I was gifted with an iPad and now I'm trying to figure out how to actually use the damned thing. Let me make it known that I am an avid Android user and I'm not thrilled with the whole App store experience.
That being said, I love the programs Liquid Story Binder, yWriter, and Scrivener on my desktop computer, but I can't seem to find any writing app of this caliber available on the market. I know that Scrivener is going to release an iPad verison of their software eventually, but it's already been a year so I'm not holding my breath.
The best option I've found thus far is just install Google's Drive and then porting all the files over into a program on my desktop afterward for revisions or character modeling. Ideas? Anyone?
I write on my iPad but I don't use it in place of my word processor. You can get Pages for iPad which is a word processor, but I don't really find the value in that, since I have to have a Word document at the end of the day if I want to send the work out. I actually use something called WritePad (I think?) where I can handwrite with a stylus and it changes it to text that you can edit in the app and then send to yourself or others in various different ways.
Hnm, nice. I was hoping to find a writing suite that would allow me to keep scanned character sketches & bios with me at on the iPad rather than lugging around notebooks. I travel a lot, so the less I need to cart with me the better.
I always begin my stories on an iPad. I use "iA Writer", which is just a stripped back notepad with dropbox functionality. There's no formatting functions or anything, it's just a simple interface for typing. I use it to quickly jot down my ideas in an unordered/haphazard manner. Then, when a story begins to emerge, I use dropbox to transfer all my files to a laptop where I piece the story together in Word. This method of workflow works for me. I'm unable to simply open a blank page in Word and begin at the first sentence. The iPad allows me to jot down ideas and notes wherever I am (at work, while watching tv, middle of the night etc). But I'll admit that the serious work takes place on the laptop.
Matt: Thanks much for the rec. I'll have to give it a try.
I'm beginning to think that this whole condensing electronics thing isn't going to happen any time soon. Oh well.
I love my Ipad, but i don't try to write stories on it. I write e-mail and jot down ideas, as Mat suggested. But the laptop seems to work better for serious, longer writing. i may check out that iAwriter, Mat.
Oh my thing has drop box, too. I went with something I could "write" on and have translate to text because I figured if I was going to get an external keyboard, I may as well keep lugging my lap top. I haven't gotten used to the tough screen as a keyboard and may never. For my notes, etc, I haven't worked on anything that required them, but I imagine there is a way to store that... I have the iCloud so my laptop, phone, and iPad integrate fairly seamlessly. I don't know exactly what you'd do for windows & Mac OS, though.
I also received an Ipad for Christmas, and am exploring options. Like Ria, I write in Scrivener on my laptop, but their iOS version seems like a pipe dream.
So, I now have about ten apps for typing and writing by hand. So far, I like GoodNotes best for handwriting, and my wife says you can also type, which I haven't figured out yet. I'm using dropbox as my cloud for access on all my devices.
All that said, I've decided I want to handwrite my first draft of whatever I start next, on my Ipad, then type into Scrivener as my first rewrite and edit...we'll see how that goes.
iA Writer is great. I was gifted with a case and keyboard last Christmas and cranked out 35K of journal at one sitting with no distractions. iA is just for putting words down in a stream though. I too however find myself most comfortable in front of the old many screened workstation.
Ria,
If I understand correctly, one thing you would like to do is take a physical page with a character sketch or bio and store a digital copy on your ipad. I use an app called Genius Scan on my iphone to scan business receipts while on the road. I think it will work on the iPad as well though I have not tried it. You just take a picture of a document with the camera and can combine multiple images/pages into a PDF. You could then use an app like FileApp or Goodreader to manage the PDFs.
I use Pages and my iMac wireless keyboard (Bluetooth) occasionally with my iPad. (I wrote a large chunk of my Scare Us! submission on my iPad, actually). It's not my go-to way of writing, but I enjoy having the option when I'm away from my desk or not at home.
Wow guys, thanks for all the great suggestions! I was poking around on my iPad last night and found a great app for brainstorming and outlining/timelining. It's called MagicalPad and is a paid app. Thus far it's worth the purchase price. It's straightforward and intuitive for me to use. Only thing I don't like about it is that it doesn't handle images at all.
Matt L.: Hnm, I'll have to give that a try. I never thought of trying to manipulate the images themselves. My issue is that I work best on character dev or outlining when I'm short on time.
Dave: You have way more gumption than I do. If I handwrite anything I can't read it five minutes later. ^.^ So I use handwriting to just do brainstorming and quick notes. I really wish Scrivener would be able to troubleshoot the issues they're having.
WonderWoman: I'm going to give Pages a try tonight. Maybe I can set up a template and then just fill in what's needed.
The sad part is that I'm considering getting an iPhone to make all of this less painful. ;_; Save me.
That MagicalPad app looks quite cool. All sorts of cool features for charting/mapping out your story ideas. I can get quite addicted to that sort of thing. i love making diagrams and charts of my plot ideas and characters. Problem is, that sort of thing ultimately just becomes a distraction. Making a diagram of your story isn't the same as writing your story. I find that actual writing is the only real way to work out what my story is. That's just me though, I reckon that app would be really useful for some people. Worth checking out if you find mindmapping etc helpful.
If you have an iMac or Macbook, using Pages on the iPad is the way to go. I bought an iPad 2 and Logitech's bluetooth keyboard/case, which is the deal. Warning, if you use the keyboard case, you will not be able to format the 'Capitalization of The First Word of a Sentence" thingy, but what the hell, I need to type better anyway. iCloud is a dream and once the document opens in Pages you can export it into a Word doc very easily. I find that I can write 1000-2000 word chunks using the Logitech with no problem, which is exactly where I want to be when I'm pounding out a first draft.
Matt: I hear ya on the distractions. Though I've found I work best on character bios, sketches, and short stories while I'm on breaks from my 9-5 because it requires hardcore concentration for a limited space of time. Once I have the background stuff done I reference back & update it while I'm actually writing the ms. It's my way of brainstorming and helps me keep my stuff on track.
Bob: I also got an apple wireless keyboard with the iPad, which is a great thing to type on, but is pretty unweildy when there isn't desk or table space to use it on. I found this nifty keyboard called The Brydge. It essentially turns the iPad into a netbook by clipping a keyboard onto the iPad. The hinges then support the iPad like a monitor, which is exactly the sort of thing I could use while running around the Tri-State area.
Can MagicalPad recognise handwriting? I can't tell from the descriptions and there are just *so many features in this amazing app* (according to the website) that it may be there but perhaps I am missing it. Or they don't mention it, because it's so passe. Anybody know?
Write everywhere. Write on everything. Even skin.
I write on scraps of paper and used envelopes.
Great discussion! I just wanted to through in my 2 cents. I don't write at all on my iPad unless I've got a physical keyboard to go with it. I've tried, but the awkwardness of typing on the screen takes me away from whatever I'm writing.
Should you choose to continue with the iPad, I strongly recommend Pages. It can export doc or docx files. It can be copied and pasted into Scrivener. It can also store in the cloud automatically. That's two back-ups when I save on my iMac, because I back that up automatically using an external drive.
I'm trying to decide if I should continue with Scrivener, because I feel more "writerly" using it, or just use Pages for everything. If I only wrote on my iMac I would use Scrivener, but I also venture to the local coffee shop with my Mac Air, and I can't bring myself to fork over 20 bucks for another Pages on the Air.
Scrivener people allow for using the same license on multiple devices, so I have it on my iMac and Air, so it's available both home and away.
Oh, and I also have Microsoft Word on my iMac, but nowhere else. But I can see it will be useful with the track changes tool when looking at submissions and LBLs on this site.
