Using different word processors

[MeanGreenATO]

I know most writers generally use Microsoft Word while working on their #craft, but I wondered if anybody used anything else. If so, has anybody seen a difference in the writing process?

 

[jr/shotglass]

Honestly, the best answer I have for that is this. If you don't use Word or at least something that results in .txt or .docx files, you're going to be making it difficult for others to access your work. In this case, the simple answer is the best answer.

 

[Jake_Taylor]

I haven't used anything but Google Docs in years.

 

[MeanGreenATO]

I know Google Docs is a fan favorite, but I've never been a huge fan. I just switched over to WriteMonkey. We'll see how that works. I've never been a huge fan of Word, for whatever reason. I think it might have something to do with being too white or just having too much going on.

 

[Azrael]

You can customize Word to present you a simpler/cleaner page, too. Also turn off things like spellcheck/grammar in Preferences if you find them intrusive.

Maybe experiment a little with apps and applets, things like Notes or Google Docs or Text Edit. Some of this depends on whether you're writing on a Mac or a Windows machine.

Sadly, the days of 5 or 6 word processing programs are long behind us, and as shottie points out, even if there were more choices, you need to be making files compatible with what publishers can read and process.

That said, if you're not writing deadline stuff, if you're trying to write fiction or poetry or even the first draft of a personal essay or whatever, try writing longhand. You'll be surprised at how connected you feel to the page, and how tactile a thing writing can be.

Let us know how you like WriteMonkey.

 

[Azrael]

A list of free word processing programs if others are interested.

11 Free Alternatives to Microsoft Word

 

[Azrael]

Free online word processors here:

Find out Where to Get the Best Free Online Word Processors in 2017

 

[cranberry]

By the time I began using Word I had already learned about 10 different word processing programs, including some in the early days that were proprietary, and had grown weary of learning a new one every year or two, so I've mostly stuck with Word this century. But I do convert a lot of files into txt files upon completion for use on apps and websites. We had people (most lawyers) in my office using WordPerfect until '99 or 2000.

 

[Azrael]

There's a list of obsolete word processing programs. I've used or tried something like 15 of them since the early 1980s.

For some reason, my favorite over that period was a thing called "Pro Write." Which was not very good, nor was it updated after about 1994.

Word Perfect, Word Star, Lotus Symphony, Easy Writer, EZ Word, Mind Write, Write Type, etc., world without end, amen.

 

[typefitter]

I was talking to another writer who thinks we'll all be using Google Docs soon (in magazines, she was meaning). I really don't like it. I can't imagine using anything other than Word.

 

[pseudo]

OpenOffice isn't quite the MS version, but it's close enough for my purposes. Similar interface, saves in .doc and .txt if you tell it to (.xml/.xls for spreadsheets), can export as a .pdf, and free.

 

[JoshuaRobinson30]

Microsoft word has the best overall set of advanced formatting options. Also, if you have to send work to anyone else for contributions, everyone has a program that can open word files.

 

[sgreenwell]

OpenOffice isn't quite the MS version, but it's close enough for my purposes. Similar interface, saves in .doc and .txt if you tell it to (.xml/.xls for spreadsheets), can export as a .pdf, and free.

I've been OpenOffice for a couple years now, yeah. I do love Google docs, but I'm not always at places with reliable wireless internet, so it's easier for me to use OpenOffice then just copy-paste or import.

 

[MeanGreenATO]

Here's the main question I have for folks that switched away from Word: Did a new processor ultimately help you turn out better copy? Otherwise, there's really no reason to switch.

 

[Jake_Taylor]

I don’t know about better, but it has helped me churn out copy on time.

 

[sgreenwell]

Here's the main question I have for folks that switched away from Word: Did a new processor ultimately help you turn out better copy? Otherwise, there's really no reason to switch.

OpenOffice is free, whereas a yearly Word subscription is around $75, I think.

 

[MeanGreenATO]

Right, but most folks don't necessarily have to pay for Word if it's on their work computer. There just seems to be better options out there.