[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

[dhampyresa]

What other programs have you tried?

I find it very useful, especially when it comes to having ebooks on both an ereader and a phone at once.

I hope you like it!

[tblspoon]

In the past I've tried to plot with--
Plume Creator</>
Storybook
Tiddlywiki
There's probably more, but those are the ones I can still remember.

The programs that have the lasted the longest with me are LibreOffice, FocusWriter, and yWriter.

[dhampyresa]

How did you find those? Especially Tiddlywiki.

[tblspoon]

More likely than not from the NaNoWriMo forum. Under various names, I've been a visitor to the site for over 5 years. Haven't won yet, but I do pay attention to the (free) writing tech people share.

[dhampyresa]

Sorry, I meant: what are their upsides/downsides for you?

[tblspoon]

Opps, sorry for misreading that. Plume Creator and Storybook lasted maybe a week for me. They just weren't what I was looking for. I remember their names more than my experience.
Tiddlywiki, I found helpful at organizing info- scene descriptions, item descriptions, major and minor characters. While looking though other tiddlywikis, I saw someone who used it for a choose-your-own-adventure type novel.

Con-I remember spending too much time playing with how it looked and worked. Currently, I have the program deleted for the 3rd time. By the end of the weekend, I will be on 4th try with it.

[dhampyresa]

I could have been clearer, sorry!

Thank you for the explanation. Does tiddlywiki work offline? I can't seem to find a definite answer either way.

[tblspoon]

It's almost like saving a .htm file to your computer, except you need to have the browser open to make changes. Internet connection is only required to download the needed add-on(depending on browser) and the file.

[dhampyresa]

Thank you.