i refuse to buy a mac, so don't even suggest it.

[rivendellrose]

So, today, nekokoban and I were whining about the difficulties we're having with our respective writing projects, and she pointed me in the direction of Scrivener. At which point we both whined for about 10 minutes about how absolutely awesome it looks and how much we both wanted it, if only it would be available for Windows.

Let me be clear: I do not want to buy a Mac. I do not want to be involved in any way with Mac. I do not like the practices of Mac as a company - I have a Sansa mp3 player, a Windows laptop, a Windows netbook, and I am strongly considering getting pretty much any smart phone that is not an iPhone. I simply do not like the way the company works, and refuse to give them money, point blank, end of story, and I refuse to be cajoled, proselytized to, or otherwise convinced. Just fair warning.

Anyway. The bad news is, I want Scrivener like burning. It is beautiful. I lust after its gorgeous, gorgeous storyboarding feature. I wants it precious.

So. Does anybody know of a Windows-friendly alternative to Scrivener? I already use RoughDraft (and have become intensely annoyed at how buggy it gets when a document reaches about 50,000 words), and I think I tried YWriter a few years ago and was unenthused, although that was probably several versions ago as well, so perhaps I should give it another try. Right now I'm using RoughDraft and Open Office sort of interchangeably, and not being particularly thrilled with either.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a steak to be eating. ♥

Thoughts? Suggestions? Anything?

Comments

[ursula]

The links section of the Scrivener page has a list of Windows programs-- maybe something there is worth a shot?

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I checked those - none of them seem to have the storyboarding function that's the part I really lust after.

[windrose.livejournal.com]

Yeah, your attitude toward Mac is pretty much identical to mine. &hearts

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

They just... yeeeeeeeah. I'd rather not, thanks. ♥

[aris-tgd.livejournal.com]

I got a free download of a nice one from giveawayoftheday, but now I'll be buggered if I can figure out where I put it. I don't tend to use anything more complicated than TextPad when writing, so I don't pay attention to much software that's out there. I'll try to at least dig up the name of it for you.

[aris-tgd.livejournal.com]

Ah! It was Liquid Story Binder. I thought it looked really cool and was WAY more machine than I wanted between me and my writing. Give it a shot? It's got a thirty-day free trial and you can see if their storyboard feature works anything like Scrivener's. (I really didn't get that far, and I think it's on the computer with no screen right now, meaning that it's actually faster for you to install it and try it out on your own ;)

[shadawyn.livejournal.com]

I tried Liquid Story Binder when I was looking for a Scrivener Windows alternative. It's pretty decent.

I did eventually end up getting a Mac (and then, with some excitement, Scrivener), but Liquid Story Binder is a passable facsimile.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Okay, cool. Thanks for the advice!

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Awesome, thank you!

The "more machine than I want between me and my writing" thing is something I fear, but... honestly, the reason I'm so neurotically attached to the storyboard idea is that I've started to notice that my process could really use something where I write small bits (scene ideas, etc) and then can rearrange them, but I hate to use actual paper for that kind of thing, so... computer program would be perfect! Besides, my cat just rips things apart when I try to use a cork-board or whatever, so on the computer would be safer. :P

[gaslightgallows]

Randomly popping in here to say "Thanks!" for the recommendation. I installed it this morning, and the Outlining and Typewriting features are working really well for me. :)

[diea.livejournal.com]

What is wrong with the Mac company? Just curious. I hope you find a solution to your problem!

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

The oldest argument is that you pretty much have to use Mac software (iTunes, etc) in order to use another Mac thing (like an iPod). They force you to use their little file organizing system, etc., and I hate that. Everything about Macs is proprietary - they don't want you to be able to use anything that isn't Mac-approved (and, more often than not, built by them and sold by them as well). People may bitch about this being true about Windows, but it simply isn't true from what I've seen.

They're doing that with the iPhone, too. Adobe is coming out with a flash player for the mobile devices like blackberries and Android, but the iPhone doesn't support it, and Steve Jobs went on record saying Flash is dead and HTML and CSS will replace it and he doesn't want to support a dead technology. That doesn't sound too bad, but what's going on is that Flash could be used to bring apps and things to the Mac store that Mac doesn't make money off. All the other smart phones allow people to make apps and sell them (if they're approved by the company, or sometimes just whatever) on the app store. Mac doesn't. Mac will only sell their apps which make them money.

Lastly, Mac is a trend/appearance thing. I've noticed that a lot of people buy Mac stuff (iPods, and now iPhones) purely because they're the trendy thing, and that makes me automatically ill-disposed to having them myself. I don't want a status symbol - I want a computer (or a phone, or an mp3 player). I don't like the way they've cornered the market in a lot of these things, I don't like their monopolistic attitude, and I don't like their snide "we're so awesome, buy us and you'll be awesome too!" advertising. Petty, I know, but that's the truth.

And thanks! I suspect in the end, after looking at a lot of programs, the solution will be "buck up and admit that it's not the program that's the problem, it's my paranoia and restlessness regarding my story." So yeah, it'll work out in the end. ...Either that or I'll spend more weekends beating my head against the wall. :P

[irishninja.livejournal.com]

Shadawyn went on a similar search a couple years ago but came up empty, alas. But that WAS a couple years ago, so maybe there's something out there?

I feel similarly about Apple these days, but it cost me about $1800 for a laptop and iPod to get there. I'm glad you got there for free. ;D

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

I feel similarly about Apple these days, but it cost me about $1800 for a laptop and iPod to get there.

I'm inherently suspicious of and resistant to anything that seems to get most of its power from trendiness, so... I guess that saved me? I don't know. I know a lot of people are happy with Macs and they're obviously a successful company, they're just not for me.

As for the writing tools thing... seems like the market hasn't changed all that much. It's sort of like looking for an alternative to Photoshop, I suspect - once you've seen the real thing, you realize that nothing else is really in the same league.

...And people say we don't have monopolies in this country. :P

[irishninja.livejournal.com]

People only think of Microsoft as a monopoly. They don't seem to see the kinds of monopolistic crap that companies like Apple and Google practice, because those companies are somehow the "good guys." Bleh.

[phillipalden.livejournal.com]

I just looked in the comments and saw my question answered.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Yeah. It's not that Microsoft as a company is so much better - although I do appreciate the vast amounts of money they, and Bill Gates, give to local schools and non-profits here in Seattle... I just wish they wouldn't arrange things so that they pay vastly less in taxes here than they should - it's just that Mac's business practices of late have convinced me that they're basically the most anti-open-source company in the market right now, and I don't particularly like the way they position themselves in the market / culture.

[phillipalden.livejournal.com]

I think both companies are anti-open-source, but I see your point.

[lacrimaeveneris.livejournal.com]

Have you looked at yWriter and the associated software? It's what I use, it's AWESOME for storyboarding and out-of-order writing, and it's free. I adore it, and it's worth at least a try. It's a pretty lightweight writer, too.