Writing and Editing software

[BlackSnake]

I'm looking for an easy to use writing/editing software that is not subscription based and/or forces me to use their "cloud". I'm currently using WPS Office but I don't like their integration of AI that can't be removed.

What are you guys using? What are your thoughts, wishes and dreams for a good script editor?

 

[GlennJenko]

I personally use MS Word's spell and grammar checker, along side its read aloud function. I also started using Hemingway's free service recently but tbh it's a bit hit and miss.

 

[HeyAll]

Google Docs is a great writing program, but you have to be online, unless you can figure out how to use their offline mode. It's easy to use and look at. Great formatting.

Over 5 years when I got a new laptop, I was amazed that Microsoft was asking me to pay for Word with an annual subscription and all that cloud stuff. It always used to be part of the computer.

 

[lustychimera]

I'm all about gdocs because it's easy, but that doesn't really suit your no cloud requirement. For longer stuff, especially stuff with lots of notes and planning, I do like Scrivener quite a bit.

 

[mildlyaroused]

The offline feature in Google Docs is easy to find - just go "File", then select "make available offline." I've never had any issues with it. Of course, it still uses a cloud - but it doesn't prompt you to pay or expand your storage like some other services. You'd need to write billions of words to go over the baseline 15gb.

A quick word of warning: you've probably seen that rejections due to alleged AI use have gone right up this past little while, so be careful about using any powerful grammar/style tools.

 

[ElectricBlue]

A ten year old Word clone on a Kindle Fire.

 

[TheLobster]

I recently started a similar thread, asking people what tools and editors they use. You may find the replies there helpful.

 

[Priscilla_June]

I wonder sometimes too the risks of having my stories in some far off cloud. Ive tried to use services that are pretty secure but it makes me think every so often.

 

[KeithD]

I use my brain, my training, and authoritative guidance resources.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I use MasterWriter for its dictionary and thesaurus, Grammarly for D'oh for grammar and aid with function, and a free version of AutoCrit to check pace and momentum and for slow paragraphs. That's for anything that's going here first. Mostly, I depend on my editor when it goes out for sale.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

office, wordpad, nptepad, gedit, xed

 

[MillieDynamite]

I got Scrivener at a discount years ago. I tried to like it and use it by writing in the editor, but I didn't enjoy that at all. I also tried to pull in Word docks into the editor to do some of the formatting, but I didn't get on with that very well. I gave up, and now I'm not sure how to get it back without paying.

 

[TheLobster]

I've been considering purchasing Scrivener. I like the idea of some of it's interesting features, and to be fair I've only just started using it and am in the 30-day trial period. My biggest gripe so far is that a separate license is required if you're using Mac as well as PC.

Oof, that's rough. I was thinking about getting Scrivener, but splurging a hundred bucks on a hobby that I may or may not get bored with eventually doesn't feel like a good use of money...

 

[lustychimera]

and now I'm not sure how to get it back without paying.

I thought they were perpetual licenses that you only had to pay to upgrade? Looks like their site has previous versions available for download.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I think you're right, but I lost all my information. And unless it works better than before, not sure I want to try again.

I thought they were perpetual licenses that you only had to pay to upgrade? Looks like their site has previous versions available for download.

 

[OverconfidentSarcasm]

The offline feature in Google Docs is easy to find - just go "File", then select "make available offline." I've never had any issues with it. Of course, it still uses a cloud - but it doesn't prompt you to pay or expand your storage like some other services. You'd need to write billions of words to go over the baseline 15gb.

A quick word of warning: you've probably seen that rejections due to alleged AI use have gone right up this past little while, so be careful about using any powerful grammar/style tools.

That somehow differs from my experience. I started writing in Google Docs and, when I got to work on my first book, at around Chapter seventeen, It told me that I reached the limit of 1.02 million characters and would not allow me to create any new documents.

That's when I switched to MS Word, even though its spellchecker keeps spazzing out on me (like, it doesn't give a rat's ass whether I write "to" or "too" for some reason).

 

[AchtungNight]

I write in MS Wordpad or my phone’s notes app. AO3’s submission window on MS Edge or Safari has its own spell & grammar checker- I always submit there first and then to Lit.

 

[intim8]

not subscription based and/or forces me to use their "cloud".

I'd add to that: does not save my writing in a proprietary file format. And runs on Linux, or on web but storing data on my machine.

I still have 20 year-old files from Scrivener that I have not ported back to plain text, mostly because they're old, dead stories, but also because, while possible without the program, it is a huge PITA. I'd be fine with the meta-data being stored in a proprietary way, so long as the actual content is plain text, in separate files with no markup, no metadata. And yes, it can be done, even for a program that manipulates the text in a very granular way.

EDIT: One of these days, I may just write that software myself. It actually fits within the goals of the startup I am currently working for.

 

[intim8]

This is why I moved to Obsidian. Runs everywhere, including my Linux box and my phone. Keeps everything in Markdown (Markdown has its issues, but there's the software people complain about and the software no one uses). They offer a sync service, but you can easily set up your own backups and device sync all kinds of ways instead. Integrates with Pandoc and lots of other tools, so you can get submission-ready manuscripts out of it.

And should Obsidian ever go away, I can still open all of my stuff in practically anything else, from VScode to Vim.

It isn't for everyone, but if you are at all technical, it does pretty well.

I'll look into it. I don't need the syncing, and if I did, I use git for it.

What features does it have? One thing I'm finding I need is the ability to have individual scenes that I can rearrange, then combine into a single text file. Being able to have an outline that will let me reference those scene files from it would be very helpful.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

One thing I'm finding I need is the ability to have individual scenes that I can rearrange, then combine into a single text file.

I do this often. I cut/paste them.

 

[intim8]

Almost everything in Obsidian is implemented with plugins, of which there are 1,639 (as of a minute ago) on https://obsidian.md/plugins

For that use case, maybe the Longform plugin? https://github.com/kevboh/longform

I back up with git as well. I use their sync just to get a subset of my notes to my phone, but I do all of my writing on one laptop, so the full vault is version controlled and backed up via git and a remote repo.

Now if we could get Lit to make an API available, so we can set up title/desc/category/tags, etc, in our own software and publish with the push of a button...

I could maybe reverse engineer one, but that would probably be uncool.

 

[mildlyaroused]

That somehow differs from my experience. I started writing in Google Docs and, when I got to work on my first book, at around Chapter seventeen, It told me that I reached the limit of 1.02 million characters and would not allow me to create any new documents.

That's when I switched to MS Word, even though its spellchecker keeps spazzing out on me (like, it doesn't give a rat's ass whether I write "to" or "too" for some reason).

That is strange. I've written millions of words into Google Docs, let alone characters. I wonder why it's being stubborn for you.

 

[OverconfidentSarcasm]

That is strange. I've written millions of words into Google Docs, let alone characters. I wonder why it's being stubborn for you.

I mean, the official limit seems to be set at 1.02 million characters. But when I do a search of the character limit in GDocs, I find posts complaining about the limit suddenly hitting when they reach 1.5 million characters, and some even later.
Maybe there's some kind of leeway granted to users based on their overall traffic, space usage, or account age. I don't know.

 

[mildlyaroused]

I mean, the official limit seems to be set at 1.02 million characters. But when I do a search of the character limit in GDocs, I find posts complaining about the limit suddenly hitting when they reach 1.5 million characters, and some even later.
Maybe there's some kind of leeway granted to users based on their overall traffic, space usage, or account age. I don't know.

That's really interesting. I never knew there were specific limits for various use cases: I thought the 'storage' was just a one and done deal.

It sounds like the limits are meant to be on a per document basis, likely to save performance. Because yes, Google Docs (like Chrome) isn't that efficient - maybe less powerful machines would slow down too much after that limit. But it's weird that you were unable to make new documents.

I've also got a very old one sitting at over 2 million characters, which still syncs to drive fine and allows further edits. It must have something to do with when the limit was introduced.