New Writing Software

I’ve been sufficiently annoyed by Windows 11 lately that I’m thinking about changing my writing workflow.

For the last ten years, I’ve done the vast bulk of my writing on a Windows PC running Microsoft Word, but Windows lately seems to get worse with every update. So I’ve been thinking about alternative writing setups, and here are the ones I’ve been considering.

1.) Linux with LibreOffice.

Pros: I’ve done it before, frequently, though not for the last seven years or so. (SILENT ORDER: ECLIPSE HAND was the last book I wrote on Linux.) So I’m already familiar with it. Linux, additionally, is free, and can be run on a lower-end machine. Ubuntu and Linux Mint are both pretty rock-solid these days without a lot of drama.

Cons: Grammarly, ProWriting Aid, and other editing programs don’t always play nice with Linux. But then you can copy and past things into the web interface.

2.) Windows with LibreOffice.

Pros: LibreOffice is much cheaper than Office 365. Additionally, LibreOffice is comfortably cross-platform, so my desktop could be Linux with LibreOffice and my laptop could remain Windows, since I really don’t want to buy a new computer.

Cons: Continuing to use Windows 11, which is increasingly getting on my nerves.

3.) MacOS with Microsoft Office.

Pros: While Apple is experimenting with AI, they’re much less up their own tailpipes with it than Microsoft is. The current versions of MacOS are much, much less derpy than Windows 11.

Cons: Macs are very, very expensive.

4.) MacOS with LibreOffice.

Pros: LibreOffice is cross-platform and also free.

Cons: Macs are still very, very expensive.

5.) MacOS with Pages.

Pros: MacOS and Pages are both less derpy than Windows 11 and Microsoft Word. Additionally, I use Vellum for my ebook formatting, which is Mac native.

Cons: Macs always have been and always will be very, very expensive.

Those are the options I’ve been considering.

I’m already cross platform since I do writing and cover design on Windows, and then ebook formatting on a Mac with Vellum. Most likely I would keep my Windows tower for cover design, and set up a Linux computer for writing and editing, though I haven’t made any firm decisions yet.

My 2007-era self would be horrified to think that I am considering a Mac as my primary writing computer, but a lot has changed in the last seventeen years.

Anyway, I am thinking aloud here, and won’t make any decisions until ORC-HOARD comes out, hopefully next month.

-JM