Preferred Creative Writing Applications
Hello everyone,
I wanted to ask if anyone has a preferred software for the purpose of creative writing.
Libre Office Writer is great of course, but just as software like LogSeq or Obsidian exist for the note taking process, I was wondering if there is anything that is specifically geared toward the creative writing process.
I know that there are federated blog platforms which focus on this in their presentation, but was curious about applications specifically.
FOSS is definitely preferable.
Thanks!
cygnus
in reply to vulpes • • •vulpes
in reply to cygnus • • •cygnus
in reply to vulpes • • •I started with a single file that had bullet points for each story beat, then those grew into chapters. I then had files/notes for specific things that I needed to remember but didn't want in the novel itself (character backstories, etc). After a while I found the single file overwhelming so I split it into one file per chapter, that way it was easier to focus on one at a time; when I felt they were all in decent shape I put them back together in one file. I use headings for each chapter title so that I can jump to each one in the table of contents. I'm now doing a final pass for tone and for minor fixes; when something needs attention I highlight it so that I can find it later.
I tried a LOT of different apps but Obsidian was for me the best combination of being very responsive, not too distracting, easy to navigate, and not locking me into a proprietary format.
I also love iA writer but it doesn't work on Linux, or with Wine...
Luke
in reply to vulpes • • •I've been enjoying novelWriter for a few months now.
It's FOSS, works on every OS, and is created by a writer who was frustrated with the other options available. She and another writer co-designed it initially, and there's a respectably sized community built up around it at this point. It's got the kinds of features that writers actually need, and avoids bloat. So they say, and in my experience that's certainly been the case.
novelWriter
novelwriter.ioswelter_spark
in reply to Luke • • •Übercomplicated
in reply to vulpes • • •aksdb
in reply to Übercomplicated • • •Huh? What's wrong with Overleaf?
If you "only" need beautiful PDF and it doesn't have to be online, you can also use Typst with vscode and tinymist as editor locally. Not as powerful as TeX, but I know few people for use TeX even remotely to its fullest. The upside of Typst is, that the "core" syntax for content writing is very markdown-like, so you can focus on writing instead of the underlying language.
GitHub - overleaf/overleaf: A web-based collaborative LaTeX editor
GitHubÜbercomplicated
in reply to aksdb • • •Holy shit, thank you! I had no idea overleaf was open source; you have cleared my conscience. Typst seems interesting, but I am a bit of a typesetting nerd and quite used to latex anyway. Transition now would be difficult. I'll check it out though, it might be nice for drafts and such. Thanks again!
I'm definitely going to share Typst with non-tex-addicts though, it does seem really cool.