Sounds like One Note for writers.

@LaurenIpsum Yes, I agree that Scrivener has potential to be awesome. But my question was more, "Can I get all (or most) of Scrivener's awesome feature's in an open source version?"

And I can say that after an afternoon yWriter is making an awfully strong case. I even like the interface better.

yWriters interface is pretty "barebone" in contrast to Scrivener. You are a minimalist, @JedOliver :)

I am. If I can get the awesome features without the visual assault - it's just that much better.

I don't like the program getting in the way of my words.

Did you try notepad ;)

Ha! I'm not THAT minimalist

Wordpad then?

I haven't used yWriter, so I can't offer an opinion on it. I can say that I felt like Scrivener took away every interface issue which I ever had with Microsquish Word. I feel like it's literally transparent between me and my work. Just getting the program unstuck me from writer's block.

Word's fine for short stories. But when you've got dozens of characters and locations and relationships and dynamics and yada yada yada ... you need something more ... substantial

I hate writing in Word and refuse to do it.

I cheerfully loathe Word. Thus Scrivener. Hell, thus TextEdit.

I use Miktex.

mazeh?

But Scrivener sounds interesting.

sorry, I occasionally forget my English -- whta's Miktex?

It's a TeX GUI.

Makes beautiful, beautiful documents.

Whatever works for you is the right answer. :)

But I'm a programmer, so I don't notice writing markup into my stories. It would bother the less technical-minded, I think.

Markup as in bold/italic?

yes.

like "John /emph{said} he was going to come."

yWriter, for me is (and this is based on one afternoon) is at least as good as scrivener at organizing all of the story elements. And it's open source, which is a personal plus.

John said he was going to come.

Kit: That would annoy me a little, but not hugely.

Jed: as I said... whatever works. :)

Have you ever seen TeX documents?

I confess I don't even know what TeX is.

....the purple stuff they make gloves out of on CSI?

TeX and all of its derivatives for me are for creating documents ... and not for writing stories. Esp. technical/scientific documents

It was originally designed to make math formulae readable.

@LaurenIpsum I agree. Whatever works. Even if it's Word.

:)

no, except word. :)

I started using it in grad school, and I like the product so much, I do all my writing in it now.

@LaurenIpsum That's nitrile, silly.

I thought that was the acid you use to dissolve bodies?

Anyway, if you write a novel in TeX, it already looks published. Gives the author a leg up, imo.

Well hell, I'll just write in InDesign then

@LaurenIpsum You aren't a crime writer, are you? :P

no, a wiseass :)

SFF

Just edited a crime novel, actualy

actualLy

[coughs] Met Steve Jobs at Adobe's unveiling of InDesign in San Francisco ten years ago [coughs]

I assume you didn't WASH that hand ever again?

just thought I'd unnecessarily wedge that in there

ne mai! Not unnecessary at all

Ugh. Pardon me while I go write some code.

sorry, here's a towel

I'll mop up the drool

Dude looked like he was made out tissue paper and paperclips

And sheer genius.

Rather like BBC Sherlock, come to think of it

Benedict Cumberejbsdbvsdbvsach [can't spell name]

Cumberbatch

which means "Incredibly frakking hot" in Gaelic

Cumberbund. right.

I first thought it was "Cumbersnatch"

There's a naughty joke to be made with that but I'm not going there.

'sokay, it's been made :)

My sister is just as filthy-minded as I am

thinks what joke that could possibly be

still not going there

look up "snatch" on Urban Dictionary

<---- hands Kit eyeball bleach

Nope, still can't figure it.

Perhaps if you drew me a diagram.

you haven't missed anything

And I can't draw that in ASCII

Or did some interpretive dance for me.

Not with any anatomical correctness, anyway

...how does one dance that?

You tell me.

shrug I'm a writer, not a dancer

Rats.

I prefer cats, thanks

sorry, must dash, daughter has finished lunch

Tschüß!

Looks like the interpretive dance is up to you, @Jed.

There is no amount of suggestive rhythmic flailing that I can do to explain the potential pun with that gentleman's name.

Well, I tried, but you all are singularly lacking in entertainment value today.

frowns

I must admit the possibility that I don't get along with artists.

KitFox, just watch a few episodes of Sherlock and try to imagine what someone oriented towards gentlemen might like to DO with Mr. Cumberbatch and that voice.