You sit down to write..

What tools do you use? What's the process look like? From a legal pad, a thesaurus and a bic pen to a custom emacs build connected to obsidian and your zettlekasten database.

I write exclusively at work (nonfiction) but I’ve been wanting to write a short story as a creative outlet for some time now. I’ve been using the notes app on my phone and using Word on PC. It really is the best. I don’t need a thesaurus or anything silly like that. I just write when inspiration strikes.

I use a word processor on my PC, currently that's Libre Office Writer. I ditched MS Word 10 years ago and have been hopping from one free alternative to the next.

I do some writing on paper still but not as much as I used to. Back in school I was a journaler, I have about 30 journals filled with writing from high school + college.

I just use google docs bro. Keep it simple, stupid.

pencil and paper

I use a web app that's designed to look pretty much like OP's pic. keeps me focused.

used to have a tiny desktop that basically ran focuswriter and nothing else and had no wifi. great for productivity when I used to have more free time, but these days I'm better off using something that I can use any time and anywhere.

>>24551123
Why is it such a secret?

>>24550812 (OP)
I write on my Gemini capsule so I use BBEdit because it curls quotation marks for me
I also keep Visual Studio Code open for all the writing that isn’t cranking out prose
TextExpander spits out the current date in a variety of formats
Usually I’m fleshing out an idea I threw into the Inbox folder in Ulysses
The capsule is in Git with an associated GitHub-hosted repository so all changes are tracked

>>24551341
I have no idea what you just said

>>24550812 (OP)
>What tools do you use?
Online notepad mainly.
Got a little physical note book for keeping track of cerain words/names and keeping the spelling of things consistent.
I use duckduckgo to look stuff up.
Sometimes I use online dictionaries and translators.
And I have been recently been trying out lillyspeech for dictation, but not sure I like it yet.

But yeah, mainly online notepad. It does only what I need so helps keep me focused.

> What's the process look like?
I spend my shift at work thinking about the story, with my breaks looking stuff up for the story.
Then when off work I dump what's in my head onto the page. I do that for a few sessions until I have a few chapters to work with. Then I polish them up a bit with some proof reading and such, but usually avoid major structural edits until very large chunks of the story are done.

Haven't competed a full book yet so far, but hopefully the current one I am working on will get to the finish line.

>>24551358
“Mac nerd shit”

>>24550812 (OP)
Right now, I'm just using LibreOffice. I'll have my manuscript open in one window and my outline in another. It's a bit cumbersome. LibreOffice lags a little when working with longer documents, finding older chapters is a bit of a pain, and it gets annoying to have to keep switching between windows, but it works, I guess. Once I'm done with my current novel, I plan on transitioning into using Manuskript, which is like a FOSS version of Scrivener. I'd switch now, but I'm almost done with my current novel, and it doesn't seem worth the hassle since I'll have to edit the thing in LibreOffice anyway before sending it off.

>>24550812 (OP)
Real authors use Scrivener, fully comped by his publisher.

>>24550823
>>24551123
>>24551801
I would highly suggest to you anons text editors as apposed to document processors like word or Google docs. A document like docx is stored with all sorts of meta data that describes what it should look like, this paragraph is red that one blue etc. Storing it as text is a much simpler and more powerful solution; "find every instance of Alice and Bob in the same sentence and print the line number with the sentence" is way more difficult with docx vs txt.
The entire Unix tool chain like awk, sed, vim is designed to efficiently manipulate text. Sure it's for programmers but a writer will still benefit tremendously.

>>24552316
if in the highly unlikely event that the writer will want to do that, couldn't they just copy paste everything into the autism-software and do it?

>>24552316
It seems like a lot of work for very little benefit. For something like the "Alice and Bob" thing you mentioned, the find and replace function does the job adequately enough. Plus on top of the time you'll spend learning how to efficiently use a text editor, you'll also have to also spend more time putting it back into a docx file and formatting it properly in order to meet the industry standard. That's time that could be spent writing.

>>24552504
Yeah, or just save it as a txt-file from LibreOffice or whatever you're using. Though personally I do use Vim for everything.

>>24551197
writer from bighugelabs.

>>24552571
I don't deny it'll be effort and I'm not a writer myself so whether it's worth it is up to you. But I do feel like writing and programming are very similar arts, in that you're trying to express yourself elegantly and succinctly using text. And as I mentioned before, the entire Unix environment was invented to manipulate text. Maybe the tools that programmers use could benefit writers as well.

>>24552571
>find and replace function does the job adequately enough.

When you're dealing with a large document, this is going to be unwieldy. The benefit of ack is that it shows you all the hits in context. It might be that the result you want for example is 20 hits in, not the first hit, so you save yourself having to go "next" 20 times.

There is no doubt that the suite of tools for text editing is vastly more powerful.

Exporting from txt to docx does involve a bit of work but not as much as you think, as it's mostly automated. So it's a few minutes of work, not including how much time it takes your computer to do the subsitutions (that depends on the speed of your computer), but you don't have to babysit it either.

There is the learning curve of using vim but for many people it would be worth it.

>>24552776
Does this force you to write in Markdown?

>>24552095
>fully comped by his publisher.
Does this happen?

doom emacs with writeroom-mode

>>24550812 (OP)
Libreoffice Writer. Used to use notepad for one-off shorts but it's a laggy piece of shit so I stopped. Have a notes app on my phone when ideas come to me on the bus, and a few notebooks to scribble in at home.

>>24550830
What are the advantages of Libre over Word? I've been exclusively using the latter ever since I started writing

>>24553627
>advantages
Free
Doesnt nag you to use OneDrive
Doesn't have M$ scraping your data to train their AI.

>>24550830
>>24553627

>>24552864
Maybe, but right now, I just don't see it. I'm going back to school to study tech, so I'll probably end up playing around with text editors at some point or another. Maybe I'll see it then.
>>24552919
That's true, I suppose. Although, clicking next 20 times doesn't seem like that big of a deal, and I don't use that particular function all that often anyway. I do agree that it's a pain working with larger documents, which is why I've been looking into applications like Manuskript and Scrivener.
>>24553703
Matter of preference, of course, but I also prefer the UI of Writer to that of Word.

>>24553732
Another benefit of ack is that you can search across multiple documents.

And using vim means you can have multiple documents open in their own buffers and it's very easy to switch from one to another.

(neo)vim

I've never written anything. Is it hard? I have an idea for a story

>open free copy of LibreOffice
>outline and write first draft
>print
>edit and write second draft with pen and paper
>open first draft in LibreOffice
>transcribe second draft
I'll never understand people buying apps and those Fisher Price laptop things to outline and write.

>>24550812 (OP)

>>24553778
Switching from one document to another is a solved problem in 1993 even, well before Windows 95
If you want to shill nerd tools like I do, suggest something a bit easier to get into like Visual Studio Code
>>24552919
If I needed to go from a bunch of Markdown files to Word I’d use https://pandoc.org/
I have no idea how much of a pain in the rear this would be on Windows, though

>>24553063
Yes.

>>24554141
So now he does all his writing on an iPad with a keyboard.

I use the desktop computer I bought in highschool with windows xp and word 2007.

>>24554956
he tried having a setup like this but now i'm pretty sure he just uses a mac laptop with word

Vanilla Emacs hooked up to typst in a pdf viewer or just Emacs if I don't care about it looking nice. I also have a python script that manages filename tags in my writing folder.

>>24550854
this

>>24556256
From based to cringe. You hate to see it.

>>24556382
>Vanilla Emacs hooked up to typst in a pdf viewer
Dagnerously based.

>>24554106
Nah, go ahead

>>24550832
>decides your account was stolen and permanently blocks access

MS Word 4lyfe

>>24552095
>fully comped by his publisher
It's like 60 bucks for a permanent license...

>>24550812 (OP)
Does anyone know what program does auto m-dash? DO NOT say ChatGPT or I will kill you.

>>24560661
>"A licence doesn’t cover major version updates. So if you have Scrivener 3, when we release Scrivener 4 you will need to pay for a new licence (but you’ll get a discount)."

>>24560881
Just type it with your keyboard???

>>24556382
Can you, or another nerd, elaborate?

>>24561167
The post was clear. What more do you want?

>>24561186
There's no reason to be a cunt.

>>24561195
Don't ask stupid questions.

>>24561200
You didn't even write the post, you're just some salty mentally ill guy busting balls because you're miserable, lol. Go outside.

>you sit down with to write
>open up the website and see what the daily prompt is today
>crap something out in 5-15 minutes
>copy paste into chatGPT for grammatical errors
>it tries to give me inauthentic re-write advice
>tell chatGPT it could never replicate my voice
>return to the website
>attach a picture of a cute anime girl
>hit post

>>24550812 (OP)
>You sit down to write..

It was over before it began.

>>24560881
Use hyphens.

>>24550812 (OP)
Neovim

>>24550832
>Plagiarizes your writing with AI so people can generate more AI slop

Is Scrivener worth it?

>>24561146
You keep the old version though, they're separate programs.

>>24563253
It has a 30 day trial, so you can find out for yourself if you have a mind to.

>>24550812 (OP)
I exclusively use Apache OpenOffice. used it for countless years.

How is Scrivener 1.9 compared to the current version? 1.9 is the only version available on Loonix.

>>24561167
I run typst watch on my .typ file and edit it in emacs, typst is basically LaTex and compiles into pdf by default, so I run zathura (pdf viewer) in split view next to it, it's a really simple workflow because I believe in defaults. The only reason I don't use Emacs to view the pdf is becuase it doesn't update after changes automatically and it works welllike this.

>>24560881
macOS does this by default
Option-underscore is a comfy way to type it too
Some Markdown processors will mangle a bunch of hyphens into an em dash too

>>24561167
For semi-nerds, use VS Code plus Typst plus the Tinymist plugin for VS Code and I forget if you need a dedicated PDF-viewer plugin too

>>24561167
It’s just text editors that autistic men like to use, usually due to their neurotic obsession over technology.

>>24561206
caN SOmEoNE sPoON-FEED me HOW Emacs aNd TYPSt wOrKS? i'm tOO RETardED TO GOoGLe.

>>24561206
>caN SOmEoNE sPoON-FEED me HOW Emacs aNd TYPSt wOrKS? i'm tOO RETardED TO GOoGLe.

>>24550830
>I use a word processor on my PC, currently that's Libre Office Writer. I ditched MS Word 10 years ago and have been hopping from one free alternative to the next.
10 year linux mint veteran here. I only use Libre to make illustrated versions of my stuff in PDF format. Since I started putting my catalog up on a WebNovel place? I just use the built in text editor, I think its called "Xed". Its just a better-than-wordpad free linux one. When going for illuatrated and PDF though, I'll start in XED, then copy over to libre to polish it out.

>>24551341
>I write on my Gemini capsule so I use BBEdit because it curls quotation marks for me
Okay, deciphering this. I know what curled quotation marks are. But the rest? I have no idea.
>
Seriously?
Typing characters on a keyboard. Saving the file. Its not rocket science, you don't want or need oscilloscopes running to do this..

>>24552919
>Exporting from txt to docx
Huh?
File... save as or export, I forget... pick DOCX. I use Libre, I can save in various microsoft formats as well as many others. Where's the work.

>>24564362
I know what emacs is, I wasn't familiar with typst or why you'd want to use it in conjunction with emacs. I typically write everything in markdown in vim.

>>24564615
Yes! Exactly! Now you're getting the idea, champ.

>>24565115
>I wasn't familiar with typst or why you'd want to use it in conjunction with emacs.
Emacs to write in the .typ file; Typst to compile the file to typeset PDF.

>>24565423
Thank you

>>24564927
If you don't have italics, then it's as simple as you say.

>>24565561
Also, you want to convert things like double hyphen to em dash, simple quotes to block quotes, etc. Chapt titles have to be centered, you have to insert page breaks. There are a few things like that.

>>24565569
>block quote
smart quotes

>>24550812 (OP)
GRRM, please write the damn book. I want to read the Jon and Arya reunion before I die.

>>24560881
Microsoft Word.

>>24564913
https://geminiprotocol.net/
A “capsule” is just the name for “website, but on Gemini”
https://www.barebones.com/products/bbedit/

I write with a fountain pen and when I have something I like, I copy it with a typewriter because my handwriting is terrible. It's pretentious but it feels fun

>>24565707
His WordStar machine broke (true story)

>>24567498
guess he doesn't know about virtual machines

>before
Ancient notebook with pirated Word. Everything in a single document
>now
Latex in notepad++ using a Thinkpad I leave in my car. I also carry around some post-its with a pen to scribble ideas to develop upon when I get home.

>>24567247
>me except I only use the typewriter for writing letters to the government because legible handwriting

>>24550812 (OP)
My process is fairly simple:
>smoke a fat joint
>park at my computer desk
>boot up OpenOffice
>crank some heavy metal
>write

>>24550812 (OP)
Evernote, WordPad and Substack

>>24567552
Why Notepad++ instead of a more developed text editor? I understand minimalism, but NotePad++ doesn't seem to excel at anything.

>>24568082
Post your blog.

a spiral notebook and a few different colored gel pens, obsidian when transferring to pc

But I have a ton of fake accts in Substack pretending to be me? So I stopped using it and want to take my stuff that I deleted there elsewhere

>>24550812 (OP)
I like using a typewriter, faster and way easier on the hands than handwriting but no Internet or anything to distract me.

I never realized I hurt you until it was too late..
I opened my laptop and realized I hurt a good friend, the second I saw your video.
ad not realized they had ALL turned on you till today. I DID NOT realize your blood was betraying you, and you struggled with health as immensely as you do. In my fear, I was reactionary instead of smooth, logical, my usual healing self, I TOO am suffering, but forgive me anyway, I'm not rationalizing bad ways, I shift my eyes down. Critical words leave my tongue before they can leave my mouth. Despite the distance between us, I can feel you, I too, feel your pain. I would pack you a lunch with a note today if I could. That says 1million triumphs and joys AND TRUE LOVE to light your way

I NEVER thought I would say such things.
I guess I'm cooling, as Tori would say, an emotional wreck, I guess you could say. I relight my torch, hand it to you, and grab your hand, saying with excited whispered breath, You showed me the way. The way I thought I had lost, LOVE, through all the pain. To LOVE so fiercely, so truly, it could drive back all darkness and shadow, despite your own struggles, you found me here. Am I saving you? No, U saved me, relentlessly time after time, it's my turn to repay you, this debt that is mine

>>24568630
Here funny guy

https://adolfstalin.substack.com/

NAH I can't stand racism, OR racists of ANY kind. I DON'T think it's funny AT ALL. Also, my ancestors tried to kill Hitler LITERALLY and destroyed the SS from the inside out. So, NO, in fact, can you STOP posting around me? And following me around the board? I have ONLY been back here for a day, AND you are making me uncomfortable

>>24568667
I also used to use a typewriter for the same reasons, but a computer just offers too many advantages in my opinion.

My solution was to create a bootable Linux USB with a minimal Debian installation. No GUI, no desktop environment or window manager-- just a basic text-only tty terminal. This way I can't self-sabotage my writing sessions by googling the definition of a word and ending up looking at YouTube videos. I keep the USB on my keychain and can boot into my custom writing environment from any computer I happen to be around at the time. It's very nice.

I only install text-based CLI programs I need for writing, research and reference. I mostly write everything in markdown using vim, but I'm going to build a custom, personalized environment in emacs sometime soon. I use dict and wordnet for dictionary definitions and synonyms and such. I use w3m and a Google's Gemini CLI client for quick web searches and questions. A pomodoro app that gives me a structured schedule for breaks, and timewarrior to keep track of how long I've spent writing. Taskwarrior to keep track of projects, goals, edits to make, etc.. I use git for version control, when desired. Pandoc for converting documents. Rsync for automated backups. Vimwiki for zettelcasten style note repository. Ranger for midnight commander for file browsing, tmux for terminal multiplexing, so I can have multiple, movable and resizable, tiled terminal windows open. Stuff like wc and spell to use with vim to get word counts, line counts, spellcheck, etc., and of course the rest of the gnu core utilities are a godsend. Cmatrix for a screensaver because I'm old and based. Cowsay for the ladies, etc... It's a pretty great system for me. I have everything I need for writing, research and reference, plus everything I've written, on a 10GB USB drive that I can carry on my keychain and boot into from any computer I'm using, and every is backed up to both my home desktop PC and cloud storage. Very comfy.

I need to look into what options I have as far as changing the font, size and color schemes in these graphicless terminal-only setups. I also am considering trying out other smaller Linux distributions, like tinycore or alpine, seeing as I don't actually need something as powerful and well equipped as Debian for such a limited scope.

>>24569007
I think I might fine tune this setup, add a bunch of offline reference, dictionary type stuff, with a how-to manual, and create a website to share the ISO for others interested in this sort of portable distraction-free setup.

>>24569028
>share the ISO
you may want to do something like this instead so you don’t have to keep updating a bunch of files: https://omakub.org/
in before “pipe curl to bash”

>>24551364
>Haven't competed a full book yet so far
why not? 500 words a day is a book in one year.

>>24567514
He literally doesn't know what those are.

>>24567903
>OpenOffice in the year 2015+10
Why?

>>24550812 (OP)
Write in notebooks a lot but I only ever finish stuff I do on the computer since I never go back and edit physical notes. On the computer I just use vim with goyo and some other plugins. I use markdown files so I can use the obsidian graph view but I find I end up with a big spiderweb instead of one of those nice productivity youtuber 'second brains' . Still get some utility over a hundred notebooks in different places

>>24569466
It's not about word count.
It's that I start deeply disliking basically everything about the story after working on it for months and months. Usually because I realize it's irredeemable and boring. Not worth a reader's time. Certainly not worth anyone's money.
Stop writing all together for a month out of utter disgust with myself for a number of reasons.
Spiral into depression and self hate for a few weeks.
Then after 2 or so months of that have the impulse to write a book length story again.
To be fair, my writing is quite shit and shouldn't actually be inflicted on others. I don't know why I bother to write. It's just short term self satisfaction only to feel like I wasted a massive amount of time and effort for nothing later.

Also I don't write every day. I binge write on my days off from work. Usually 2000-5000 or so words a week. I do minor edits during the work week, maybe adding in a few sentences to a scene I am working on, but I don't get much done on work days to be totally honest.
I tried the every day thing and the results were utterly shit. Like the quality and quantity of writing were both abysmal on my work days, so it just meant taking writing time away from my non-work days to fix all the broken shit before getting properly locked in to writing.
Eventually I got tired of fixing shit that wasn't worth salvaging and quit that project too.

What is even the point though?
What the fuck would I do even if I got it to book?
I can't even pay people to read my shit.
I must be mentally ill to keep this futile hobby that ultimately just makes me irritated and angry at myself.

>>24550812 (OP)
Has anyone here actually used WordStar?
Any good?

>>24553627
>>24550823

I'm using LibreOffice on Windows 11 because my college student 360 license ran out.

Having problems with key lag on it and I have no idea how to fix it. Everything else, including Google Docs, works fine.

>>24550812 (OP)
Toilet paper and a finger

>>24550812 (OP)
If you want to use a wordstar modern clone there's WordTsar, it's free and works on modern OS: https://sourceforge.net/projects/wordtsar/files/Releases/

>>24568625
Because notepad++ was the first I've used and I never felt I needed anything more. Latex is not complicated and I don't have an interest in sinking the necessary time to learn the likes of vim or emacs.

>>24569007
I wonder if I could get a used AlphaSmart.