Writing

Like most others, I use Scrivener for long-form content like novels.

For short-form content and general notes, I was one of those people that bounced around to a million different apps (I tried Apple Notes, Bear, Upnote, Evernote, OneNote, Craft, Obsidian, Notion, Logseq, Roam, etc.) but I just ended up landing on Apple Notes. Every app had its drawbacks, but the biggest drawback of all was the constant switching. So many hours wasted testing word processing software.

For whatever reason I could never get my brain to work with google docs or computer writing. When I was younger, I used a type writer, and it was lovely. These days I find that I'm best with pen and paper. Though that's only for the draft part. Once I'm secure in what I got, I'm typing it up.

I mostly do technical writing, with some creative writing on the side when I've got time (a rare commodity while I work on my PhD).

Generally I outline with pen on paper, because it's easier for me to sketch out the structure of a piece of writing by hand than trying to translate my thoughts to outline software. I like to draw trees and put things in boxes and stuff to figure out how ideas fit together, and there's just no real substitute for doing it by hand. More recently I've got an e-ink tablet, and sometimes I'll do my outlining on there instead of actual paper made from trees. Ends up working in exactly the same way, although it's a bit easier to erase / undo.

For the actual writing, I generally use latex via Overleaf. It's just so good for technical writing, nothing really compares for me. I can set my formatting up at the beginning and then put it out of mind and just write, and it's got lots of good tools for blocking in placeholders and todo notes.

For more creative writing where I don't need a bunch of figures and stuff I usually go for a simple markdown editor like Ghostwriter. Simple, no frills, but I can still add headings and stuff.

The other kind of writing I do sometimes is to prepare to run TTRPG games, and that planning usually happens in Google Docs, mainly because it's simple to access from wherever (including my phone) if I have an idea I want to jot down quickly, and since nobody but me will ever look at it I can be fairly free form with my formatting and just stick photo inspiration, links to evocative music, etc right inline with the rest of the text

I do the same as you with Google Docs - it honestly never occurred to me to use something fancier. I did used to use a mind map software when I had grand ambitions of writing longer works, FreeMind.

While I would love to use pen and paper, my handwriting is a mess and it would get lost long before I ever moved it to a digital format.

I'm pretty basic, I usually just use google docs. However when I was younger, I found an old typewriter in my attic and got it working. So for a couple of years I would write on a typewriter lol. I looked very pretentious, but I mostly just liked the sound and the novelty of it.

I used to use scrivener, then Ulysses, lately I use Capacities which is similar to Obsidian (the latter which you might be interested in using!)

Point being as you can see I am not immune to shiny new apps every few months lol

I use Libre Office, and when I paste to Royal Road, I let Grammarly offer edit suggestions in the browser. I often don't take them, but it also catches some things that are really helpful.

I like having local copies that are easy to rename the file of or backup. I do one chapter per file. If I need to write remotely, I can, and I use Discord to send files back and forth like notes for the story, plus my world has a campaign website that I use as well. this format works well in part because I'm writing a serial and posting it one chapter at a time (~2k words, sitting at over 100 chapters right now)

I mostly use VS Code with Dendron to organize notes and ideas, OneNote for worldbuilding. I like to try different things though, like today I'm going to check out yWrite.

Sometimes, I'll write in my journal with a fountain pen (right now Lamy Safari + Diamine Jet Black) to capture quick ideas or make small drafts, especially if I'm on the go or if my eyes need a break from the screen.

Fountain pen on paper is my preference. At least for the first draft. I edit as I transcribe.

I use Scrivener. I've set it up so my files are synced with Onedrive, so I can write on my home PC and on my laptop when I'm away from home.

I've mostly been writing in Obsidian. I use syncthing to sync between my phone and computer, and use git as version history from my computer. For the most part, it's powerful enough for all my text editing and brainstorming needs, and the internal linking etc is nice for maintaining stuff like world-building notes when I'm writing something complex.

That said, I also do some writing on paper or my phablet using a digital pen and simple handwriting apps when I feel like it, and use transcription as an opportunity to do first-pass edits on stuff. I actually do very little of my writing at a desk - the ability to write when and where I'm inspired by something isn't something I can compromise, so I primarily use desktop applications for editing and formatting after the fact. Words on paper/screen is most important given my busy life, so I go for convenience (obsidian mobile / writing on my screen using the pen) over fancy editor features. I'm not at the point where I'm thinking of the words to put down faster than I can type on my phone, so getting a few hundred words in while I walk to daycare works great.

All my prep work is done through a combination of Joplin and Obsidian while the actual manuscript is written in MarkText.

If you couldn't tell, I really like the Markdown format.

Personally I'm a hot mess. I use orgmode in emacs on the computer, fountainpen on paper, a ratta supernote a6, and nebo on my phone. So yeah, writing everywhere.

I've found that using a pencil and paper gives me more time to elaborate what I'm writing, while I'm writing.

A sentence comes out differently if I'm using a keyboard as opposed to paper. It's as if the time it takes to write a sentence determines how much time I allow my mind to dwell on what I want the sentence to convey.

libreoffice writer is what i use and i think it is a good open source program for writing, for the alternative to google docs i hate the way pen and paper feels on my hands so i always use word processors

I use a selfhosted dokuwiki to maintain notes/ideas on setting, plot, characters. It lets me interconnect and cross reference them. I’m currently using it more for world building in a dnd context but am also using the same structure to explore a setting for some fiction. I’m stuck, but not due to the tools, just time and writing ability.

For actually writing the story, I’m not sure what I’ll do. I use Typora to write markdown and synology drive to sync it to my home lab so that may be my approach - perhaps a file per chapter / section or something. I really like the light weight nature of markdown and the distraction free experience in Typora.

I am a sucker for pen/paper (any such communities on here yet?) so do have a soft spot for the idea of handwriting a story, but the ability to edit without striking out is very appealing.

Lately, I've been using Standard Notes for writing blog posts in Markdown.