I like gadgets. Any gadget.
Therefore I tend to like software, too. So what do I use?
I use Word to write (2003, I can’t stand the 2007 version), or Open Office Writer. I like both and they are interchangable for me.
I use Onenote to organize things. Anything. Snippets, pictures, links, descriptions, plots… you name it, it’s in my file somewhere. Love the thing. OneNote is part of the MS Office Suite, but if you don’t want to use anything Microsoft, Evernote is a very good alternative. (www.evernote.com) it does almost the same thing as OneNote. I heartily recommend it.
I’ve tried out various writer’s tools, like Writer’s Blocks, Writer’s Cafe and a bunch of others I can’t recall the name of. None of them did anything for me — except distract me from writing. So for me it’s a big thumbs down for them. Others may like them, swear by them, but after trying it… no. Not for me. At all. Too fiddly, too distracting and therefore unproductive.
My reference stuff tends to be books, not software.
What do you use?
I am morally bound to defend software, given that I make my living writing it (nothing commercial that folks buy in the store, however). A weapon is only as good as its wielder, and sometimes it takes some serious practice to really get comfortable with software. The better the program, the more intuitive it will be, but things that are intuitive to one person are complete gibberish to the next person.
Personally, I have not bothered to try any of the writer-specific stuff. I am a Microsoft fan, mostly because of the many, many years that I’ve been using it (and the fact that I have a free-to-me license through my job). I also know how to develop with MS Office, so if I want some kind of custom interface to my Excel sheets or Word docs, I could make one. Office has a lot of power, if you know how to use it. Even if you don’t know VB, between Word, Excel, and Access, you can organize darn near anything.
Again, like my weapon metaphor, an organization system is only as good as the person who creates it. And maintains it. Organizing your writing notes is like organizing your pantry–you can spend thousands of $ on a custom built-in solution, but you still have to take the time to put everything in its place or it quickly becomes a cluttered mess.
2008
Kristi