Your Author Tools

[CowboyPride]

I've been thinking about doing more writing that I have done in the past. However I am curious to know what tools other authors use as their primary writing platform? I've been looking at Google Chromebook and Chrombox systems, and while I like the concept there are a lot of things I don't like about it. I don't like the fact that you almost always have to have and internet connection, that there is not true offline mode in which work can be done without an internet connection. I don't like the idea, however remote, that someone could possibily have access to my works before I am ready to publish them. I don't like the

If there is one good thing I can say though, is that if your laptop is ever stolen and you are using a chromebook your work will never be lost. Backups aside, with a chromebook you would just need to have a computer with a web broser to do your writing.

So my quesiton to all the authors out there is if you needed a dedicated writing platform, which would you choose? Would you choose a tradtional pc with a word processing applicaiton or would you use a chromebook? If there are any authors out there who do use Google products as their dedicated writing platforms, what are you thoughts?

While Google's motto is "Do no Evil" I can't help but think somewhere a google employee sits behind his keyboard endlessly spying on Google users, monitoring their habits. But all that aside if your primary writing was erotica, which would you use as a dedicated platform?

 

[mcguinness]

I write my erotica on a Truecrypt volume I keep on Dropbox.

It might seem paranoid, but 1) backups, 2) I don't have to trust Google.

 

[FallingToFly]

I back everything up on MSN's Skydrive through my email. It's easy, I can edit or share them anywhere I happen to be, and I can keep copies. After losing so much of my writing over the last couple years, I try to make sure I have a hard copy and a backup file at all times.

 

[MatthewVett]

I just email myself updates.

 

[sr71plt]

My brain (and something farther south) are my primary erotica writing platforms.

 

[gentledemands]

I use the rtf editor Jarte. It does a good job, is simple to use, and I don't get all the squiggly nonsense that word spews out. I find Word's constant bickering over everything I do to be distracting. Words good for some things and after I've written with Jarte, I often clean it up a bit with Word.

Flash drive backup and external once a week.

 

[sr71plt]

I use the rtf editor Jarte. It does a good job, is simple to use, and I don't get all the squiggly nonsense that word spews out. I find Word's constant bickering over everything I do to be distracting. Words good for some things and after I've written with Jarte, I often clean it up a bit with Word.

Flash drive backup and external once a week.

Ahh, I guess you didn't find the button that turns that off in Word then. I did, and it doesn't distract me at all. I use Word because the publishing industry has standardized use of Word, and I want whatever I write to be able to dump into the publishing process without glitches.

 

[TxRad]

Word with a thumb drive that does an auto backup when it is plugged into either my laptop or my home computer.

Home computer auto dumps to external drive. Laptop is backed up weekly to different external hard drive.

 

[3113]

Use a Macbook Air with Scrivener, an awesome writing program--but if you're worried about theft, why not just get a laptop that has a slot for a Kensington lock and keep it locked to whatever table you're sitting at?

All my Mac documents are automatically backed up to a home hard drive anytime I'm home thanks to Time Machine. There are limits, alas, to iCloud that Apple has yet to address, but I should be able to upload Scrivener documents to it, automatically and soon.

If you want to use Word, you should check out Skydrive.

I think that's what I don't quite get...there are many "Clouds" out there now. If you want the Cromebook because it looks like the right machine for you at the right price, then go for it. But I don't see any reason to buy a particular machine just because you want to keep your documents safe and sound in a cloud. You can do this with just about any laptop you pick. Just get the right program that uploads to the cloud--whatever cloud--automatically.

 

[Saxon Stonedyke]

................

 

[Stella_Omega]

I use scrivener on my Macbook and an Imac, keeping all of my projects on a thumbdrive to transport them between machines. Both machines get backed up weekly via Time Machine, each to a different hard drive.

I have made a hella lotta use of google docs as a co-writing tool, as well

 

[Handley_Page]

Somehow, the thought of whatever I write being in some mythical realm (Cloud, Sky, wherever) causes me some bother. I do not like the idea of my stuff being out there - outside my personal control. It's anathema. Similarly, Google Docs thingy causes me the same bother.

So I would recommend a simple PC with a decent Word Proc thereon. I use Word most of the time on account of having used it for twenty years (I don't like it's more recent incarnations).
Frankly, I'd rather use DOS and Wordstar 6, but that's not a goer these days. (I wish there was a modern version of Ventura, too).
I know little about a Mac, although I have used one quite a bit in College.

I have yWriter, but I'm not keen on the way it goes about it. I get the impression it would be better off for writing lines of Code than deathless prose.
Jarte is damned good - simple, easy to use and fairly comprehensive. RTF files can slip between platforms fairly easily. For something simple that works, it's to be highly commended.

 

[annanova]

My primary writing platform is the notepad that I keep in the back pocket of my purse. Yeah, I'm old-school, baby!

Other than that, I use Word on my laptop and sometimes remember to back it up on an external hard drive once a month. Since my mister bought me a cell phone (boo! hiss!) because of my increasing involvement in community groups, I've discovered the notepad function there. Still, I can't get away from using paper and pen.

 

[HankDolworth]

I use Google Drive and the Google Documents thingy.

It's easy, and syncs across platforms. I've even used my iPhone to write (not recommended) and edit (better, but still kludgy) a story when the addiction hits.

It's also a great tool to coordinate with editors/collaborators. It keeps revisions, so if my editor wipes out my copy, I can go back to a previous version.

Also since it's hooked up to my pen-name (hank) i can use Incognito mode in Chrome, sign-out of Google, and let my children use my laptop without any awkward moments or weird internet history.

 

[_Lynn_]

I have Word on both the laptop and the PC. When I remember, or when someone mentions it, I stick things on a flash drive. Bad, I know. And I've lost things, but it is what it is.

 

[Tx Tall Tales]

I write my erotica on a Truecrypt volume I keep on Dropbox.

It might seem paranoid, but 1) backups, 2) I don't have to trust Google.

Ditto. Both Truecrypt and Dropbox. I Dropbox/Favorite my stories on my tablet, so I can work on them even without an internet connection.

Simple text editor (Notepad++ with spell checker - free), available on my computers where ever I am, including my Tablet. At final edit, I import into Word for additional Grammar Check, then export back to text for posting.

Also use "TheSage" dictionary and thesaurus. Download program for Windows. Free.

 

[lovecraft68]

I don't outline I just write on the fly, so I don;t worry about saving ideas.

For writing, I'm really basic. I use word and e-mail myself the docs. When a story is finished I delete all e-mails except the final draft and stick them in a story folder.

 

[_Lynn_]

I don't outline I just write on the fly, so I don;t worry about saving ideas.

For writing, I'm really basic. I use word and e-mail myself the docs. When a story is finished I delete all e-mails except the final draft and stick them in a story folder.

You look at those saved e-mails today?

 

[lovecraft68]

You look at those saved e-mails today?

I don't check daily, why?

 

[_Lynn_]

I don't check daily, why?

I'm on my PC right now and everything I saved in my e-mail comes up blank. No, not everything. My school folders are fine, and feedback e-mail is there. But anything that had a story or a photo (even baby pictures) is blank.

 

[topace]

I use OpenOffice Writer to do my writing on.

Store my work on a USB hard drive for now. Planning on building a Linux powered home server in the near future (1 - 3 years).

 

[lovecraft68]

I'm on my PC right now and everything I saved in my e-mail comes up blank. No, not everything. My school folders are fine, and feedback e-mail is there. But anything that had a story or a photo (even baby pictures) is blank.

Wow, that sucks! I went and checked right after I replied to your post and everything in my "story" folder opens and is there.

Matter of fact I just opened 2 old chapters of my series and pasted them into a new doc to rework into a story for amazon. The e-mail was over a year old and still good.

Did they corrupt somehow?

 

[lovecraft68]

I use OpenOffice Writer to do my writing on.

Store my work on a USB hard drive for now. Planning on building a Linux powered home server in the near future (1 - 3 years).

That's how I started, OO and usb,

I find word better and after panicking because I caught my dog, grabbing the usb in his mouth, I opted for the e-mail method.

 

[topace]

Too bad Word doesn't run on Linux! Never liked it anyways.

 

[_Lynn_]

Wow, that sucks! I went and checked right after I replied to your post and everything in my "story" folder opens and is there.

Matter of fact I just opened 2 old chapters of my series and pasted them into a new doc to rework into a story for amazon. The e-mail was over a year old and still good.

Did they corrupt somehow?

I don't know. I haven't used this computer for a few weeks. Haven't even had it on. I'm going to the laptop later and I'll check there. Most things are on a flash drive -- the important stuff anyway.