# The Writer's Circle – Week #9 [Software On The Cheap]



## Commissar Ploss (Feb 29, 2008)

The Writer's Circle – Week #9 [Software On The Cheap]

Hello everyone! And thanks for stopping by for Week #9 of the Writer's Circle “Software On The Cheap.” If you've ever been interested in writing software to help you write your stories, this is the article you should read. What would you expect to pay for writing software that comes with an exorbitant amount of features, an easy user interface, and are available for use on many different OS's. I'm gonna guess you'd pay quite a bit, if you bought from the box. But what if I told you that you can get all of the software you would ever need, cheaper than you would pay at a major chain store, on the Interwebs for a really good price? What if they were free? 

Well they are. And the article for this week gives a comprehensive run-down of the best software available online right now. Written by Scott Rhoades, this article appeared in the May 2009 issue of _The Writer_ magazine. Lets get started shall we!

Great Software That Won't Cost You a Dime
and you don't have to be a techie to put these applications to work
By: Scott Rhoades



> Whether you're a seasoned techie or a reluctant newbie, you can use your computer to manage your writing projects like a pro, from inception to submission. Free professional-grade software can help you capture that first flash in you mind, plan you work, write it, share drafts with your writing group, and submit your beautifully crafted prose so that the rest of us can enjoy it.
> 
> Building your software toolkit can easily cost you more than most writers make in a year. If you know where to look, however, you can find everything you need without spending a cent.
> 
> ...


Alright, as you can see there are many programs here that can really save you time and money when it comes to your writing. Hopefully this article has been helpful for you all. Just as a side note, there are two programs here that I have been using for a long time now. FreeMind and OpenOffice.org Writer are two programs that have been very helpful for me. I actually write all of my stuff, including these weekly discussions on OpenOffice.org Writer. As for FreeMind, i've been using it to help plot my stories and develop my characters for some time now. The mind mapping capabilities that it provides have been very useful. I recommend these two programs to EVERYONE! 

As for the other programs, I'm not to sure about them. I've downloaded Stickies, Collanos Workplace, and Sonar to try later. I'll let you know what I think about them at a later date. 

There aren't going to be any discussion questions for this issue of the Writer's Circle, however I would like people to comment on how useful this article is/was. If any of the software above has been able to help you, or if you are going to give any of them a try, please post a comment here about it. Or, if you have used/are using any of the above programs, please let us know what you think about them. Cheers everyone!

Write on,

Commissar Ploss


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## Mossy Toes (Jun 8, 2009)

I've heard good things about KeyNote, and use OpenOffice Writer.

For the latter, there are a few minor complaints - always having to switch the "save file" type to .doc, the Autocomplete feature until I manually turned it off, the dictionary not recognizing a number of things that are clearly words - but yes, I certainly enjoy using it.

This is a very interesting read-through, and I think that i may very well have to look into several of these. Tell me how those other features work out for you, personally, please!


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## Commissar Ploss (Feb 29, 2008)

Mossy Toes said:


> I've heard good things about KeyNote, and use OpenOffice Writer.
> 
> For the latter, there are a few minor complaints - always having to switch the "save file" type to .doc, the Autocomplete feature until I manually turned it off, the dictionary not recognizing a number of things that are clearly words - but yes, I certainly enjoy using it.
> 
> This is a very interesting read-through, and I think that i may very well have to look into several of these. Tell me how those other features work out for you, personally, please!


i certainly will Mossy, I've downloaded yWriter, and it seems pretty sweet. It seems they've thought of everything with this program. i'm working on my Iron Diamond fiction using this software now. It's made me think about the details a lot more. And on the website, there is quite a nice tutorial/rundown about the program. i would recommend that you check it out. 

Commissar Ploss


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## waltzmelancholy_07 (Sep 30, 2008)

Tnx Comissar Ploss for this informative issue this week... I'm downloading some of them now... REP+...


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## Commissar Ploss (Feb 29, 2008)

waltzmelancholy_07 said:


> Tnx Comissar Ploss for this informative issue this week... I'm downloading some of them now... REP+...


you're very welcome. Hopefully i will be able to provide more&more of these helpful W.C. posts for everyone. 

CP

p.s. thank you for the rep


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