The Writer's Technology Companion

[…] Google articles about setting a writing goal, and this was the one that seemed useful to me: http://www.writerstechnology.com/2008/07/how-to-set-smart-writing-goals.   I think the article had some SMART  (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and […]

[…] On The Writer’s Technology Companion: 20 High-Tech Tools For Writers. […]

Thanks Dustin. Great to have this information in one place. It is very helpful to have information on the whole process of publishing a book. Thanks again, much appreciated!

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Very good post.. i’m for sure going to try ” Feedburner’s email service” and use it.

I adore the way you capture the heart and soul of the idea, really great writting style, I enojoyed it!

I work with Caltrans Specs — we have a compiler that assembles various applicable sections into one document. Of course the source docs from Caltrans were written/edited by multiple people, many of whom have no idea how to use tab settings, let alone styles, but use them anyway. Can you see the potential for disaster? Yes, every time anyone who creates Specs for state, county or local construction jobs, we spends countless hours reformatting the EXACT SAME ISSUES, EVERY SINGLE TIME - but our bosses don’t understand what OUR problem is (I know a few admins who have dealt with Plans & Specs and they laugh hysterically-on the verge of lost sanity — over the whole thing). Besides going with Documentum, an over-priced mediocre solution - anyone out there have any ideas?

[…] And for the Linux fans amongst us,  a collection of “ Linux Tools for Writing. If you find Scrivener interesting and you’re a Linux user, the Scrivener-like WWMKR might […]

cool book, but the download link is broken and i was going to post it on my site

[…] Setting clear writting goals is one of the first tasks you must do to get yourself organized. Read Writers Technology’ article on setting smart goals […]

Dan: I don’t use Master Documents regularly, but here’s one case where they are useful — many publishers want chapters as separate documents, but single documents are easier for many writers to work with. Or for people who prefer to work in small chunks — maybe you are writing different sections on different computers — Master Documents provides a way to meld them together into a final product. (Same for working with other authors.)

I’ve actually found a plugin that I’m testing that offers much more flexibility than Master Documents but does kind of the same thing, which I’ll be posting about soon, once I’ve determined that it works well. But both this new plugin and Master Documents provide a way to outline a large document and drill down into specific parts to work on at any given moment.

Like most of what I write about here, this boils down to individual style and comfort levels — this is far and away the most popular post on the site (!!!!) so people must have some need to use Master Documents or they wouldn’t be searching for it. I don’t really work that way, but that’s more because I write mostly short pieces than because I’m just not Master Documents material…

Thanks for the effort, but you discuss functionality without detailing the theory. Why would I outline sections instead of complete documents? Give examples. This still requires trial and error on the part of the reader.

You no doubt understand the subject you’re discussing, but you don’t thoroughly explain the details a new user will need.

Thanks, Tom.
Works perfectly in Word 2003!

Wow seems like there is more this this then what I would have thought.

Now, starting from the top was something I have never ever thought of, nor read anywhere else.

This is priceless advice, thank you!

Best,
Sosha

Thank you so much, Dustin, you help out a lot

Nice article, though it repeats what I read here and there.
What I miss is a mention of Evernote. I admit I have no experience with Web-chops, but Evernote is - in my opinion - state-of-the-art notetaking software.

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Thanks a lot for your information. I have done it and it’s working fine in my blog. If you are a newbie or stuck in the middle, check it out my blog at http://www.techbuzzy.com

I am having some troubles trying 2 load your blog. I’ve been read it many times before & never gotten something like this, but now when I try to load something it just takes a little while (3-15 minutes ) & then just stop. I’ve tried with www or not. Does anyone know what the trouble could be? Please ask your support at hoster..And, yes, thanks for your post!