Any recommendations for a better writing software

[Twistedskald]

I've been using Microsoft word to write my stories and...I'm just done with it!
It keeps freezing, forcing my to close down documents and then pull them back up, because I'm using them! So I end up wasting my time play this stupid game of opening documents only for them to glitch out and forcing me to close them down again.

This is seriously impairing my ability to write and I'm dangerously close to throwing my laptop across the room at this rate.

Are there any recommendations for an alternative to Microsoft word? Anything better? Preferably something that doesn't require updates on a near weekly basis.

 

[Aoi_Sora]

gdocs.

better yet

book and pencil. I mean, don't you guys get turned on when you smell the work of your labor? Also the smell of the book and pen.

 

[Deleted member 57675]

weird. my word hasn't done that so far.

gdocs.

better yet

book and pencil. Also the smell of the book and pen.

love the smell of a new book. yes.

 

[Agentt]

I've been using Microsoft word to write my stories and...I'm just done with it!
It keeps freezing, forcing my to close down documents and then pull them back up, because I'm using them! So I end up wasting my time play this stupid game of opening documents only for them to glitch out and forcing me to close them down again.

This is seriously impairing my ability to write and I'm dangerously close to throwing my laptop across the room at this rate.

Are there any recommendations for an alternative to Microsoft word? Anything better? Preferably something that doesn't require updates on a near weekly basis.

Best is like google docs if you can afford the 100 mb of space which it occupies. Which i can't usually, so i use PureWriter since it has a backup feature, tho the free version doesn't offer much decoration tools. Writer+ has many tools and is free but doesn't back up

 

[Anon2024]

I use scrivener on a mac, so I'm not sure about the windows version. For long stories and projects it really helps organize everything. It's a one time fee and they don't update unless it's a huge one.

 

[Southdog]

I am fond of Libre Office as a cleaner, slicker Microsoft Office alternative. I also prefer to keep hand-written notes for my drafts. Sticks in the mind a lot easier.

 

[Twistedskald]

gdocs.

better yet

book and pencil. I mean, don't you guys get turned on when you smell the work of your labor? Also the smell of the book and pen.

Paper is what I started with, the problem for me is that my mind tends to be a little erratic, and my handwriting is atrocious so my pages inevitably turned into a mess. Also, having access to cut and pasting features helps with organizing my notes.

I am fond of Libre Office as a cleaner, slicker Microsoft Office alternative. I also prefer to keep hand-written notes for my drafts. Sticks in the mind a lot easier.

Libre Office, huh, does it have any good features that Microsoft lacks? Also, is it a free service?

 

[Hathnuz]

DO NOT compile all of your chapters into one giant document unless you enjoy your computer freeze every two minute.

 

[Deleted member 42060]

Reedsy and FocusWriter.

 

[lambenttyto]

This is seriously impairing my ability to write and I'm dangerously close to throwing my laptop across the room at this rate.

Lol. Don't get mad. Is it Word or your PC?

Scrivener is pretty good, and cheap. Or you can use google docs. With Google docs you don't have to worry about a hard drive failure since it's backed up to the cloud.

Personally I've always loved the idea of the old pen and paper method, but I don't have any nice leather bound journals or fancy pens, so I've put it off... Sigh!

 

[Erys]

"Wrote your whole first novel on napkins, paper napkins,'" says Rowling.

 

[RisRizRitz]

First of all, it might be overheating; do you perchance keep your laptop on your bed? If your laptop (hard drive to be specific) gets too hot, it can cause disk failure; hence your word app automatically closing and sometimes corrupting (because your whole drive gets disconnected). Word is a pretty light app, so I doubt its the cause; and if I'm right, the app I'm about to recommend you is gonna run worse for you.

It's called Scrivener. And if you're a heavy plotter like me, then you'll love it. You can look up all the things it can do on their site, but it's superior (if you're a fiction writer) to word in all aspects except its dictionary. That said, its heavy and sometimes slow, so I don't use it for note-taking. For that you can try OneNote.

 

[Erys]

Word is a pretty light app, so I doubt its the cause; and if I'm right, the app I'm about to recommend you is gonna run worse for you.

Unless it is the free online version of 360. The app is light but the Internet Browser it is running on is not. Ram eaters, lot of them.

 

[Agentt]

"Wrote your whole first novel on napkins, paper napkins,'" says Rowling.

"Hermione was actually supposed to be black," also says Rowling

 

[Erys]

"Hermione was actually supposed to be black," also says Rowling

 

[K5Rakitan]

book and pencil. I mean, don't you guys get turned on when you smell the work of your labor? Also the smell of the book and pen.

Not just the smell but the tactile sensation and the sounds of the graphite scraping off the tip of the pencil onto the paper. Also, the way your fingers ache at the end of a good writing session and the pride you feel when you've built up a good callus.

 

[Lloyd]

I use Libre Office

 

[HappyVainGlory]

If you need the grammar and spellcheck features, I would also suggest Google docs and LibreOffice.

I personally use a basic text editor called Ghostwriter for drafting and check it in Word after I've written a chapter.

 

[Viator]

What is interesting is that I have heard typing on a computer uses a different part of the brain then writing by hand with pen & paper. Steam actually has their own writing software called Nimble Writer I think. (Just to give you another option not listed yet.)

 

[Deleted member 54065]

Whenever I have to use another software, it's either LibreOffice or GDocs for me. Both are free and pretty easy to master.

For writing while I accompany my mother to the grocery, I use Word on mobile phone.

As for actual draft writing, I use a notebook. New notebook. Every new volume, even if the old still has empty pages. Part of my quirks as an author.

And yes, I write in yellow pads, too, since napkin/tissue paper is too soft for my writing.