 

[litfan10]

I use Scrivener.

 

[TxRad]

I use a cut down and customized version of word 2000. My boss gave me a copy of office 2k and this and excel are the only parts of it i use.

 

[Candy_Kane54]

I use Word from Office 2003 for writing and Grammarly for editing.

 

[HankDolworth]

I draft most of my stories using Google Docs, and write plain text and manually add HTML codes for special formatting.

I’ve been moving some old works to a Kindle format, and reformatting the old plain-text and HTML requires some extensive editing. Kindle also requires Doc or EPub format.

I use my iPad to edit my stories so I’ve switched to Pages, as it can easily convert to EPub. I may try and see how well it will convert a Pages doc to Word format and shift to that method.

 

[SimonDoom]

MS Word. I've been using it for almost 3 decades for work, so I know it well and have no interest in learning something else. It has all the functionality I need.

The reality is that there are probably plenty of options that will give you all the functions you need to write stories. Choosing the "right" writing software, in my opinion, is like choosing the best diet or best exercise plan. The best one is the one you'll actually use. Follow your gut.

 

[yowser]

I have a deep-seated loathing for Microsoft software and an aversion to having my documents within the avaricious hands of the big tech (ad agency) outfits such as Alphabet, so I use LibreOffice.

No-cost, good enough for my purposes, the Language spell-checker can toggle from story to story between US and UK English versions (as my stories are bipolar) to minimise errors.

 

[oggbashan]

On my Win 10 computer, I use office 365. On my Win 7 computer, I use Word 2010.

What I would like to use is WordStar 2000+ in which I wrote all my earlier stories. But it is defunct, dead and really only worked with DOS.

My first writing was with a proprietary wordprocessing package that came with the C/PM machine but WordStar, even the cut-down Wordstar 1512 I used on an IBM XT with twin floppy drives, was a great improvement.

 

[HeyAll]

I like Google Docs because, to me, it looks the best. And of course you can share it. Plus the writing Doc is along the other tabs of websites.

After I edit it, I run it through Grammarly.com for a final check. Google Docs misses a lot of little thing and spelling errors.

 

[KeithD]

Word has been the publishing industry standard ever since computers came to be (with a brief period in which WordPerfect tried to get established). My publishing activity goes way beyond Literotica, so I go with the industry standard.

 

[Hypoxia]

I used various mainframe, mini, and micro editors in 1978-2012 before writing fiction -- code, songs, and newsletters back then. My faves were SWylbur, WordStar, and CuteHTML. For LIT I'd mostly preferred the free Windoze multitab Jarte editor with its included thesaurus, then running texts through Word 2003 for spell and context checks.

But I now prefer Docs, with its instant saves and spellchecks, and ability to edit a piece on Win7/10 laptops and Android tablet and phone. My main Docs gripe is lack of multitabs, so I can only edit one piece at a time, and can't repeat changes across documents, which made Jarte a good tool for multi-chapter efforts.

 

[AvroAnson]

Papermate.

(Not crayola as some think.)

 

[DawnONight]

WordPerfect.

It is far more versatile and user friendly than any other program I've tried.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

What I'm not so in love with is the spelling/grammar checker. It catches a few basic things but perplexingly does not call out errors that seem obvious. There's also no support for any advanced features such as outlining, character sheets, etc. It's wonderful for a free tool, but I'm curious what others are using.

If your only complain is the spelling and grammar checking feature, consider using one of the free sites such as Grammar Check (https://www.grammarcheck.net/). Just copy and paste your work into the site and let it find the errors that Google Docs missed.

 

[SyleusSnow]

I used FocusWriter for a long while, but now mostly write using SmartEdit Writer... it's also mostly distraction-free but has outlining, notes and some grammar checks. Both are free.

For proofing I rely on ProWritingAid and listen to each story with a text-to-speech program like Balabolka.

 

[Handley_Page]

On my Win 10 computer, I use office 365. On my Win 7 computer, I use Word 2010.

What I would like to use is WordStar 2000+ in which I wrote all my earlier stories. But it is defunct, dead and really only worked with DOS.

My first writing was with a proprietary word processing package that came with the C/PM machine but WordStar, even the cut-down Wordstar 1512 I used on an IBM XT with twin floppy drives, was a great improvement.

You might still get the WS DOC file read by using "Wordstar for Windows" (see E-Bay for details).

In answer to the initial question, I use Word for Windows 2003.
Frankly, I'd prefer Word 97; it has features which were dropped in later versions.

 

[Paul_Chance]

I'm in Office 365, so Microsoft Word - but that's mostly driven because I use it for work and as KeithD mentioned, it's pretty much the standard across industry (including the publishing industry).

 

[AllenWoody]

Thank you so much, everyone.

It sounds like most of you use general purpose word processing software like Word, Pages, or similar. I'll look into the ones I'm not familiar with and see if they're an improvement. Several of you mentioned using third-party spelling/grammar tools, which I will also investigate.

BTW I, too, cut my teeth on Wordstar on DOS. Those were the days!

 

[Bramblethorn]

For shorter pieces, Word. For longer work, compose in Scrivener, then compile into Word for formatting/etc.

Scrivener shines for organising long/complex stories. I can break the document into chapters and scenes, tag scenes so I can easily find specific topics later, and there's a place for character sheets, research links, etc. etc.

 

[Rustyoznail]

G'day Allen

Welcome. I use Google Docs on the work laptop, iPad and phone. I use the Grammarly Chrome extension on the PC for editing, as the iPad and phone versions are a bit clunky.

I save the GD file as a MS-Word docx file and upload that to Lit.

Wordperfect 5.1 Rules!

 

[eroticstoryspinner]

WordPerfect.

It is far more versatile and user friendly than any other program I've tried.

I loved WP for DOS. When Corel took it over, it seemed to go downhill