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Five Open Source Apps For Writers and Authors

Five Open Source Apps For Writers and Authors
by Lisa Hoover - Jul. 17, 2009Comments (9) Even if you have the perfect idea for the next Great American Novel, getting it down on paper is never easy. While you could always use standard word processors like OpenOffice Write or AbiWord, they don't have the bells and whistles that make writing books, manuals, and theses as easy as possible. Kabikaboo - This recursive writing assistant is perfect for managing large documents, technical manuals, and long novels. Storybook - Any author or novelist will tell you writing a book is a complicated affair. Celtx - Many scriptwriters swear by Celtx, and with good reason. LyX - If you do a lot of academic writing, theses, or scientific papers, Lyx will make sure the structure of your documents meets formal acceptance requirements. Scribus - We've mentioned this desktop publishing app before as a way to create presentations and newsletters, but it's also an award-winning way to put together your next blockbuster novel. Related:  Generatori e altri tools

Online Fiction Organizer - Hiveword PageFour - Software for Novelists and Creative Writers - Tabbed Because it's NOT a business product. Because it doesn't dazzle you with 1001 features that you'll never use. Because you can't insert a graph, or embed a table within a table. Organize your work in a way that suits you. PageFour is a tabbed word processor, outliner, and organizer for writers. Create a separate Notebook for each novel and another for your Blog or Journal. New in 2013! << Visit the SmartEdit Website >> << Read Reviews of SmartEdit from Published Authors >> SmartEdit is a new product from Bad Wolf Software, with no links to PageFour. Smart-Edit - Scan for over used phrases and words PageFour's Smart-Edit works as a starting point when you begin to edit your work. Lists words and phrases that occur again and again. The decision as to what to do, or if indeed anything needs to be done, is always left to the writer.

English Language Arts: Writing Prompts/Journal Topics What is... What is something you dislike about yourself? What is something you do well? What is your favourite room in your home and why? What is a good neighbour? What is the worst thing parents can do to their children? What if... What would happen if you could fly whenever you wanted? What do you think... What do you think of 3D movies? What...misc. What do you like most about yourself? How... How do you feel when it's your birthday? I wish... I wish I had a million... When... When you are angry, how do you look? Which... Which quality best describes your life--exciting, organised, dull--and why? Why... Why is it important to be honest? Misc... Do you think there is too much fighting on t.v.

100 Sites for Fiction Writers: #17 – Tor.com This is an ongoing series looking at websites that can be of help to fiction writers with their craft and career. Tor.com Longtime fans of science fiction and fantasy reading will be familiar with Tor Books, the publishing company which has its online home at Tor.com. For more than 30 years Tor has been bringing best-selling fiction to genre fans, along the way earning numerous awards and consistently being recognized as one of the best science fiction and fantasy publishers in the market. But often enough genre fans only know a publishing company by its name on the spine of its books. While Tor offer some excellent reading material, the company’s website offers much more for readers and writers. Tor has been one of the strongest, most active online communities for fans of science fiction and fantasy. For those with an interest in genre art, there is the Gallery, regularly featuring artwork by different artists in different mediums. Related links 100 sites for fiction writers: #16 – Triond

everypoet.com Challenge Creative tools > Challenge When to use it | How to use it | Example | How it works | See also When to use it Use it to force yourself or other people out of a thinking rut. Use it to test out ideas for validity. Use it to challenge the problem or situation you are considering when initially defining the problem. How to use it Take a part of the problem Select all or part of the problem domain that you are going to challenge. Challenge it in some way Find something to challenge and question it deeply. Example I want to help get people out of a shop when there is a fire. Challenging boundaries: break the front window and all walk out together. Challenging sacred cows: put them in the safe with the money. Challenging either-or: Use them to put out the fire. How it works One way in which we deal with the complexity of the world is to make assumptions about many things. See also Assumption Busting, Provocation, Questioning

Welcome - Ommwriter How I Use Mindmapping to Write I use lots of tools for writing. The other day, I talked about the importance of writing practice. Today, as I’m working on a new speech, I wanted to share another tool I use: mind mapping. Before you ask, because the technology minded of you often do, this particular mindmapping software is called Mind Node and it’s for Mac. The way I use mindmaps is that I start with my main idea, and then figure out the “branches” I’ll want to talk about. So, in this case, I just add a few ideas. Mind maps are a great tool for getting your jumbly thoughts into a framework. What happens, often, when we write, is that we look at sentences as this whole big thing. That’s where mind maps excel (or one place where mind maps excel). What about you? ChrisBrogan.com runs on the Genesis Framework The Genesis Framework empowers you to quickly and easily build incredible websites with WordPress. Become a StudioPress Affiliate

20 Must-Read Blogs For Freelance Writers The idea of this post comes from Steven’s recent post on freelance blogging. Freelance writing certainly has many advantages and can be rewarding too. It goes without saying that in order to become a freelance writer, you gotta love writing. But you should also consistently work on sharpening your skills. And how do you do that? Reading blogs with good writing is a must if you want to improve your skills as a writer/blogger. Note: these blogs are not all about freelance writing or writing for the web. Here’s the list in no specific order (It’s not a top 20 list!) 1. Some other blogs which feature impressive writing are A List Apart, The Writers Manifesto and Success Soul. Which blogs do you read to improve your skills as a writer / blogger?

Générateur d'anagrammes Utiliser l' anagrammeur ci-dessus et faites vos propositions ! D'autres anagrammes sont listées ici (lien) ou ici (lien) Here to Create & 102 Resources for Fiction Writing UPDATE 1/10: Dead links removed, new links added, as well as Revision and Tools and Software sections. Are you still stuck for ideas for National Novel Writing Month? Or are you working on a novel at a more leisurely pace? Here are 102 resources on Character, Point of View, Dialogue, Plot, Conflict, Structure, Outlining, Setting, and World Building, plus some links to generate Ideas and Inspiration. Also, I recommend some resources for Revision and some online Tools and Software. Too many links? 10 Days of Character Building Name Generators Name Playground The Universal Mary Sue Litmus Test Priming the idea pump (A character checklist shamlessly lifted from acting) How to Create a Character Seven Common Character Types Handling a Cast of Thousands – Part I: Getting to Know Your Characters It’s Not What They Say . . . Establishing the Right Point of View: How to Avoid “Stepping Out of Character” How to Start Writing in the Third Person Web Resources for Developing Characters Speaking of Dialogue

How to Write Screenplays Using Microsoft Word: 9 steps Edit Article Edited by Moneybox35, Teresa, BW, Antarctica and 11 others Why should you pay hundreds of dollars for script writing software when you already own the most powerful program out there: Microsoft Word! We'll accomplish this through something called macros, which are programmable shortcut buttons. We will program them by recording the actions we want them to do. We will make macros for 1) Scene headings 2) Description 3) Character names 4) Dialog 5) Parenthetical. Ad Steps 1Setup your work. Ad Tips I would recommend printing these instructions to streamline the process.Less often used screenwriting devices can be punched in manually (such as FADE IN:).Page numbers can be accomplished by selecting the Insert tab, then Page numbers, then Top of Page, and Plain Number 3. Warnings Things You'll Need Microsoft Word 2007, 2010 Sources and Citations The Screenwriter's Bible by David Trottier

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