During the past 15 months, this blog has reviewed quite a number of word processors, as well as some tricks for Microsoft Word. Over the months, however, my nagging sense that the large majority of writers are firmly glued to Microsoft Word has grown. “I have it, it works for me, don’t bother me with alternatives” seems to be the prevailing view, despite the fact that other word processors often offer useful features not available in Word.
With this post, I’d like to challenge readers to respond with your own views on the matter. Doe the choice of word processor really make any difference. Or is it that “a rose, is a rose, is a rose”?
What do you think? What are your own experiences with word processors? Do particular processors especially help you with your writing? Do they sometimes get in the way of your creativity?
Post a comment by clicking on the “Comments” link at the bottom of this post. And to read what others have to say, review the “Recent Comments” list in the sidebar, or return to this post and click on Comments to see what responses have come in.
Also, note the poll on the right. Over coming weeks, I’ll post a series of questions about word processors that you can easily answer with a single click.
Sorry, comments are closed.
Comment by
housetier
24 Mar 2008
I can’t afford to pay for software so I use OO.o (http://openoffice.org/) if other people might need to go over my texts. For myself or texts that will be published I use lout (http://lout.wiki.sourceforge.net/) in vim (http://www.vim.org/).
What matters most is reliability and back in my student days MS Word proved to not be reliable enough. OO.o is more reliable, but other than that I don’t see one superior to the other. I don’t use any of the advanced features, but hack away my text.
I think people should use what they are most familiar with, UNLESS it gets in their way of thinking.
Comment by
Ben
24 Mar 2008
The only time I ever use Microsoft Word anymore is when someone else requires a Word-formatted document. The technical writing I do for my job, for instance, is done in Word–but it certainly isn’t my first choice. My employers require Word, so I use it.
Almost all my other writing nowadays is done in Google Docs. I find that for 99% of what I need, it works perfectly. The ability to move from machine to machine seamlessly is important, and I find myself spending a lot of time in different libraries working on documents. I love that I don’t need to bring my work with me on a USB stick! It’s always available, waiting for me on the web. Also, over the past year, I’ve worked on a few collaborative projects in Google Docs. The capabilities it offers for people to simultaneously work on a document are unparalleled. It makes collaboration easy and fun.
For those times when I need more powerful features, I’ll use OpenOffice. Honestly, though, I find myself using OpenOffice less and less as Google adds more features to their online software. I actually wrote a term paper in Google Docs for a college course I’m taking this semester, complete with page numbers and citations. In previous courses I’ve used OpenOffice, but Google has implemented some upgrades since then. I’m amazed at the speed they’re adding functionality.
I think the only reason most people aren’t trying some of the Word alternatives is because they’re locked in to the .DOC format. Or they think they need it, whether they truly do or not. Luckily, I’m pretty format-independent.
Comment by
Dustin
25 Mar 2008
I think it absolutely does matter what tools we use to write with. Sure, you *can* write with a crappy pen and a paper grocery bag, but not many writers *do*. Instead, writers create rituals around their tools, investing them with meaning and finding inspiration in them. I don’t see why we should be any different from any other artisan — would we ask a sculptor if the choice of chisel mattered, or a painter if it mattered what paint or brush they used?
In my own experience, I’ve found that Adobe’s Buzzword inspires me — it’s neat, elegant, nice to look at, and easy to use. On the other hand, while I use Google Docs once in a while, I’d hate to write a book, or even a long article on it. It’s more “in my way”, somehow, and that glaring white page from screen edge to screen edge puts me off. I like q10, too — I like the typing noises, which make me want to type really, really fast. But it doesn’t do formatting, which means I don’t use it much — I use section headings and bulleted lists and the like a lot to organize myself while I write. Word 2007 is a fine all-around tool; I use it for lots of stuff, but it’s not inspiring in the way Buzzword is — not for me, at least.
Don’t get me wrong — if I have to write, I use what’s available. It’s a little self-defeating to get so invested in one tool that you *need* it to do your work. But given a choice, I think most writers will tend to gravitate towards certain tools that work best for them — and that their choices aren’t always, or even mostly, driven by practical considerations. So much of writing is psychological, why shouldn’t our preference for certain tools be too?
Comment by
Tom Colvin
26 Mar 2008
Interesting comments from Housetier, Ben and Dustin. THANKS.
I’m pleased to see user endorsements of Open Office and Google Doc’s, which I’ve written about on several occasions — and use from time to time. As I haven’t followed Google Doc’s closely, I’m particularly grateful to learn about the new features, particularly page numbering and citations, which I need in much of my own writing.
While I am aware of Buzzword, I haven’t really investigated it yet. Must do so — and must post some screenshots here. UNLESS, Dustin, you would be willing to do a guest post of a Buzzword review???
q10? I’ve never heard of that one — and I troll the internet for alternative word processors all the time. Can you shed more light on that?
Comment by
Tom Colvin
26 Mar 2008
Dustin, I followed the link from your name and am very intrigued by the prospective website/blog/software or whatever it is that is forthcoming. Just what is the Writer’s Technology Companion?
Comment by
Dustin
26 Mar 2008
Tom,
The Writer’s Technology Companion is, essentially, the long answer to the question posed in this post. I’m doing software and hardware reviews, tutorials, site reviews, and so on aimed at covering the tools of writing — including everything that goes on before and after the actual “butt in chair” phase of the writing itself (e.g.generating and recording ideas, finding markets, promotion and marketing, making e-books and podcasts, even basic computer stuff like installing a hard drive or backing up).
I’ve written capsule reviews of Buzzword at lifehack.org. Twice. And I’ll write it up at Writer’s Tech Companion, too. But I could write it up again here — email me and let’s discuss it. I’m becoming something of a Buzzword evangelist, and that says something in itself, because I’m usually a “wow, look at all the ways you can do this” kind of guy. Buzzword has a lot of quirks (like, it’s an Adobe product and you can’t — yet — save to PDF or use fonts other than the 6 they provide. Of course, it’s Adobe so those fonts are *fantastic*, but it kind of throws off the WYSIWYG aspect when the fonts are replaced by Times New Roman when you send to document to someone…). But in the actual writing process, I find it really inspiring to work with.
Q10 is another play on the Darkroom/Writeroom/Liq. Story no-distractions theme. It runs locally, is free, and as I said, plays a typewriter sound with every keystroke (you can turn that off, though). I like playing with it, but I really don’t subscribe to the “formatting is a distraction” school of thought — I write expecting to be read, and italics and bold and otehr formatting are part of the way I structure what I’m saying. It’s not at all useful for me to leave that for the revision phase.
Comment by
Dustin
26 Mar 2008
Oh, I forgot to mention: WTC will go live next week (barring some unforeseen event) and will be a blog. I’m planning at least 3 posts weekly, with more for either breaking news (which I haven’t really defined the nature of with regards to a blog about writing tools) and some 5-part tutorial series I’m putting together (which will go up over the course of a week).
Comment by
Tom Colvin
26 Mar 2008
Dustin, I will be an avid reader of your blog, I’m sure. Really look forward to it.
Comment by
Tom Colvin
28 Mar 2008
Dustin, thanks for offer to write up Buzzword here. Maybe we can discuss via email — I’m at tomcolvin at gmail.com
Alternatively, as I frequently do, I can point people to your reviews elsewhere with links. No particular need to reinvent what you’ve already written — unless you have some to add since last writing.
BTW, I’ll do a piece about your blog once it’s up. Sounds very interesting indeed. I’m sure we’ll have a lot to share back and forth.
Comment by
Graham
4 Apr 2008
Dark Room has been a very useful tool for clearing my desktop and my brain from the clutter of the day. It’s the first tool that I go to for any kind of writing that requires more than 2 minutes of thought … whether it’s blogging, journaling, emailing my team at work, etc.
I’ve been playing with Buzzword since reading Dustin’s review. I like the design and wysiwyg feel, but the lack of offline access is a problem.
Google Docs is perfect for sharing and collaborating. I see that Dustin dislikes the screen edge to screen edge aspect of the experience. You can actually fix this by clicking on View > Fixed-width page view.
Comment by
Tom Colvin
6 Apr 2008
Thanks for the specific feedback about your word processor perferences, Graham. It is useful to hear what other writers find useful.