#focuswriter

For various reasons, this is now a hot topic. I'm putting my favorites here, please add more in your reblogs. I'm not pointing to Microsoft Word because I hate it.

Local on your computer:

1.

LibreOffice (https://www.libreoffice.org/), Win, Linux, Mac.

Looks like early 2000 Word, works great, imports and exports all formats. Saves in OpenDocumentFormat. Combine with something like Dropbox for Cloud Backup.

2.

FocusWriter (https://gottcode.org/focuswriter/) Win, Linux.

Super customizable to make it look pretty, all toolbars hide to be as non-distracting as possible. Can make typewriter sounds as you type, and you can set daily wordcount goals. Saves in OpenDocumentFormat. Combine with something like Dropbox for Cloud Backup.

3.

Scrivener (https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener/overview) Win, Mac, iOS

The darling of so many writers. Too many things to fiddle with for me, but I'm sure someone else can sing its praises. You can put the database folder into a Dropbox folder for cloud saving (but make sure to always close the program before shutting down).

Web-based:

4.

Reedsy bookeditor (https://reedsy.com/write-a-book) Browser based, works on Firefox on Android. Be aware that they also have a TOS that forbids pornography on publicly shared documents.

My current writing program. Just enough features to be helpful, not so many that I start fiddling. Writing is chapter based, exports to docx, epub, pdf. You can share chapters (for beta reading) with other people registered at Reedsy.

5.

Novelpad (https://novelpad.co/) Browser based.

Looks very promising, there's a youtuber with really informative videos about it (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHN8TnwjG1g). I wanted to love it, but the editor didn't work on Firefox on my phone. It might now, but I'm reluctant to switch again.

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DO NOT EVER TYPE OUT YOUR SHIT OUT ON FFN.NET, AO3, TUMBLR, DEVIANTART, PILLOWFORT, ETC. FIRST UNLESS YOU ARE 100% A-OKAY WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF YOU LOSING YOUR WORKS LATER ON DOWN THE ROAD FOR ONE REASON OR ANOTHER.

I kid you know when I say that I have legitimately lost count the number of times people lose their works because of their accounts got terminated or their fanfics got taken down for whatever given reason.

So it is definitely good practice to just write your works out in a word document first to prevent such things from happening to anyone and everyone. Hell, print out a couple of copies each. Write them in a notebook as well. Just make sure you have them saved on your computer, flash drives, hard drives, printed out, in notebooks, and such because it is better to be safe than sorry.

i saw that you can change the background and set a word goal, which is very helpful, but i would like a bit more than that if you would feel comfortable doing so. the experience of someone who already uses a program or app that i want to download is invaluable to me.

of course! feel free to respond to this as you see fit. there is no pressure to answer this ☆

Oh I would LOVE to talk about FocusWriter! My personal opinion is that every writer would benefit from using it.

So! It is entirely free to download, includes no purchases whatsoever and hardly takes up any space. It gets running quickly and throws you right back into whatever you had open last at the exact point where you left it.

Now, it does not have any instructions so a first-time user will have to figure things out on the fly. Luckily! I'm here to help!

Now, this is what the program looks like upon being opened. Minus all the text - that's my fanfic I'm working on right now.

Moving your mouse to the very top, very bottom and very left of the screen will show you a few toolbars. The top toolbar includes all of your generic options like file, edit, settings, etc. (also has a very nifty find and replace option). The bottom toolbar lets you change between documents - yes you can have many documents open at a time and I personally am yet to find a limit. And on the far left, you will see a tab which you can use to navigate the document you are currently on.

In order to navigate, you will need to put a double hashtag [##] at the necessary points such as between chapters. This will differentiate the paragraphs and allow them to show up in the navigation bar.

Now, my personal favourite feature, the themes!

You can change SO MUCH and then save all of said changes in a template to switch back and forth between whenever you want! I like to stick with a generic grey background with large black text, but with just a few clicks...

I suddenly have a new wallpaper! I could also change the font and the background of the text and the colour of anything I want. Although, I did have to put these images together in a picture editing software before being able to use it as a wallpaper - FocusWriter will let you use any pre-saved image on your computer but will not let you scrapbook something together out of multiple images. You'll need to use something else for that.

This feature is PERFECT for getting into the right zone. I've made custom backgrounds for most of my fanfictions, and intend on making one for my original novel to help me write that.

In the bottom toolbar you will also see a wordcount and a daily word goal which can be adjusted in the settings.

The whole point of FocusWriter is to keep you Focused on your Writing. It's just you and the words! But it's easy to minimise or close out of when necessary. To minimise, I personally hit the windows key which brings up my regular desktop toolbar.

And to close the program, you just need to tap the windows and Q keys together. And when you open it again, as I said before, you will be exactly where you left off.

And yes, all documents created and saved in FocusWriter are saved as Word documents. This means that you can open anything made on this program in Word and vice versa. Which has definitely saved my writing a time or two, let me tell you.

I've been using FocusWriter for around seven years now, probably even longer, and I have no intention of stopping any time soon.

You can download it here!

I’m in love with WriteRush.

Every time you type, the screen fills with confetti. It's a great app and so beautiful. Give the author a chance, he is indie and very kind, always responding quickly to any question or suggestion.

Please download, review and support this app!

anyways here's my macintosh focuswriter theme. no more ugly themes. go crazy with it.

ignore the small green dot in the screenshot that's my prowritingaid.

I've found that my best writing sessions involve pictures of trees. I've created themes with seasonal stock photos of forests (ideally with a path going away from the viewer), pick the one that fits the season/mood I'm going for, and start writing.

This summer forest has been saving my life right now.