WriteWay Pro (no Mac version available) is now completely FREE

[Dr. Drib]

The developer has now made WriteWay Pro completely FREE.

I used this program, before I switched over to a Mac, and I loved it.

It's not a crippled version at all: It's just completely FREE.

It's main focus is the writing of NOVELS.

Here's the link:

http://www.writewaypro.com/


Here's a link to a review:

https://www.ghacks.net/2017/12/15/wr...ting-software/

[skb]

Thanks Dr D. I'll check this out on my win machine.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

The developer has now made WriteWay Pro completely FREE.

I used this program, before I switched over to a Mac, and I loved it.

It's not a crippled version at all: It's just completely FREE.

It's main focus is the writing of NOVELS.

Here's the link:

http://www.writewaypro.com/


Here's a link to a review:

https://www.ghacks.net/2017/12/15/wr...ting-software/

Uh-oh. Usually the kiss o'death before something ends up completely abandoned/unsupported. That's too bad.

I should ask, though, Doc Drib--what DID you love about it, if you've got a moment or ten?

Hitch

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Uh-oh. Usually the kiss o'death before something ends up completely abandoned/unsupported. That's too bad.

I should ask, though, Doc Drib--what DID you love about it, if you've got a moment or ten?

Hitch

This was years before I discovered Scrivener.

I was getting ready to buy the program, and we exchanged a few emails. When I told him I was a teacher, he decided to give it to me for free.

Prior to using his program - years before - I used Microsoft Word (for my 128k 'Fat Mac'; not many people know that Word was available for the Mac before being available for PCs.)

I used WordStar on my KayPro II and enjoyed that, during its day.

And before that I owned Atari Writer (cartridge) for my Atari computer, back in 1982.

His program was the first actual program I was willing to buy specifically geared for writers. (If my memory is correct.) Because it was made for a writer, I felt connected to the software and used it all the time.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

This was years before I discovered Scrivener.

I was getting ready to buy the program, and we exchanged a few emails. When I told him I was a teacher, he decided to give it to me for free.

Prior to using his program - years before - I used Microsoft Word (for my 128k 'Fat Mac'; not many people know that Word was available for the Mac before being available for PCs.)

I used WordStar on my KayPro II and enjoyed that, during its day.

And before that I owned Atari Writer (cartridge) for my Atari computer, back in 1982.

His program was the first actual program I was willing to buy specifically geared for writers. (If my memory is correct.) Because it was made for a writer, I felt connected to the software and used it all the time.

Thank you for that, Doc.

I honestly have decided, after assessing pretty much EVERY writing program in existence (yeah, verily, back to WordStar and then some!) that it's just...personal preference. I know lots of folks are weak in the knees for Scrivener. For me, it's...okay. Not earth-shattering. I think if you're not a Word power user, then Scrivener looks damn near magical. If you really know how to make Word your beeyatch, then it's less magical.

I've used...gosh, it's hard to keep track. As you know, despite all the bells, whistles, fancy stuff, I still tend to go back to good old, not-fancy, not foofy, not pretty YWriter, because it just does EVERYTHING. Absolutely everything. no...it doesn't have fancy purty backgrounds, like Liquid Story Binder. It does drag-drop just like Scrivener. It doesn't have "music" that you can play, to convince yourself that you're listening to your muse--but it has the ONLY automagically-generated Character timeline in the biz, that I know of. I've tried Novel Factory, Power Structure, Dramatica Pro, and a host of others, and it's all...whatever floats your boat.

I think that most of these programs put more time into making people FEEL like "real writers" than actual productivity. That was certainly my conclusion after wasting a ton of time on LSBXE. VERY impressive-looking, lots of perceived, but not real, flexibility, but, by God, you could tell yourself that you were really in the bigs now! :-)

That's my worthless $.02 on it. But, as it's my line of work, I'll probably go download that WriteWay Pro, because I've heard you mention it for years, so my curiosity, as always, is piqued. ("oooooh, new software! Shiny pretty thing!,LOL.")

After all, what matters, in the end, is the same old, same old--ass in chair, fingers on keyboard, so whatever gets you there is good, right?

Hitch

[Dr. Drib]

I actually agree with many of the points you mention - quite a lot, actually.

What's your take on The Novel Factory?

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

I used WordStar on my KayPro II and enjoyed that, during its day.

I'm still, more or less, using WordStar in Linux. Actually Jstar (the WordStar-like variant of JOE). My fingers are hard-wired for WordStar keystrokes. And I like plain-text files (which can be used in just about any application).

When I was still using Windows I tried and (for a while) liked YWriter. Wasn't it started by someone who was once associated with Word Perfect? (It seems like I remember that.) Glad to see they're still going.

(I've added a screenshot of Jstar — JOE — to show how I use it. I use Guake to get a terminal (press F12 and it's there, press F12 and it's tucked out of the way) and then type "jstar" and write. Normally I don't have the transparency set that high, but I thought it looked good on the desktop (not good over white screens, though).)

[GlenBarrington]

Write Way Pro has been free for a year at least. I downloaded it for free a little over a year ago. I don't think you can call it "Abandonware" since the author seems to want to keep control of it, and still seems kinda proud of it.

I thought it was a fairly decent writing tool, not all that different from Scrivener, but I was concerned about becoming reliant on a product with no future. I think Scrivener and the equally free SmartEdit Writer (formerly Atomic Scribbler) are better tools and have more of a positive future.

https://www.smart-edit.com/Writer/

[GlenBarrington]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

I actually agree with many of the points you mention - quite a lot, actually.

What's your take on The Novel Factory?

Well, I tried it, and it made me FEEL like a writer!

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by GlenBarrington

Well, I tried it, and it made me FEEL like a writer!

I tried it, too.

I like the way it allows one to handles and organize scenes, among other things.

I have not yet bought the program. I had it running on my Mac using Parellels and Windows 7.

I've looked at WriteItNow5....Anyone have any experience on that one?

(I own Scrivener, but still indulge in occasional searches for something different. I also own and use Vellum...Has anyone actually written anything from start to finish using this program?)

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

I tried it, too.

I like the way it allows one to handles and organize scenes, among other things.

I have not yet bought the program. I had it running on my Mac using Parellels and Windows 7.

I've looked at WriteItNow5....Anyone have any experience on that one?

(I own Scrivener, but still indulge in occasional searches for something different. I also own and use Vellum...Has anyone actually written anything from start to finish using this program?)

I cannot tell a lie--I acquired that and Dramatica Pro at around the same time, RIGHT before Createspace went out of biz....and that was not good planning. That event had a massive impact on my biz, and we've been nutty busy ever since, so I haven't had the ability to really use and test either of them. Bad me, I know.

I still love how YWriter handles scenes. Simple, clean, draggable, droppable...you can detail down to the gnat's ass, if you wish, saying that the wrench or the lead pipe or the noose was used in a given scene. (Honestly, this is terrific for not losing cars, too!). You can list the characters, so that you don't bilocate them in two different places at once (the aforementioned character timelining that is so incredible).

Sorry, I don't mean to sound like I'm hawking YWriter. Obviously, not affiliated therewith and I know that it's too plain for a lot of people. Not fancy enough, not "Mac-y" enough, like Scrivener is.

Just...I keep hearing about all these amazing programs, and I test them, and they are all pretty much just the same functionality, recycled.

I should add that Power Structure is pretty different as is...uh...whats-it's. Crap, that screenwriter. I have his stuff too. I'll think of the name, but I gave up on that one because when I tried to use it on my Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga, it just wouldn't work right. When I think of the name, I'll ...Truby. Truby's something. I can't think of the name, but IF it worked, I think it would have been fairly cool, for a learning environment. Oh, Blockbuster, that's it. Truby's Blockbuster. Underwhelmed with the very, very old interface on that. And remember--I love YWriter, so I'm not one of those that's blown away with "pretty pretty" rather than "functional functional."

Anyway, I also seem to recall that Novel Factory and Dramatica both came with a lotta, lotta instructions. One of these days, when I finally get around to really test-driving them, I might be blown away, but at the moment, my entire useless answer is "dunno."

ETA: One last comment: I nearly forgot to mention that Ywriter added ePUB and MOBI support, in an export, sometime in the last year or so. Rather handy. I haven't investigated it through and through yet, (as a perfesshnul formatter of eBooks), but I thought I should mention that.

Hitch

[HaemishM]

I think I'm going to try this since I'm starting work on a new book soon. The best of my writing was when I was using Storybook for notes/characters/outlining and then writing the actual text in Word. I'm not a great note taker and when I use them, it's usually in separate files. Hope they don't just abandon it.

[Dr. Drib]

You might also want to take a look at The Novel Factory, but it's not free.

The computer version is only for PCs. There's also a web version.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Hitch

I still love how YWriter handles scenes. Simple, clean, draggable, droppable...you can detail down to the gnat's ass, if you wish, saying that the wrench or the lead pipe or the noose was used in a given scene. (Honestly, this is terrific for not losing cars, too!). You can list the characters, so that you don't bilocate them in two different places at once (the aforementioned character timelining that is so incredible).

Well drat, you convinced me to try it — it's supposed to work with Mono in Linux, and it did install and run. Unfortunately every time I created a new chapter it locked up solid. This was with both yWrite5 and 6. Maybe I'll try some troubleshooting in the future but, for now, it's been uninstalled.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by rcentros

Well drat, you convinced me to try it — it's supposed to work with Mono in Linux, and it did install and run. Unfortunately every time I created a new chapter it locked up solid. This was with both yWrite5 and 6. Maybe I'll try some troubleshooting in the future but, for now, it's been uninstalled.

Write to Simon. Firstly, he's a programmer and he's a curious fellow (by which I mean, he's full of curiosity, not that he's odd himself). Seriously. I know he'd like to hear about it. 'Cuz that's a shame, really.

Hitch