I’ve got a post today over at Freelance folder called How Freelancing Is Like Network Administration. Give it a look, and feel free to add your comments.
While I’m on the subject, though, I’m curious about something. I do most of my writing in good old Microsoft Word 2007. I’ve had clients request everything from Notepad to Word Perfect formats. Usually, I can just write my material in Word and export it. I even do that with blog posts, making sure to paste the text in the HTML editor in WordPress so as to avoid all those goopy Microsoft Word HTML add-ons.
What I’m wondering is this: how do you write? Do you use one of the “writing-room” type programs, or do you use a Word Processor? Tell me why your method is best; I really just need an excuse to dump Word!
photo credit: House Of Sims
12 comments ↓
I actually write all my blog post in the WP editor.
I use MS Word 2007 for everything else.
The Chatty DMs last blog post..Someone Broke the Brain’s Jar
If I’m writing up a blog post, I almost always use Windows Live Writer (otherwise the WP Editor if I have to).
Everything else, I use Word 2007, just like you. Unless I’m taking some kind of notes for future projects. Then One Note 2007.
I do almost everything in Open Office. I switched computers at the beginning of the summer, and I don’t have the budget to pick up a new copy of the Office suite. Open Office does almost everything MS Office did (okay, mostly–I occasionally have to switch back to the old laptop so I can use Word’s “Track Changes” function when proofreading for people), saves in more formats than I knew existed, and didn’t cost me anything.
Ravyns last blog post..Conversational Exposition: Execution
Blog posts are mostly done using Windows Live Writer with an occasional edit via my blog’s online post editor.
Everything else, including my writing, gets done in Word 2007.
Scott Marlowes last blog post..Book Review: Robin Hobb’s Ship of Magic
I use Open Office. I think it is good, I love using it. For post to my blog (www.adviceforthesoul.wordpress.com I use Scribefire, an add-on for firefox; but I am thinking of using windows live writer.
Google Docs, Bob. I’m connected and online 24/7 anyway, so there’s no need to keep it hard drive based anymore. It saves to the distant server every couple of minutes as I go along, and there are plenty of bells and whistles included with more being implemented all the time.
Best of all.. it’s free.
I never have to send a document to anyone, I just “share” it. If I had one to share with you, I’d enter your email address and either choose “view” or “edit” as an option for you, depending on if you were to just see it or become a collaborater. If you chose to assist me with it, we could both edit the document at the same time and chat about it in a chat window.
You’d receive a notice giving you the link to open it. Coffeesister looks over my posts in this manner, and proofs them for me before they get to my blog.
I currently use it for blog posts, even though my host has a window to compose in. I prefer Google Docs, so I just copy/paste from there into the host window and save when I’m done.
@ Chatty - Thank you for the (justified) scolding on Twitter this morning! Gave me a good excuse to spend some time giving comments the attention they deserve.
@ Trisha and @Scott - I haven’t used Live Writer. Everyone tells me I should. What benefit does it provide over the WP editor or MS Word? Going to have to check out One Note, too.
@ Ravyn and @ Dennis - Open Office is a viable product, from what I understand. Sounds like it works well for you. Very cool to know that its there.
@ Rhodey - Now, there’s a new one by me. I’m going to have to give it a whirl, now that you’ve recommended it.
“I even do that with blog posts, making sure to paste the text in the HTML editor in WordPress so as to avoid all those goopy Microsoft Word HTML add-ons.”
This is a great idea. I used to use word and then paste in the text only option of WP. But then I’d have to go back and make spacing, and bold etc.
I must figure out how to paste into the text only of Microsoft Word.
Thanks for the pointer.
Bamboo Forests last blog post..You are The Writer of Your Own Story
@Bob I can’t comment on what WLW gives you over the WP editor since I use BlogEngine.NET (an open source ASP.NET/C# based blog engine) as my blogging engine, but WLW does a lot of diff things real well. It’s sort of MS Word but slimmed down just for blogging. It saves drafts of your posts so you can come back and edit later, integrates very well w/my blog’s design so I can preview posts before uploading, lets you upload new posts directly (of course), and has some default picture handling which is kind of neat, including rounded corners, shadowing, etc.
Also, as a software eng, I like that I can write extensions for it fairly easily to expand its functionality. For ex., I wrote an “insert amazon link” plugin, which was something I found myself needing at times.
Hope that helps.
Scott Marlowes last blog post..Book Review: Robin Hobb’s Ship of Magic
@ Bob
Live writer’s good because it can take the style you use for your blog and make it so that when you are creating a new post, it looks almost exactly like it will when you publish it. I also like their image insertion tools. They have addons you can download. One I use a lot is a text template addon where I can save blocks of html. Makes creating posts much faster.
Trisha Bartles last blog post..Writing Samples - Women’s Interest
I use Microsoft Word 2007. I’ve used that product for years and am the most comfortable with its features. I turn off the spell checker, and other notifications, so I’m not distracted.
I also like that I can export into a number of formats. I haven’t however written blog posts with it. I’ll have to try that and see how it goes.
Thanks for sharing, and great article on Freelance Folder.
Thom Allens last blog post..Nerdtacular 2008 Was A Blast
I use a simple text editor now - called Q10 - its free its simple and it blacks out the whole screen which really seems to work for me. Ive used openoffice for years - I’d never pay for any verison Microsoft Offce - I have 2007 at work and its extreme bloatware - openoffice - does all that MS does - its less likely to crash and you can create pdfs and doc files if required
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