Software for Creative Writers

• Posted: November 29, 2007
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• Author: Chris Murphy
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• Filed under: Products, Software, Writing
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• Tags: No tags set for this entry.

Until the last couple of years, there has not been a great wealth of software for creative writers. At least not good software. Most of what was, and still is, available for the creative writer consists of bloated applications and tools which are more distractions than anything else. I've complied a list of applications that I've had a positive experience with, which other writers may find helpful.

It seems that everyday I’m finding new and interesting applications aimed at creative writers. Up until about two years ago, this was not the case. In fact, what you might have typically found online was a bevy of bloated word-processors that attempted in many ways to mimic MS Word and Lotus Notes in some fashion — each unsuccessfully executed in my opinion.

For the most part, niche applications  like PowerWriter attempted to capitalize on the "more is better" syndrome that affect applications at the time. For the experienced writer, this wasn’t an issue. Most professional writers had their own tools and process for writing and needed little in the way of gadgets and gimmicks to be productive. What gimmicky applications did however, was to instill aspiring writers with the perception that they needed expensive, complex tools to be a successful writer.

It’s nearing the end of 2007 and while I still see many of those applications kicking around, there are also a handful of applications that forsake complexity in favour of minimalism — "less is more…".

Not surprisingly, most of these applications tend to be developed for the Mac OS. Perhaps this is simply and example of inspiration (Apple is well known for their minimalist approach to hardware and software), but whatever the case, the trend seems to have caught on, and there seems to be more applications out there that shirk complexity.

Mac OS Applications for the Creative Writer:

Here are some examples of Mac applications that follow a "less is more" philosophy (in comparison to MS Word and other word processors):

Avenir

What they say: Avenir is a new kind of software for writers. Part word processor, part database, completely focused on the creative process. Whether you are brainstorming for your first short story or putting the finishing touches on your latest best-seller Avenir provides the tools you need to manage the creative process from inception to publication.

Scrivener

What they say: Scrivener is a word processor and project management tool created specifically for writers of long texts such as novels and research papers. It won’t try to tell you how to write - it just makes all the tools you have scattered around your desk available in one application.

Ulysses

What they say: Ulysses was developed mainly for writers who work creatively with text and want or need to realize large amounts of text. With traditional word processors and text editors, the user is either being promoted to the job of a type setter or needs to bother himself with other inadequacies those applications have.

Writeroom

What they say: WriteRoom is not Microsoft Word. It won’t generate a table of contents, it won’t place borders around your documents, and it doesn’t have an animated paper-clip looking over your shoulder. Instead WriteRoom just provides the essential features required to get words on the page. Stay focused with WriteRoom’s distraction free environment. Stay on track with word count. Stay safe with autosave. You just type, and WriteRoom will do its best to stay out of your way.

Z-Write

What they say: Z-Write is a unique word processor designed for creative writers. In the process of writing a story, writers tend to create dozens or even hundreds of pages of notes, character bios, rewrites, reminders, and bits of research info. Organizing all that material within the linear structure of a traditional word processor is awkward at best… Z-Write changes all that. It allows you to create an unlimited number of Sections and each Section can have as much or as little text as you’d like.

Windows Applications for the Creative Writer:

Here are some examples of Windows applications that follow a "less is more" philosophy (in comparison to MS Word and other word processors):

PageFour

What they say: PageFour is a tabbed word processor and outliner for writers. It has a simple structure based around Notebooks. Each Notebook contains as many Folders and Pages as you wish, and is structured in whichever manner best suits YOU. Every writer works differently, and PageFour recognizes this.

JDarkRoom

What they say: JDarkRoom is a popular, simple full-screen text file editor with none of the usual bells and whistles that might distract you from the job in hand. If you are writing a novel, essay, thesis or just need to be able to concentrate on your writing, then JDarkRoom may help you.

DarkRoom

What they say: Dark Room is a full screen, distraction free, writing environment. Unlike standard word processors that focus on features, Dark Room is just about you and your text.

…

That’s it in my opinion. Sad isn’t it?

Windows continues to foster bloated applications, and when it comes to software for Creative Writers, it becomes increasingly frustrating to find anything that’s remotely productive. Recent versions of windows haven’t overcome that hurdle. Keep in mind however that this does not really take into account text editors.

I love text editors simply for the fact that most of them claim to do only one simple thing, and that is to edit text.

Software developers seem to overlook the fundamental task of a writer: to write. And really, if you think about it, what more does a writer need than something to capture their ideas and thoughts. In the publishing world, they have typesetters who specialize in formatting. It’s what they are paid to do, and it is what they excel at doing. Writers need not deal with formatting to the extent of becoming typesetters. About the only time that writers can legitimately (and successfully) attempt typesetting, is when they’re ready to submit and so, must follow some basic (very basic) formatting guidelines for their finished pieces.

While it’s true, some text editors overstep their bounds — most of these text editors are aimed at developers (see: Text Editors on 43Folders) — there are a handful that do what they’re intended to (I’m not going to promote MS NotePad — it’s just a P.O.S in my opinion).

Examples of Windows-based text editors:

Here are some examples of text editors that I use for various purposes, but have at one point or another been my tool of choice when writing.

MetaPad

What the developer says: Once upon a time, one of the most useful programs for everyday use was known as Microsoft Notepad. I realized that Notepad was quite powerful and did a lot of what I wanted in a simple text editor. Yet I found the user interface to be unlike most 32-bit Windows applications and actually quite poor…

MetaPad is a small, fast (and completely free) text editor for Windows 9x/NT/XP with similar features to Microsoft Notepad but with many extra (and rather useful) features. It was designed to completely replace Notepad since it includes all of Notepad’s features and much, much more.

Phrasis

What the developers say: Phrasis is a is a stripped down text editor. We want to remove any feature that might hinder the productivity of a professional (or serious amateur) writer and add any feature that would increase the efficiency (of must our users). Therefore, we’ve created an interface with only the bare essentials, no menus, no formatting features and no nonsense.

The right tool for the job

I leave it up the individual writer to select their tool of choice; I’ve worked with almost all of these packages at one point or another, and many of them have great features and strengths. I continually find myself coming back to text editors. If you’re sick of both word processors and text editors, you can always fall back onto older methods — hello, DOS applications!

If you have come across applications that you feel meet the task of a writer, please feel free to comment. I would love to compile a more comprehensive list of applications that other users have experienced and are satisfied with, rather than trolling Google and reading dubious reviews.

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