Word Processor

[DianthasProphecy]

Ok. I need a word processor!!! My PC has WordPad on it, but it's not exactly my favorite. I tried yWriter 5 but I'm not sure about it either....

I need one that's free or fairly cheap, or do you think I should keep trucking along with WordPad or yWriter and I'll grow fond of one of them eventually?

So, anyone know of a good Program?

 

[Fnord]

If you don't want to shell out for Microsoft Office, you can download office programs from OpenOffice.org - The Free and Open Productivity Suite

They are compatible with MS Office files, so if you do upgrade or decide to write somewhere other than your computer (like work for instance ), you will be able to work on it.

 

[DianthasProphecy]

LOL! Wow, I was actually just reading up on that in another tab. (I'm a Stay at home mom though, so I'll just transfer from laptop to desktop, and they'll both have the same program.)

Is Open Office pretty good though? I've heard mixed reviews on it, and want to make sure I download a good one.

 

[The Realm Wanderer]

I have Microsoft Office 2010 and it's great. Such a good set of programs, but obviously, very expensive.
If you don't mind being connected to the internet to write, there's always Google Docs.
https://www.google.com/accounts/Ser...s.google.com/?pli=1&authuser=0&ltmpl=homepage
I've never used it because I've never had to but according to reviews it's the best free word processor available.

 

[Kelise]

I hear mostly good things about Open Office - the only problem is that it doesn't always give you the best word count. It counts the curly " as a word in itself. But if you use the straight ones (like the ones that show up here) then it's fine.

As I'm on a mac, I can't really suggest anything though. ...Unless there's now PC versions of Scrivener, which there just may be... or it may be coming in the next month or so. Scrivener is pretty fantastic.

 

[Black Dragon]

I second OpenOffice.org writer. I use it a great deal, and prefer it to Microsoft Word.

For novel writing specifically, I've come to really love My Writing Spot. It's a web based word processor designed for novelists. The interface is minimalistic, and keeps a running word count for each section. But for what I'm using it for - writing a novel - it's absolutely perfectly. There are no bells and whistles to distract me. And there's a great iphone/ipad for it, which I use to write on the go. I've written almost all of my current novel using this program.

 

[Fnord]

I used OpenOffice for a few years before I took the plunge and purchased MS Office for Mac and never had any issues for it.

I'm curious about novel-writing-specific applications though. Hmmmm.

 

[The Realm Wanderer]

If you're willing to spend $49.99 then I suggest NewNovelist 3. If I didn't already have Microsoft Office, I'd purchase it in a heartbeat. It looks absolutely brilliant and is designed specifically for novelists. You can even check your word count of every chapter you've written and it will show you a graph of how many words are in each, so you can see where you're adding more or less. Plus there's a function where it will read the entire novel back to you. Check it out -
Newnovelist Home
And with a full 30 day money back warranty, it's worth a go.

 

[Kate]

I used Open Office for a couple of years as my main WP, only because my PC didn't come with any other installed. It was fine, if you're after basic WP function. Word counts were a little unreliable - but I'm going back a few years now so that may have changed. I also found a lot of people I sent docs to had difficulties converting files with Office, and me in return. This was the biggest turn off for me, but again this might have been fixed by now considering how popular Open software has become.


If you're after a basic text editor/WP maybe try Q10. It's free, full screen, nothing fancy, effective. It can also play a cool old fashioned type writer sound as you type.


MS Word is the best all rounder for me now. But yeah, expensive.

I also used Ywriter for creative stuff for quite a while. It was fine - lots of good features, but I found I only used a few of them. I thought it could be a little more intuitive though.

I have recently been using the Beta version of Scrivener for Windows, and a part from the bugs I've encountered in the Beta version, I think this is by far the best writing software. It's been around a while for Mac uses (I think Starconstant can give you more info on that).

There are a few things about it I'm not fussed with - no individual word count for session target is one, but there are other ways around it. Overall though, it's simple and clean, intuitive and for all of its features, there aren't as many bells and whistles like I found with Ywriter.

The windows version is coming out complete in a few weeks. Up until then you can use it for free. I don't know how much the real deal will cost, but I know that discounts are given every year for those who finish NANOWRIMO.

 

[DianthasProphecy]

Wow! I'm downloading OpenOffice, because it'll be nice to have it for other things as well. Not to mention note taking and such, but I went and checked out the My Writing Spot page, and I really like it! Thanks for that! I usually have my laptop with me at all times, but there are some occasions that I don't and this will be nice to have. I'll be able to write if I have a burst of inspiration (which has been known to happen often) in a place where I don't have my own PC.

 

[DianthasProphecy]

Hmm, I didn't see the other replies until I posted. I canceled the Open Office Download, and I think I'll have to think on it for a bit. I can use the my writing spot for now, keeping a copy in WordPad as well. That New Novelist does look pretty cool though. And I looked at Scrivener a little while ago, and it seems nice too. I didn't like the yWriter as well either, it had too much fussiness...

 

[The Realm Wanderer]

NewNovelist seems the best by far out of those I've looked at, but that is probably because it costs money.
You know you could always just use the online version of Microsoft Word that you can find in the Skydrive of your Hotmail account (provided of course you have one).

 

[DianthasProphecy]

Thanks everybody! I'm going to deal with Ywriter and Wordpad for now, and my PC does have MS Works. I need to think on what I want out of the program before I spend any money I guess....

 

[Telcontar]

Don't spend money. Go with OpenOffice. All the functionality of the Microsoft Office Suite, for free. What more could you want?

 

[At Dusk I Reign]

I've been using Open Office for a while now and have never had a problem with it. I don't know if the word count is off or not, but then again my life has never been so devoid of excitement that I've waded through hundreds of pages of text to see if it tallies with what the computer says. I suppose, like most things, it's down to personal preference.

 

[Ophiucha]

I've never seen a word counter that is, in any way, accurate. I've run my manuscript through a couple of online counters and a few processors, and the results vary by a few thousand. I just do averages if I need to have a number. Nobody cares about the exact number, anyway.

I use MS Word, mostly, because my dad works for a computer company and got it for free. I have been using Google Docs far more often, though, and it might become my main word processor. It's already my homepage.

 

[daceymathers]

AbiWord is a free word processing program similar to Microsoft Word. It is suitable for a wide variety of word processing tasks. AbiWord allows you to collaborate with multiple people on one document at the same time. It is tightly integrated with the web service, which lets you store documents online, allows easy document sharing with your friends, and performs format conversions on the fly.

 

[DavidP]

I still use an old copy of MS Office 2003. And yes, it does work with Windows 7.

Give thought to how your manuscripts should be submitted though. The various office programs can sometimes create problems when converted to PDF which is what is required for going to print.

Writing it in Notepad or Wordpad and then having someone format it correctly in Office or one of the more specialist layout programs may be better.

 

[Kevin O. McLaughlin]

I use LibreOffice (the active OpenOffice fork - for those that missed the whole mess when Oracle bought Sun, there's concern that OpenOffice might be in trouble due to Oracle's anti-free-software history, so a good chunk of the core dev team forked their own version).

I have the new MS Office Starter on my comp, though, and I have to say - I really like the new Word. I think I might even prefer it, if it wasn't for the little flashing ad they put in the bottom right corner of Starter. That said, I don't prefer it *enough* over the free programs with the same functionality to want to spend a lot of money on it. I'd pay $25 for MS Word; I wouldn't pay $140 for it, though! That's just crazy. Really, the main thing I like is that I find the blues and flowing lines more appealing to the eye than O.O's grays and blocks design. But it's not a $140 difference.

 

[daceymathers]

Ok. I need a word processor!!! My PC has WordPad on it, but it's not exactly my favorite. I tried yWriter 5 but I'm not sure about it either....

I need one that's free or fairly cheap, or do you think I should keep trucking along with WordPad or yWriter and I'll grow fond of one of them eventually?

So, anyone know of a good Program?

You should mention in the forum that for what purpose you require a word processor.For article writing,novel writing ,script writing or just for writing paragraphs.By specifying your need you can get more accurate answer.