The Question
Eternal
Time to show off your toys!
Now, as Sardy will no doubt agree, the software you use to get the job done isn't as important as just getting the words onto the screen (and, later, onto the page) -- but not all word processors are created equal, and some can greatly ease the process of making the transition from imagination to printed reality a little easier than others.
Here, I'll list the software packages I use, and why.
General Word Processing -- Atlantis Word Processor. There are two big reasons I use Atlantis. One will seem sensible, the other might seem a little silly.
1. Compatibility. Atlantis is compatible with damn near everything. MS Word (about a billion different versions), Microsoft Works, WordPerfect, straight DOS text, rich text, and IIRC a few others. There's almost no word processing document out there I can't open in Atlantis.
2. Audio feedback. Start typing in Atlantis, and you'll hear each keystroke give a firm audio response. The default Atlantis sound scheme is that of an older IBM Selectric. For some reason, this gives a greater sense that you're actually typing than the cold, impersonal silence you get from any other word processor.
Screenwriting -- Final Draft 7. Although I know all the rules of scriptwriting format, it's incredibly nice that I can focus on writing instead of focusing on formatting. Final Draft 7 makes that happen better than any other scriptwriting software I've tried. It's also more versatile than any of the others, with templates for generic feature-film formats as well as about a dozen television formats.
Story structuring: Dramatica Pro. This one is not a word processor so much as an idea processor. The creators of Dramatica have crafted a theory of storytelling as Grand Argument -- and although this theory has some limitations as applied in the software, it does present an excellent way to get a firm handle on your story's dynamics -- nailing the pieces of the puzzle in place, so to speak, so that you can get it all sorted out before you strike out on the journey to a completed first draft.
Now, as Sardy will no doubt agree, the software you use to get the job done isn't as important as just getting the words onto the screen (and, later, onto the page) -- but not all word processors are created equal, and some can greatly ease the process of making the transition from imagination to printed reality a little easier than others.
Here, I'll list the software packages I use, and why.
General Word Processing -- Atlantis Word Processor. There are two big reasons I use Atlantis. One will seem sensible, the other might seem a little silly.
1. Compatibility. Atlantis is compatible with damn near everything. MS Word (about a billion different versions), Microsoft Works, WordPerfect, straight DOS text, rich text, and IIRC a few others. There's almost no word processing document out there I can't open in Atlantis.
2. Audio feedback. Start typing in Atlantis, and you'll hear each keystroke give a firm audio response. The default Atlantis sound scheme is that of an older IBM Selectric. For some reason, this gives a greater sense that you're actually typing than the cold, impersonal silence you get from any other word processor.
Screenwriting -- Final Draft 7. Although I know all the rules of scriptwriting format, it's incredibly nice that I can focus on writing instead of focusing on formatting. Final Draft 7 makes that happen better than any other scriptwriting software I've tried. It's also more versatile than any of the others, with templates for generic feature-film formats as well as about a dozen television formats.
Story structuring: Dramatica Pro. This one is not a word processor so much as an idea processor. The creators of Dramatica have crafted a theory of storytelling as Grand Argument -- and although this theory has some limitations as applied in the software, it does present an excellent way to get a firm handle on your story's dynamics -- nailing the pieces of the puzzle in place, so to speak, so that you can get it all sorted out before you strike out on the journey to a completed first draft.
