best program for writing

dolittle

hi
just wondering what do people here use
would windows word be the best or is there a specific program for it
thanks

Antilles

Um... "notepad". What exactly do you want from an app? I type on the keyboard and save at regular intervals.

silvine

Scrivener for the Mac is very good.

who007

do you mean for creative writing?

IronMan

http://they.misled.us/dark-room

Black background, green text. Full screen. Simple.

dolittle

thanks just wanted to know what people use and which they thought before i start

Antilles

Ok I am really confused. Why would you want to use specialist apps for creative writing? I took Computer Science in college and used technical editors for that, but for writing in English, what could you possibly want a program for?

You type, you save. Once you're happy with your output, you spell check (I suppose Word or whatever is good for that?), and your job is done, no?

I took a look at that darkroom thing - whats the point in that at all? If you are going to be distracted by having other stuff on screen, then surely you will be distracted by having them in the background anyway?

rockbeer

Indeed. There has been a comprehensive selection of applications suitable for writing for some time now. They're usually called word processors.

who007

I'm confused too! Do you want something like Word or a program like New Novelist?

MojoMaker

Microsoft Word is an excellent application for writing in general. Hard to look beyond that unless you have a specialist need?

silvine

Well Scrivener allows you to keep track of research notes, characters sketches, chapters, scenes etc and all in one document. It automatically saves and allows you to take snapshots of your work which you can revert to if you are unhappy with changes. There are templates for plays, radio dramas and novels.

That Dark Room programme is quite good in that it is just you and black screen with green text. It's quite satisfying to use because it's very minimalist. There are virtually no options to fiddle and you don't have to worry about fonts or headings. Word on the other hand has an abundance of menus, tools and buttons. Dark Room means you won't be distracted by programmes in the background, emails etc because you can't see them (in theory anyway).

Word and Notepad are good too. It's about what meets your needs really. Some people prefer to write with a pen and paper, some prefer to use a type writer and some like using a computer. These programmes are an extension of that.

Mojacar

Scrivener comes highly recommended although i haven't used it. It will only work on an Apple Mac computer with OS X.
For the PC, a highly recommended alternative to Scrivener is PageFour http://www.softwareforwriting.com/pagefour.html
I use this one and it is quite good. I have MS Word as well but PageFour is designed for writers.
Hope that helps.

Antilles

Hrm I am still a sceptic but I might give that Page Four app a go. That "overused phrases" functionality could actually be useful.