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Scott's Writing Toolkit

This page lists some of the tools I use for writing. Best of all, they're all free!

Word Processor: OpenOffice.org	I have both Word and OpenOffice.org, but I prefer OpenOffice.org to Microsoft for several reasons, including: Better template handling: templates don't get messed up if you change the formatting in a document based on the template Master document feature works: doesn't corrupt files like Word's master document feature does, and makes it much easier to manage many chapters in a book It's free! The OpenOffice.org community provides good support, for free (I try to help too) OpenOffice.org is the most important tool in my software toolbox. I use it daily and I use it hard, and it has never failed me yet.
Mind Mapping: FreeMind	FreeMind helps me organize my thoughts, especially when I'm planning a new project. I've used it to figure out plot and characters, and to help me figure out which of my ideas is most ripe for becoming a real project. FreeMind also helped me plan the directory structure I set up for my writing project when I got a new computer. I use it often to help me organize my thoughts, whether for my writing, my day job, or my life.
Sticky Notes: Stickies	Many of us plaster sticky notes all over our computers to keep track of all sorts of things. I've tried computerized versions before but never liked them until I tried Stickies. The thing I like best is that they don't get in the way. You can make them transparent so they barely show up on your computer screen. When you're done with a note, you can either delete it or save it to the "spike," where you can go back and see it again. I use Stickies to keep track of tasks, specific editing gotchas, to-do lists, and more. New in version 6: Attach notes to any document so they open whenever you open that document. Also, I'm impressed that the programmer, Tom Revell, is so good about responding to feedback about his application.
Plotting: yWriter	yWriter is billed as a novel builder. I don't use it for actual writing, but, beginning with Kitchen Girl, I'm using it for planning my chapters and scenes. It helps me think about scenes and structure when I'm planning my story, and I think it will make a real difference in Kitchen Girl.
Submission Tracking: Sonar	From the same developer as yWriter, Sonar helps track markets and submissions. I've just started using it, so it'll be a little time before I know whether it really helps me more than my OpenOffice.org spreadsheet I was using before. It's promising so far.
Notes: KeyNote	KeyNote is a great program for keeping track of the many notes, Web links, pictures, and other items that I use when I'm developing a story project.
Words: WordWeb	WordWeb is a dictionary and thesaurus that runs in the background on Windows. You can pull it up with just a keystroke to check spelling or a definition, or to find a good synonym. Begininng with version 5, you can even put your mouse cursor over a word in any application and, with one keystroke--which you can define--open WordWeb with that word already entered for you, making it even easier to get the right word.
Collaboration: Collanos Workplace	A group of people (such as a critique group, or two or more authors collaborating on a project) can use this software to share their documents, exchange messages, track and complete tasks, and track changes to files. If you work as an online group, Workplace's synchronization features make this a more dynamic and secure place to collaborate than common alternatives like Yahoo Groups.
Reading: ReadPlease 2003	Experienced writers know the benefits of hearing their writing read aloud. It helps spot clunky prose, recognize rhythm problems, and can help you more easily notice repeated words and phrases. This easy-to-use program lets you paste in a chunk of text, then you can listen to any of four voices read it back to you. The voices are computerized, of course, but most sound natural enough (I like "Marilyn" best) to be the next best thing to listening to a real person read your work.