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Comparative Review of Writers' Tools (INITIAL DRAFT)

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Dormouse:
Tried installing WriteWayPro on Windows 10 1803, and although installation seemed to go well, 2 ocx files where not registered correctly
I fixed this :


Edit:
After the above exercise I tried to register the product to have the free Pro version, but that has been unsuccessful so far,

On a related note: The YouTube showcase and instruction videos (including the WriteWayPro page) also seem to have vanished, only alternative videos can be found.

Guess this are the side-effects of using a no longer actively supported product...

Edit 2:
After installing WriteWayPro in a virtual WinXP SP3 instance, the installation issues didn't appear there, but the application registration issue persists, so that's most likely a website related issue.
-Ath (May 19, 2018, 03:41 AM)
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Thanks. This is all far more than I would have been able to do.
I simply installed in XP compatibility and it worked. And registered. I'm also on 1803 (though the last update was after WriteWayPro installation).

I'll add a note to the table above and will put in the detail in the full review. Assuming I still do one, if installation/registration is a general problem.

I will admit that my sequence of SimpleNote then WriteWayPro was mostly about warming up my methodology. But the working version is better than I had anticipated.

Dormouse:
Added a WriteMonkey table. Will do a full review once the final version is released.

Dormouse:
I think of writemonkey more as a strict editing tool rather than a writer's tool.  I use it alongside my writing tools- I love the distraction free writing, and the ability to play music while you're there.  But managing projects and such, I find that it falls flat.-wraith808 (May 18, 2018, 11:26 AM)
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I think this is one of the key issues. I had considered putting some text editors into the mix, but excluded them in the end because a 'text editor' is now just another way of saying 'code writer' - they all have special commands to manage code, which isn't what I'm trying to look at here. OTOH may (all?) have text folding and I have never understood why that is better for writing code (just a form of specialised writing) but not needed for writing other text. I put SimpleNote in as a simple text equivalent with internet access; I don't rule out adding others.

Since my focus of interest is the writer's ecosystem, I'm potentially interested in software for any part of the system. Scrivener is designed to do it all, other programs may need to co-operate to achieve the same end; that may be better or worse. I've started out on this journey, but I have no idea where I will end up

dr_andus:
I think of writemonkey more as a strict editing tool rather than a writer's tool.  I use it alongside my writing tools- I love the distraction free writing, and the ability to play music while you're there.  But managing projects and such, I find that it falls flat.
-wraith808 (May 18, 2018, 11:26 AM)
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Calling WriteMonkey an "editing tool" rather than a "writer's tool" is an unusual characterisation. You seem to be using the term "editing" in an idiosyncratic way.

To me WriteMonkey is very much a "writer's tool", as it focuses on one of the most important aspects of writing: the act of writing itself.

Once I'd written my text in WriteMonkey, then I might take it to MS Word or some other word processor to edit it, format it, and typeset it.

But even you say that you use WM for writing primarily, so maybe by "editing" you mean 'writing'.

As for lack of project management capability (presumably of writing projects), I don't see that as an absolute requirement for a writing software. I also have Scrivener, which has all the bells and whistles, but I find it too distracting and much prefer to do my writing in WriteMonkey.

P.S. What I'm trying to say is that there are myriad other task and project management tools out there that can be used to manage a writing project, so they don't necessarily need to be built into specialist writing software.

dr_andus:
@Dormouse

You have a number of software on that list that have not been updated for a very long time and have probably been abandoned (even if their owners are still using them as cashcows), so I wonder if it might be worthwhile to add a "last updated" note to them, or split them into "actively developed" and "no longer developed." 

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