All Questions
124 questions
1
vote
1
answer
201
views
Can Word be put in Writing Mode?
I think the title of this question deserves some explanation.
For a number of reasons I am using Microsoft Word, Office 365 version.
I subscribe to the writing versus editing technique. I clear my ...
- 113
-1
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Is there a map generator for space?
https://azgaar.github.io/Fantasy-Map-Generator/
I found this fantasy map generator that's very cool and useful, but I want one that allows you to generate a map for the universe. I am not sure if ...
user36239
3
votes
1
answer
536
views
How to organize memoirs for a biography?
I'm about to start organizing someone's life story to eventually send to a biographer to write a book and would like some suggestions on how to start and organize the process, please.
As they are ...
- 131
3
votes
5
answers
469
views
Any programs useful for writing? [closed]
Which programs would you recommend for writing? Whatever they possess general functions to correct your texts and grammar, and/or functions specific for storytelling/worldbuilding (characters, places, ...
- 769
0
votes
1
answer
46
views
Is there a better search engine than Google Book for book citations?
Is there a better search engine than Google Book for book citations? When I try to search for a particular phrases, Google give me a lot of empty results, and not only that but they keep giving me ...
user36239
4
votes
1
answer
97
views
Are there any tools for writing Wiktionary articles?
I am evaluating tools and platforms for a one-way dictionary project. One possibility is to expand an existing Wiktionary, but rather than creating and editing entries with its markdown. I wonder if ...
- 141
2
votes
3
answers
186
views
What is the most environmentally safe medium of modern storytelling?
As an aspiring storyteller, I have a lot of stories that I wish to tell. I say storyteller because I am still not sure as to which medium of storytelling I should pursue, be it books, comics, or ...
3
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Similar words/phrases random generator
I recall using a website where a user could input a set of words or phrases and the website would generate similar words or phrases, which "felt like" (but didn't repeat) the original words/...
- 207
1
vote
3
answers
76
views
What is the best way to move a regular writing workshop online?
Given the ongoing efforts to reduce close personal contact with others due to COVID-19, I am seeking suggestions for the best way to conduct writing workshop groups online. This is usually a physical ...
- 11
2
votes
5
answers
796
views
Are there any free offline outlining tools?
I'm looking for a tool, that lets me enter and rearrange plot points into an outline and link them to other events and storylines in a graphical way.
Traditionally done with post-it's on a whiteboard....
- 139
-1
votes
2
answers
131
views
Which tools are recommended for writing/authoring with? [closed]
I have to following tools available, looking for other options.
Microsoft Word
Sublime Text Editor
Atom
Visual Code
I'm a Software Engineer, who is interested in writing.
Thanks in advance.
- 117
2
votes
1
answer
144
views
Need Android app for my memoir book [duplicate]
I've watched about 4 videos on YouTube about top apps to write books, but these videos don't explain anything about memoir-writing. I would like an app that can sync to a cloud, preferably OneDrive, ...
- 23
10
votes
7
answers
3k
views
Is there an online tool which supports shared writing?
I want to write a short story (and maybe later a book) together with a colleague from work.
Is there an online service which we can use to do this in a convenient way?
Useful features would be (not ...
- 243
5
votes
3
answers
405
views
Does IDE-like writers' software exist?
This question is somewhat inspired by Is there a need for better software for writers?
I'm currently using Google Docs for writing, and it's a great tool: simple enough, has some nice features, cloud-...
- 332
5
votes
1
answer
139
views
Does software exist to easily markup technical documents as audio scripts?
Inspired by this question: Is there a need for better software for writers? I have an IDE¹ related question about software that can assist writers.
Is there a tool to (easily) turn technical ...
- 4,642
41
votes
12
answers
9k
views
Is there a need for better software for writers?
Software developers don't ever work in text editors, instead they use IDEs (integrated development environments) full of code assistance tools, etc.
Why don't writers use similarly advanced writing ...
- 521
4
votes
1
answer
111
views
How can we make images with (necessary) text more translatable mechanically?
Our documentation set includes some diagrams, such as entity relationship diagrams and flowcharts, where text is integral and cannot reasonably be handled in callouts. Our documentation is translated ...
- 21.5k
6
votes
3
answers
101
views
Podcast Transcripts: suggested collaborative tools?
I love accessibility, so any show that is 100% scripted, my script = the transcript, and I'm happy to share it.
For podcasts with a cohost, there's no easy transcription software, and fiverr is ...
- 4,642
5
votes
1
answer
317
views
Adding tags to documentation built in Flare?
Our software documentation set (for a SQL analytics database platform) is large, because SQL and databases have many pieces. Often a single statement, function, or feature will be highly related to a ...
- 21.5k
4
votes
1
answer
160
views
Autocapitalize after colon for dialog?
I write my dialog in this format:
Joe: Why are you wearing a shoe on your head?
Sam: Mind your own damn business!
What's annoying here is that it doesn't automatically capitalize the word following ...
user23083
4
votes
3
answers
461
views
How can I highlight changes in HTML output from Flare, based on branch diff?
We use Madcap Flare for a large documentation set, with HTML output. (Flare source is a very HTML-y XML with some Flare-specific additions.) We use git for source control and new work is done on ...
- 21.5k
3
votes
2
answers
2k
views
How to do a global find and replace in Ulysses
I use Ulysses 15 for my writing. The tool has a robust global search but, to my knowledge, it does not provide a replace function (only the sheet search has a "find and replace" function).
Does ...
- 1,909
4
votes
2
answers
871
views
Tool for editing dialogue of each character
I would like to edit all of the dialogue of a specific character in my book.
Then I want to repeat this for other characters.
I think this would help to give each of them a unique voice.
Of course I ...
- 53
12
votes
2
answers
42k
views
Scansion tool for checking my meter
Are there any software tools available that will help me dissect my meter? I have always been extremely poor at scansion and while my writing doesn't suffer terribly for it, it makes writing strict ...
- 4,471
6
votes
2
answers
655
views
Mariner Software for writers
I'm boring and just use Word and Excel for writing my novel and keeping track of stuff. I've tried a couple others, including Scrivener and Evernote, but never got into it. I like the idea of ...
- 32.4k
6
votes
1
answer
309
views
Map-making software
I'm looking for free software, preferably open-source, that would allow me to create maps for my story. I guess what I need is a tool that would allow some measure of 3D modeling.
Features I would ...
6
votes
7
answers
2k
views
Creating and keeping track of characters
I admit to finding this an insurmountable task.
My novel has dozens of characters. My first problem wasn't keeping track of them, but creating them.
Modern Day:
My 20th century characters were ...
- 32.4k
4
votes
1
answer
725
views
How can I keep dialogue attached to character names in a Pages play script?
I'm formatting a play using Pages on macOS. I cannot figure out how to get character names to be associated with their dialogue. I'm formatting like
[centered] JOHN [\centered]
Yes, that’s me.
...
12
votes
5
answers
689
views
How best to recover from catastrophic text loss?
This morning I had an accidental select all delete followed by auto save, which prevented me from just hitting undo. My novel became an empty file. I use MS Word.
I had emailed a copy of it a few ...
- 12.3k
1
vote
3
answers
102
views
How to change gears with changing technology?
My tablet/notepad recently died. I can't afford a new one. So I basically have to use my phone to write, which I'm not comfortable with. I now have writer's block because I don't enjoy writing on ...
- 315
8
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Topic-based authoring vs. Modular authoring
What is the difference between "topic-based authoring" and "modular authoring"?
As I know, there are two well-known authoring approaches:
Narrative authoring;
Topic-based authoring (see link above).
...
- 147
8
votes
3
answers
139
views
What software can I use to synchronize corrections and modifications over similar documents?
I'm currently working on a large thesis, from which I derive some smaller publications such as papers. The work is in parallel. Often it happens that I copy some paragraphs from the thesis into a ...
- 219
2
votes
2
answers
133
views
Tools for organising anthologies
I'm looking for software or markup/markdown based tools for organising anthologies selected from a large number of short pieces of writing. In this case it's poems, but the content of the individual ...
3
votes
3
answers
647
views
What editor can I use for world building that has a tree-like structure for my files?
I'm looking for a simple editor to start getting into world building and story writing which is working out fine in Microsoft Word. However, I'm finding it difficult to continue without any structure. ...
- 131
16
votes
9
answers
4k
views
Software to draw plot structure charts
When I plot my own novels or analyze other works to understand their structure, I like to visualize the dynamic of the storyline(s) in a diagram.
Usually I draw this by hand. A first version of such ...
user29032
1
vote
1
answer
103
views
good Wordpress theme for blogged book? [closed]
Leaving aside whether I ought to blog my book or not, I am doing just that. Each blog post will be a section, multiple sections will be a chapter, etc.
Currently I'm looking for a good wordpress ...
- 143
5
votes
6
answers
972
views
Are there tools/software for planning your story using nested mindmaps and references to characters?
I've been looking for a certain piece of software for a long time, but I never quite found something that matches what I need. I'm a very visually oriented guy, the best way for me to keep track of ...
user23083
3
votes
1
answer
313
views
Search and replace words across whole project?
I'm still new to articy:draft and I want to know if it's possible to search and replace words across the whole project. I know searching is possible, but I can't find the replace function, if it's ...
user23083
2
votes
4
answers
1k
views
Is there a tool for determining the number of on in a word for the purpose of writing haiku?
In America at least, Haiku are commonly taught to students as poems having 5, 7, then 5 syllables, when in actuality, they have a structure of 5, 7, then 5 on. The NaHaiWriMo site explains what an on ...
- 213
4
votes
3
answers
305
views
Which free text analysis tools do authors use?
I'm looking for free tools to perform some text analysis. I don't want just simple Flesch-Kinvaid or Coleman-Liau score, I was hoping for a tool that identifies problem sentences, overused words, etc....
- 141
1
vote
2
answers
232
views
What is the status of Sandcastle and are there alternatives?
Wikipedia currently lists the Development Status of the Sandcastle documentation generation software as "Stalled," citing the lack of recent releases. (There's actually contradictory information on ...
3
votes
2
answers
53
views
Our team needs to automate many routine tasks. Can we use a single tool or do we need to use multiple ones?
Our tech comm team has a wide variety of time-consuming, repetitive tasks they we need to automate. We are mainly using Sphinx, reStructuredText, Adobe Illustrator, and Visio.
Specific things we need ...
- 516
5
votes
3
answers
656
views
How can we make reviewing HTML documentation easier?
Summary: I'm looking for a way for reviewers to comment collaboratively as close to "inline" as possible on a large HTML project.
The problem in detail
I work on a team that documents a ...
- 21.5k
10
votes
2
answers
128
views
Limitations of automatic documentation
As technology advances and workflows are streamlined, some have turned to automated tools such as Doxygen, Sphinx, Swagger, etc. in order to generate technical documentation automatically.
What are ...
- 351
4
votes
2
answers
205
views
WYSIWYG-type editor for dialog?
I'm writing dialog for my game in a format kind of similar to screenwriting. I have dialog, mixed with a little "action", like this:
John: Can you pass me the salt?
Sally: Sure!
ACTION: Sally ...
user23083
7
votes
4
answers
908
views
Searching for character relation map software
I've started working on a project and wanted to keep all my characters and their relationships well organised.
I'm already using TiddlyWiki to archive all the ideas about the world and its ...
- 109
1
vote
1
answer
642
views
Open source writing software with version control
I was wondering if there were any open source (free also works) writing software that includes version control (e.g. git). I'm thinking of writing my own but I don't want to create something that ...
- 141
7
votes
3
answers
20k
views
Tool for making guitar chord diagrams
I have seen these diagrams in books. They display the strings of the guitar and the locations of the notes I want to present, as well as the name of the chord/scale/etc. You can see what I mean in the ...
- 179
1
vote
2
answers
5k
views
Tool to detect adverbs
Are there any simple efficient tools or programs that will help me in editing by detecting and/or marking adverbs? This is mostly to get rid of word bloat.
- 1,853
3
votes
1
answer
399
views
Framemaker 2017 and change bars
I have a document that is +2k and it’s all tables. I use change bars to track changes.
Q – Does FM note what changed when it assigns a change bar? Do I always have to use 'Track Changes'? In Word, it ...
