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NovelWriter 1.0 – A markdown-like editor for writing novels

novelwriter.io

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Re: NovelWriter 1.0 – A markdown-like editor for writing novels

#251

Post by zikzak »

kevincox wrote: post #100
vikingcaffiene wrote: post #88

This has no word export option (unless I missed it) which makes it infeasible for a lot of writers. Like it or not, docx is the format a lot of folks in mainstream publishing expect. Context: My partner is a published author and I've pitched stuff like this at her on multiple occasions as an alternative to Scrivener. In addition to her laughing at my insistence that markdown is a superior way to write, she cites the…

Infeasible is maybe a stretch. However you will need to have a multi-step "Export for Publish" workflow which is definitely a hurdle. However assuming that 95% of the time is spent writing it may be worth it if you like the tool.

The hardest part of writing a novel is definitely not converting it to docx. I can't even express how crazy this discussion sounds. It's like people who post on writer's forums about how they have an idea for a novel and ask what the best way to get it published is.

Re: NovelWriter 1.0 – A markdown-like editor for writing novels

#253

Post by ASalazarMX »

FalconSensei wrote: post #250
ASalazarMX wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess their editor can just cut and paste to Word if he really wants to make corrections.

> their editor can just cut and paste to Word if he really wants to make corrections Is it sarcasm? I mean... make corrections/changes is what an editor does.

Hes, it was sarcasm. A write-only format is the worst way to send a novel to a publisher/editor.

Re: NovelWriter 1.0 – A markdown-like editor for writing novels

#254

Post by burlesona »

chank wrote: post #17

Outside of the more technically inclined; Does anyone who is a long-form (novel) writer actually use markdown? Outside of blogging, which it was invented for and makes total sense for syntax conversion of free formed text to html is there any real use for it? Obviously you don't have to use it if you don't want to, but it sort of feels odd to me that all these developers making writing/notes apps that neglect rich te…

One of my personal projects is https://betabooks.co, which is a markdown based feedback collection tool for pre-publication books. In other words, securely share a complete draft with beta readers and get their feedback nicely organized in an easy to use app.

The app works best with markdown, but very early on I had to add "paste from word" and rich text formatting because I discovered that, while _I_ write fiction in markdown, only ~5% of other authors do.

Too bad, because it fits really well for the task, and there are so many great long-form markdown writing tools. I personally prefer Ulysses for Mac.

Re: NovelWriter 1.0 – A markdown-like editor for writing novels

#255

Post by vulcan01 »

nahuel0x wrote: post #14
app4soft wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe ghostwriter [0] is what you are looking for? [0] http://wereturtle.github.io/ghostwriter/

I just found typora[0] and Emacs "M-x markdown-toggle-markup-hiding" :) [0] https://typora.io/

Also Vim's markdown conceal as seen here: https://github.com/plasticboy/vim-markdown#syntax-concealing

The vim-pandoc-syntax plugin also has syntax concealing enabled by default, IIRC.

Re: NovelWriter 1.0 – A markdown-like editor for writing novels

#256

Post by pattrn »

notjustanymike wrote: post #104
vikingcaffiene wrote: post #88

This has no word export option (unless I missed it) which makes it infeasible for a lot of writers. Like it or not, docx is the format a lot of folks in mainstream publishing expect. Context: My partner is a published author and I've pitched stuff like this at her on multiple occasions as an alternative to Scrivener. In addition to her laughing at my insistence that markdown is a superior way to write, she cites the…

Trying to unseat Scrivener is like competing with IntelliJ.

As a competitor to Scrivener, I'd love to know why you think that.

(I just deleted a paragraph of text so that I don't influence your response with my own opinions.)

Re: NovelWriter 1.0 – A markdown-like editor for writing novels

#257

Post by still_grokking »

Against expectations this is not an Electron app.

It's only ~3MB small! Even with a bloated installer that contains all the dependencies (Python & Qt) it's only 35MB.

It will use only a fraction of the resources of an Electron app. It's also of course snappier that any web-app.

We need more proper desktop apps again. The Electron insanity needs to stop. Nice to see this here!

Re: NovelWriter 1.0 – A markdown-like editor for writing novels

#258

Post by vikingcaffiene »

ordinaryradical wrote: post #110
kadrian12 wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I applaud the author for keeping everything text file based. In general, I think we should strive for non-proprietary, standard file formats. Isn't docx far too one-sided and controlled in that regard? I wonder if anyone has some info on the "state of affairs" for the "document format race".

None of this matters because the industry relies on docx (and it's a crusty, oldschool industry so good luck changing that). A minimum for a novel writing tool is that one can actually send the novel out in a format where your agent and editor will read it. Otherwise you're not getting that novel published.

This is correct. Any writing software that aims for an audience larger than HN needs to have a very robust docx export capability.

My partner tells me that it has to be formatted a certain way down to the font and line spacing too or they won't accept it.

I'm cracking up at all these comments suggesting that her recipients brew install pandoc lol. Good luck with that.

Re: NovelWriter 1.0 – A markdown-like editor for writing novels

#259

Post by vikingcaffiene »

spoiler wrote: post #162
vikingcaffiene wrote: post #88

This has no word export option (unless I missed it) which makes it infeasible for a lot of writers. Like it or not, docx is the format a lot of folks in mainstream publishing expect. Context: My partner is a published author and I've pitched stuff like this at her on multiple occasions as an alternative to Scrivener. In addition to her laughing at my insistence that markdown is a superior way to write, she cites the…

From the documentation: > The core export format of novelWriter is HTML5. You can also export the entire project as a single novelWriter Markdown-flavour document. In addition, other exports to Open Document, PDF, and plain text is offered through the Qt library, although with limitations to formatting. So it seems like it can export to Open Document, which seems to be well-supported[1]; including Microsoft Office su…

If she sends ODT to her publisher or editor, they will laugh at her and throw it in the trash. There are very specific rules about this stuff and no wiggle room for interpretation. It _has_ to be in docx format or it's not getting read.

Re: NovelWriter 1.0 – A markdown-like editor for writing novels

#260

Post by vikingcaffiene »

gabereiser wrote: post #159
codetrotter wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

However, since NovelWriter is GPLv3 licensed, they could in theory incorporate code from Pandoc, which is GPLv2 licensed, directly into NovelWriter.

I think you guys are missing the point. The point isn’t “how do we get from markdown to docx” but rather “why doesn’t this tool support the format my publisher expects”. Yes, pandoc is amazing, but the product needs to support exporting to docx for the publisher so that the user of NovelWriter feels supported and empowered to write. TeaDrunk said it best: it’s now significantly more steps the user shouldn’t have to d…

This is the correct take. If it's so easy to do then there should be a button or menu option that does it.
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