Yadda, yadda, yadda... Tell it to the hand. I have to say, this group of developers, this business or organization (whatever you want to call it) really ticked me off in a way that software hasn't ticked me off in years.
They (he or she) offer timed trials for linux users. Then, when the trial is up, their next version may or may not be ready but, hey, too bad for you; and, by the way, you won't be able to access your work unless you start twiddling with the time and date setting on your computer which, by the way, could really foul things up. But hey, that's not their problem. And what, exactly, are all these linux alpha-testers getting in return? - a product that may or may not be available or usable?
Right. And then they come up with some finger-in-the-nose rationale. Oh yes, we want to force you to use the next development release so it will be tested. Right, and how long is that going to go on, and how long do we have to wait for their royal PITA's to get the next functioning version up and running?
And, by the way, where is that version for linux? They've been dangling that carrot for how long now? Unless something has changed, my advice for linux users is to stay far, far away from these crack-pot developers. You might actually get some writing done. And you might not be locked out of your own novel. But if you want to play Russian roulette with these folks, go ahead.
End. Rant.
Jdarkroom is java so can run on ubuntu as well.
Also wordgrinder is a good command line equivalent. Just fullscreen the terminal.
I write all my first drafts in wordgrinder/pyroom/jdarkroom, then do my structuring in Kabikaboo.
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Microsoft writes code for Linux too. Not a shocker that Novell was doing it in 2008...
Speaking of Novell:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cldeHjFig_c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eTgu...feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-329...feature=relmfu
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Hah, Plume Creator! Good thing I bumped into this thread, or I'd have never found this tool! I'll try it tomorrow for sure.
As for writing, I actually use a netbook (Xubuntu) with FocusWriter, LibreOffice, Celtx (which I'm trying to move away from) and Zim Desktop Wiki.
However, more and more I find myself moving towards RedNoteBook, which is admittedly a personal journal app, but still works excellently for creative writing (it can separate posts into categories! All my notes and chapters in one place, huzzah!)
Hi everyone,
I'd like to add a few more programs I have tested on Linux
Celtx : Linux/Windows/ maybe OSX (can't remember) It's nice to see they recently added a "novel" type of project next to movie synopsies and others. Yet, trying it, I can't stop feeling this program was designed by and for movie / theater writers. Too formatting for my taste, there is no fullscreen mode (ah yes, there is : an add'on is available... for a fee).
StoryView : an old Windows program which can run whitout glitch using Wine. It's in a package named Writing Tools 5 a friend gave me. I don't think it's free. It's a one-of-a-kind outliner. You can write in a hierachical manner, like every ouliner out there. It's particularity ? See the screenshot. It's fun to have an overview of all your novel on a timeline (or in page number) !
Histoire d'écrire : Ok, first it's french (no translation available). Run with Wine. There are guidelines to help beginners. A basic WordPad. One fun element : a game to stimulate imagination, random words calling others random words. Simple yet effective.
Libreoffice / OpenOffice templates : A powerfull tool. You can keep it simple... or you can use styles. I give you two templates in attachment. One is complex and was retrieved here https://sites.google.com/site/ooowriters/Home. The other is mine . Use a grey background and enjoy !
Antidote HD : for french people. Run natively on Windows, Linux, Mac. A complete french dictionnary and very smart grammatical checker. Word, OpenOffice (and others) add-ons. No english equivalent (for Linux users).
Wordgrinder : http://wordgrinder.sourceforge.net/ . Free. If Vim and Nano are for devellopers, Wordgrinder is for writers. It's no Libreoffice, but you write in a distraction-free environment. (Basic) Rich Text support, autosave, HTML export... I like it a lot. We can zoom-in zoom-out in a terminal.
TextRoom : http://sourceforge.net/projects/text...ce=recommended. Free. Alternative to focusWriter. Rich text support. Fullscreen. Usefull features : Target word count and deadline.
Regards,
Terreville
FWIW Writers:
If you are on a heavy production schedule, you really can't beat Kabikaboo.
Easy to use, easy and quick to maintain.
A great organizer. If you keep your scenes titled, easy as pie to move them up or down the tree.
When you are ready to do your editing, export the selected folders and let it put them together for you, then plop them into your favorite word processing program.
I have one file holding the entire backstory and outlines for a nine book series, on one screen, then use a separate file on another screen for each of the works in progress. However, they all could be maintained in the same folder, it's just easier and faster not having to bounce around while working.
I've messed with Storybook and others that are great for maintaining data, but horrible for trying to use to write from. They have their good points, if you have forever and a day to mess around with all those tags. And trying to remember just what tags you need to add to each little darn thing you do. It is really a major time waster.
You can basically do the same thing using Kabikaboo's tree, and be done with it instantly. At a glance for all of your characters, character sketches, etc. Plus you can keep your notes there too!
It is really easy to use, once you figure out a tree layout for your projects.
TTUL
Gary
The souped up note taking applications so far seem to be the best approach to writing anything of length that needs complex organization like an outline. The four to check out are Tomboy Notes, Zim, Kabikaboo and Gjots2. The problem with complex programs like LibreOffice is that although superb at formatting and elegance of print, they are unfortunately pitiful for outlining and organization, which is essential to developing a full length book as opposed to a short story, essay or document. Also, for the Book Writing Applications, they seem to be either be too complex to grasp or so vast in detail that the organization of the book is lost within the system itself, and frequently the data is proprietary format with each little detail hidden away its in very own special cell, out of sight, out mind, and therefore out of your book too.
I'm using Tomboy Notes which is excellent for development and outlining. It's carried me a long way. But the "Tree" of organization is limited to folder and subfolders no more than two levels deep.
I checked out Kellemora's suggestion for Kabikaboo and also found Gjots2. Both look very promising. Simple, and a Tree structure that appears limitless. The Tree with a left pane creates a Table of Contents like affect. Very Productive. They are both very similar in that respect, like Zim, but simplified and streamlined. After checking these out briefly I'd be more inclined to use Kabikaboo because of available plugins like spellcheck. OTOH Gjots2 has Font adjustment and also a Sort Function (as if this the document were a spreadsheet -- that caused a crash!). But Id rather have the spell check option from Kabikaboo. Also it has word count, a big plus for quota work and goals.
There are a couple of confusing features that I found though--Split Node and Unify Children. I got the program to crash trying to find out what it did. It doesn't appear to do anything useful so they should take it out and improve stability, IMO. I would have considered this an A+
Zim Wiki is very promising too. But, it has some odd features as well, and I was able to cause a crash with it trying to figure them out.
Tomboy Notes. I've been using and developing with it. It's Rock Solid stable and able to synchronize with Ubuntu One. My one complaint is that you can't get the Table of Contents like Pane. You have a list of notes with a Tree that can be two levels deep. No sorthing up or date, just by date or alphabet. But I'd rather work around that than crashes.
If I was starting from scratch I'd probably pick Kabikaboo as long as it remained stable. Other than that it appears to be the dream application for sketching, outlining all the way up to the final draft at which time you'd copy into Libre Office for formatting and paging and artwork before publication.
Like Kellemora I've also been planning a series of novels
Last edited by markMDW; September 23rd, 2012 at 01:28 PM.
Very interesting discussion. I'm a writer too, but of nonfictional pieces. I just use OpenOffice, now LibreOffice with the upgrade to Precise, but it never occurred to me to use Tomboy. Brilliant! I will be looking into all ya'lls suggestions however. Thanks for sharing.
"Everybody is ignorant, only on different subjects." Will Rogers
Plume creator is on the right track. From all I tested, it's the one that got me more excited.
I hope the creator keeps developing it, because the work so far is great.
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