Last year I used WriteMonkey for NaNoWriMo and it worked well enough–I hit 50,000+ words with it and encountered no issues along the way. It’s a text editor with full markdown support, perfect for people who want a writing tool without a lot of distractions.
The one thing it lacked was a tablet version, specifically one for iOS. I do have iAWriter on my iPad, which can read WriteMonkey files (they’re just text, after all) but I’ve never been comfortable with swapping between different programs for a single project. That ultimately led me back to Word, as I can use it on my desktop PC, my Surface and now on my iPad (where it will primarily serve as a place to fix typos and such, not for any serious writing). I can even use a version of Word online if I happen to have Internet access but don’t have my own device handy.
I had briefly considered using Scrivener again. I used it in 2013 and while I suffered a huge data loss with it, it was my own fault for switching which copy of my story would be backed up on the cloud (in this case Dropbox) and which would be my local copy partway through the month. Even without that bit of bungling, I was never entirely comfortable with the way it spreads your project among a variety of files, and the lack of an iOS version hurts (it is in development but not due until 2016). I will miss a few of Scrivener’s features, like the progress/goal indicator and the way it easily lets you move scenes around. I have to admit I’ve never actually moved scenes around, though. I’d probably accidentally delete half of them with my luck. Also, Scrivener is such a massive toolbox I sometimes find myself spending more time tinkering with the various tools instead of just writing. While Word also has a ton of features, very few of them are directly applicable to writing straight-up fiction, so it ends up being less distracting.
None of this is to take away from Scrivener, which is a fine program. I’m just a weird and easily distracted kind of person.
For notes and other miscellany I am using OneNote. My story and notes will live on OneDrive and be backed up on my desktop and Surface, as well as a USB stick.
The only thing I need now is an idea. I have one more day to grab one. Plenty of time!
