[PUBLIC POST] Tools of the trade

[ljwrites]

What do you write with? What's your workflow like? Is there particular software that you like to use for certain purposes, or do you prefer writing in longhand and transcribing to a computer later on? Has technology affected your writing process in any way?

I have a mix of processes. Generally I like Scrivener for its ability to organize snippets of writing and to keep all my research in the same place, but its lack of mobile options means I use Evernote a lot when I'm away from my computers. I'm also fond of longhand writing when I'm in libraries and on public transport. This means I have a lot of scattered notes and bits in different places, all of which I swear I'm going to transcribe to my Scrivener project someday.

A major boon for research purposes is Zotero, a citations database program where I can organize my citations and take extensive notes, with search and tag functions available for later reference. Like Scrivener via Dropbox and Evernote it's all synchronized online, meaning it's automatically backed up and available on whatever machine I log into.

The availability of cloud and synchronization technology like Dropbox, Evernote, and Zotero made things easier in some ways and gave me peace of mind in the form of automatic backup, but I also have a lot of paper notes that are one careless placement or a house fire away from getting lost forever. Better get to it, I guess.

Comments

[tblspoon]

I would love to be able to type the story directly into the word program. Unfortunately, I am much more productive when I handwrite the scenes and ideas. Later, I transcribe the notes into LibreOffice and sync with GoogleDrive. Occasionally, I type in notes with KindleFire w/wireless keyboard, and then sync with GoogleDrive. I like the simplicity of LibreOffice and it's word count tool. Rarely at 2 am or so, I use a Voice Recorder app to make scene notes to transcribe later.

Recently, I started to use a spreadsheet to keep track of word counts, story summaries, and story status(wip/complete/oneshot).

[ljwrites]

Welcome, it's nice to meet you! Hey, join the longhand writers' club, me and inkdust are members, and maybe others here. It's fascinating how our workflows move between the low-tech and the high--from handwriting to voice recording and cloud computing.

How does the LibreOffice-Google Drive process work? Do you save the files on your hard drive and then upload them to GDrive, or do you copy and paste new parts into a Google Document? I liked LibreOffice back when I used it, it just made sense and had some good customization options.

A story spreadsheet sounds like a great idea for those who are juggling a lot of different projects. I know a friend who might benefit from one. (Although maybe xe has no problem keeping track of everything in xyr head. I, on the other hand, am often hopelessly confused when xe starts talking about xyr projects.) When I participated in a NaNo-like event back in July 2014 they gave us a spreadsheet to keep track of writing times and word count, maybe I should repurpose that for my current project.

[tblspoon]

Hi, nice to meet you too.

GDrive process- I keep a shortcut to my GDrive folder on my desktop. I can save directly into the folder or drop files into it. This allows me to have a copy on my hard drive and a copy synced to the cloud.

Spreadsheet- I can remember the plot details of old wips. I just can't remember what I named the files. New inspiration hits, new file created, and soon I have 5 slightly different versions of the same story. January 1, I went on an organization kick and everything is straight... so far.