When it comes to writing and organizing one’s written works, the type of software required is very different from what average consumers consider “writing programs”. Curiously, the computer quasi-literate flock to word processors as though they need a program for complex layout, when in fact they are neither serious authors nor in the publishing industry. When it comes to writing school papers, letters, and other projects, programs like Microsoft Word are serious overkill considering that they don’t do much more than much cheaper (or free) programs like TextEdit or WordPad don’t.
As someone who’s done a fair degree of writing in the past, both for publication and fun, technical and creative, I’ve played with various programs to ease my writing workflow. As my primary computer is a PowerBook, I’ve been happy to find a large array of OS X programs designed for writers, and a recent list of such products illustrates the variations available.
In the comments section to the aforementioned list are two programs that I have used comfortably, though have since moved on from. For example, I used Notational Velocity for quick notes and storing completed works, though as a featured editor, the program is lacking. The need for some degree of better organization led me to VoodooPad, which is a one-user Wiki great for cross-referencing one’s works.
Both Notational Velocity and VoodooPad still see limited use on my PowerBook, with the former used to store purchased serial numbers and registration codes, and the latter used for a recent geneology project I started (which it does splendidly). For normal note-taking and organization of such notes, however, I’ve moved on to Mori, which I landed a free license for during a December holiday promotion. Chances are, I will purchase Mori in the future, when updates convince me I need new features.
As far as real writing goes, however, I downed some money on Ulysses, which is bar-none the best large-project word processor and writing assistant I’ve yet come across. While Ulysses does not come cheaply compared to the aforementioned writing tools, it borrows many ideas from the programs mentioned in the afore-linked article, and manages to serve as a quality editor with solid organizational features.
For now, software like Apple’s Pages sits unused on my computer (which replaced Microsoft’s Word some time ago). On the off-chance that I need to mark up my works for print publishing, Pages may be handy, but in retrospect, I could have saved some money by not worrying about layout until I really need it.
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