Times are hard. We all know about credit crunches, spending cuts and tax raises.
So I've looked around for some free useful Writer tools for you.
- Google Docs - a simple online word processor, with the ability to share and collaborate, as well as chat.
- Open Office – a Microsoft Office alternative that's completely free. It has a few glitches, but it does the job rather nicely.
- Lotus Symphony – another free Office contender, with a variety of plugins.
- Evernote – a free note taking application like Microsoft's OneNote. I highly recommend it.
- WordWeb – free one-click English thesaurus and dictionary for Windows, Application independent.
- Merriam-Webster Visual Dictionary – free (online only)
- One-Look Reverse Dictionary – free (online only)
- RoughDraft - a free wordprocessor providing special modes for screenplays, novels, short stories etc. (Development discontinued, but don't let that stop you from trying it.)
- Sonar 3 – Free submission tracking tool
- FreeMind – Free Mindmapping software, which can be great for brainstorming.
Well, there you have it. That's just 10 of all the ones out there. I tried to be a little diverse and I hope you enjoy (and possibly benefit from) these tools.
Happy writing!
19
Feb
As you might know, every now and then I'll add some pages to the collection here.
Check out the Writing Aids section above (in the menu) and take a look.
Querytracker posted a great article on how to plot, so I condensed the points down, laid out the sheet ready for printing… and there you have it.
9 Steps for Plotting Fiction — all ready for you to print.
However, full credit needs to go to Cynthia Jaynes Omololu, which is where Suzette Saxton got the idea for it.
Enjoy.
N.B.
Please see Suzette's comment. 
The original idea came from Verla Kay, so I feel it is only fair to link her pages as well, as I think you'll probably find lots of useful ideas there.
A book?
No. Yes. Maybe.
An mp3 player?
No. Yes. Maybe.
A picture viewer?
No. Yes. Maybe.
A video player?
No. Yes. Maybe.
Well. All of the above, in a way.
Unless you've been living under a rock, you'll have heard about Apple releasing information about the iPad today.
So what do we know about it so far?
We are told it has a 9.7-inch screen, weighs 1.5 pounds, has Wi-Fi with a 3G option, comes in 16gb/32gb/64gb versions.
There is all manner of hype about it, and it does look pretty cool, but I don't believe their claim of 10hrs battery life when you watch videos. Yeah, I heard that one before.
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We are told it will run "most" iPhone apps. (Oh? Which ones won't run?) There is also the thing about Flash, which Apple has problems with. (It won't run, basically. Kinda nasty, considering a lot of websites rely on flash navigation…)
Books will be available on iTunes, in Epub format. That's good news.
The bad news is the price.
The rock bottom intro level iPad will set you back a whopping $499 for the 16gb version.
Don't know about you, but frankly… that's too much.
Considering it stores images, text, music and whatnot – 16gb is a drop in the ocean. So you'll likely go for the 32gb version at $599, or the 64gb version at $699. Add to that the (optional) 3G capability and you add $130 to each.
Whoa.
Wait a minute.
If I want something that stores a half way decent amount of files, which I can browse the web on (except flash sites) and maybe use as a phone… it'll set me back $829 plus tax? Are you freaking kidding me?
I can get a decent little laptop for HALF that.
In fact, I bought my Dell Mini10V for less than half that, and I don't need "an App for that", it'll run Office just dandy, thank you very much. (Spec is 1gb RAM, 160gb HDD, WiFi, Webcam etc etc, running full XP, which means I can actually work on it. 10.4" screen and weighing about 2lbs.)
Looking at this, why on earth would I buy an iPad for double the price, with less capability than my mini laptop?
Style? Yeah, I give them that. It's a nice looking thing. It's a lot thinner than my laptop, too. A little lighter, as well.
Don't get me wrong, I like the look of it. I'd love to have one.
I'd love to have a Kindle and a Nook, too, but again — not for that price.
Add to all this that in the UK, Apple is notorious for simply just changing the currency sign instead of the price — I think not.
(We pay more per song in the UK, than the rest of Europe, or the US, if we go to iTunes. Prices in the UK are £0.99 while in Europe they are €0.99 – which works out at £0.85 – and in the US they are $0.99, which works out at £0.61 / €0.70)
They do the same with iPhones and iPods – so why should the iPad be any different?
I like it, but unless Apple changes it's tune on the pricing — and on their iTunes user agreement model — I'm not so sure the iPad will be taking off in a big way over here.
I'll keep watching.
28
Jul
Well.
Word documents.
I’ve added two "Writing Aids" to the pages. One is a list of old fashioned names, the other a list of Adverbs and Adjectives.
Hope they are of use!