i need writing software advice

[chucky chuckaluck]

i've used nano, leafpad, gedit, kate and kwrite, but not openoffice or abiword (don't like vim. no offense intended). i'm planning on writing a paper/book in support of doing some lectures on performance (singing, acting, public speaking, etc), so i'm looking for something that would be good for managing somewhere between 120 and 150 pages. well?

[Greg]

AbiWord as a standalone wordprocessor is probably your best bet- OOo Writer would do the trick too. AbiWord is lighter on resources, and acts as a full-fledged document handler. Many of the others you mentioned are what I'd use for simple lists, for config files, but not for reports.

[RichardLinx]

I'll second Abiword.

[Simian Man]

Abiword is the only word processor that doesn't get on my nerves while I use it. OpenOffice is great for MS compatibility, but not as nice to actually use in my opinion.

I only use a text editor for papers when using LaTeX, which is most of the time.

[chucky chuckaluck]

thanks, greg. i kind of figured it would get unweildy. what's it like to use abiword, or openoffice? (i've never used any kind of word processing software. it was always pen and paper for me, or cave wall.)

[chucky chuckaluck]

I only use a text editor for papers when using LaTeX, which is most of the time.

i pretty much go 50/50 on gui vs. text apps. i use cplay, nano, mc, etc., but sometimes i need a gui type app. i've got a feeling a gui type app will give me more of a visual sense of what i'm doing.

[cardinals_fan]

I strongly recommend against word processors in any form. Just write in html using the editor of your choice.

[Simian Man]

i've never used any kind of word processing software. it was always pen and paper for me, or cave wall.)

Definitely try out Abiword first then. With OO you will be lost in menus and options.

Using LaTeX is great when you want fine-grained control, but for just *writing*, a WYSIWYG editor like Abiword is great.

[Greg]

thanks, greg. i kind of figured it would get unweildy. what's it like to use abiword, or openoffice? (i've never used any kind of word processing software. it was always pen and paper for me, or cave wall.)

Similar in a way to the difference between quick and full reply. When you use something like gedit or mousepad, you pretty much are just typing. When you use an actual word processor, everythin wraps around to new lines, you get the power of indentation, you can play with fonts and italics and formatting and (at least in my opinion) it's simpler to read in than a pure text editor.

[chucky chuckaluck]

I strongly recommend against word processors in any form.

why is that?



Just write in html using the editor of your choice.

this might horrify you, but i plan on continuing to use toilet paper the whole time, too.

[cardinals_fan]

why is that?

http://ricardo.ecn.wfu.edu/~cottrell/wp.html

Simple tags for formatting are much easier for me to understand, and HTML will work on any system with a browser that has just a touch of standards compliance.

[chucky chuckaluck]

http://ricardo.ecn.wfu.edu/~cottrell/wp.html

duh! that just gave me a great idea (or, at least, i thought of it while i was starting to read that). instead of thinking in terms of hard copy, i should make this a document available on the internet and use that as a method to promote my lectures. that just made everything simple, as it is the giving of lectures that i'm primarily interested in. thanks. and thanks to all.

[red_Marvin]

Have you considered LaTeX? As html, it uses tags to format text and you can then compile it into pdf/ps/dvi and probably a few others too.

[Onyros]

duh! that just gave me a great idea (or, at least, i thought of it while i was starting to read that). instead of thinking in terms of hard copy, i should make this a document available on the internet and use that as a method to promote my lectures. that just made everything simple, as it is the giving of lectures that i'm primarily interested in. thanks. and thanks to all.If that's the case, then Zim might be the app you're looking for, as it'll handle the structure for you AND export it to html if needed.

[chucky chuckaluck]

If that's the case, then Zim might be the app you're looking for, as it'll handle the structure for you AND export it to html if needed.

this is how pacman describes it:

"A WYSIWYG text editor that aims at bringing the
concept of a wiki to the desktop"

what exactly does that mean?

[Onyros]

this is how pacman describes it:

"A WYSIWYG text editor that aims at bringing the
concept of a wiki to the desktop"

what exactly does that mean?Picture this: you start with a home page, and then your document branches out from there on. You'll have an index sidebar available to never let you get lost within your document, which is structured in good ol'tree fashion.

If at your Home page you "link" to 3 pages, that'll create 3 branches. In each of those branches you can have... sub-branches and so on. Kinda like you have pages within pages within pages in a website.

The best thing is just tryin' it out, you'll be hooked. It also handles formatting, inserting images and whatnot, so you'll be all set there.

[chucky chuckaluck]

Picture this: you start with a home page, and then your document branches out from there on. You'll have an index sidebar available to never let you get lost within your document, which is structured in good ol'tree fashion.

If at your Home page you "link" to 3 pages, that'll create 3 branches. In each of those branches you can have... sub-branches and so on. Kinda like you have pages within pages within pages in a website.

The best thing is just tryin' it out, you'll be hooked. It also handles formatting, inserting images and whatnot, so you'll be all set there.

sounds like a kafka novel. nano, ftw. thanks for the response.

[cardinals_fan]

I like Notecase more than Zim. It is more node-like and less wiki-like.

[Onyros]

sounds like a kafka novel. nano, ftw. thanks for the response.Haha, depends on the novel. It might be more Metamorphosis than The Process, as you'd be more absorbed and lonely as the first, less lost and never really knowing what you're up to than with the latter.

Give LyX a spin, too. It puts the truly Kafkian TeX/LateX into a nice frontend and it'll help you write productively. Whatever that means.

[RiceMonster]

http://ricardo.ecn.wfu.edu/~cottrell/wp.html

Simple tags for formatting are much easier for me to understand, and HTML will work on any system with a browser that has just a touch of standards compliance.

Well, some people like me require a word processor because they have to view a lot of .doc files. Plus, using a word processor is a little more convenient that writing it in HTML, IMO. That way i don't need to re-render it every time I want to see what it will look like, etc.

[Grant A.]

duh! that just gave me a great idea (or, at least, i thought of it while i was starting to read that). instead of thinking in terms of hard copy, i should make this a document available on the internet and use that as a method to promote my lectures. that just made everything simple, as it is the giving of lectures that i'm primarily interested in. thanks. and thanks to all.

License it freely. ;)

GFDL, or FreeBSD Documentation License?

[chucky chuckaluck]

License it freely. ;)

GFDL, or FreeBSD Documentation License?

what?

[Onyros]

Hehe, you guys are obsessed with licensing. I betcha that's the last thing fuscia'll be thinking about.

BTW, cardinals_fan, thanks for reminding me of Notecase. I had been wanting to try it out for some time now, but always kept forgetting. Someone else had recommended me that as well, as the node approach was something I had been looking for, kind of like what Xournal does for me in the N800.

[Grant A.]

what?

Are you going to license your paper under a free license? If so, will it be either the GNU Free Documentation License, or the FreeBSD Documentation License?

Just a question, since this will, of course, be on teh intarwebz.

[cardinals_fan]

Well, some people like me require a word processor because they have to view a lot of .doc files. Plus, using a word processor is a little more convenient that writing it in HTML, IMO. That way i don't need to re-render it every time I want to see what it will look like, etc.
I'm not saying that you shouldn't have a word processor available (Abiword is installed on my machine for viewing doc files), but that doesn't mean that it is the best way to create new documents.

The re-rendering really isn't a pain. I just keep a browser open on the doc and hit Ctrl-R. Anyway, I personally think that the focus should always be on the content - text. Formatting can wait. Visual projects with lots of pictures are again a time where a WYSIWYG app can be useful.

Use what works for you :)

[chucky chuckaluck]

Are you going to license your paper under a free license? If so, will it be either the GNU Free Documentation License, or the FreeBSD Documentation License?

Just a question, since this will, of course, be on teh intarwebz.

my latest whim is to use it as a draw for a lecture audience, which has been my original intent. i'll probably make it available for free, but not allow people to mess with it.

[Grant A.]

my latest whim is to use it as a draw for a lecture audience, which has been my original intent. i'll probably make it available for free, but not allow people to mess with it.

http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/)

[chucky chuckaluck]

http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/)

what does that mean?

[cardinals_fan]

what does that mean?
Click it ;)

[chucky chuckaluck]

Click it ;)

thanks. i don't know, to answer the question. i haven't even written the damn thing yet. a match might end up being the best way to handle the matter.

[RichardLinx]

@OP, which writing software did you decided on?

[Keyper7]

I definitely recommend LaTeX + emacs + aucTeX.

The learning curve is smoother than some people say and the beauty of the output is worth it. Believe me: open the output in a PDF viewer with auto-refresh, use keyboard shortcuts for compiling and in no time you'll see no reason for using a WYSIWYG.

[macogw]

Have you considered LaTeX? As html, it uses tags to format text and you can then compile it into pdf/ps/dvi and probably a few others too.

It can compile to HTML too! ;)

[chucky chuckaluck]

@OP, which writing software did you decided on?

i decided to just stick to nano and organize the thing as a group of files rather than some giant document. down the line, i might need something more, but it may be best to wait until the need arises and then determine what the solution should be.

[handy]

You need a sweet young secretary who can touch type & take dictation.

Help the unemployed?

[Simian Man]

i decided to just stick to nano and organize the thing as a group of files rather than some giant document. down the line, i might need something more, but it may be best to wait until the need arises and then determine what the solution should be.

My friend wrote his entire master's thesis in nano, along with thousands of lines of C code :).

[chucky chuckaluck]

My friend wrote his entire master's thesis in nano, along with thousands of lines of C code :).

that's encouraging.



You need a sweet young secretary who can touch type & take dictation.

Help the unemployed?

that's too encouraging.