Writing’s a relatively simple gig.
Pen and paper will get you going, and a purist could make a cogent case for keeping the exercise exactly that simple.
Naturally, that’s not what happens when you add commerce to the mix — and humanity’s unquenchable desire to complicate life.
I’ve been copywriting long enough that I wrote my first bits on a typewriter, but it wasn’t long before I was using a computer and that most amazing of inventions: the fax.
Today, writers have choices far beyond “manual or electric?â€
I love the flexibility. But admit to sometimes wondering if we’ve truly liberated ourselves, or simply created a set of flashier, more-acceptable restraints to creativity.
To that end, I’m always interested in other writers: how they work, what they do to make it work, and any weirdnesses they bring to the table (I once stumbled across a pair of writers arguing about the color of ink they use).
In that vein, I’m offering up the Seven (perhaps little-known) Writing Tools I Can’t Live Without. You might find a gem in here. Feel free to offer something better.
This little-known free text editor (Windows) opens immediately, consumes little memory, and actually displays the current line’s character count. Simple and absolutely free of useless clutter, it’s simply the best tool for writing character-limited work (like Google Ads). Using cut and paste, it’s also a great way to remove embedded formatting from text written in a word processor.
Then there are the days I simply can’t face another toolbar, and this is what I fire up, eventually pasting the finished copy into my copy form (running on a graphically correct word processor).
A Sketchpad
I compose copy on a computer, but when I’m noodling ideas in my head (messaging, ad concepts, etc), nothing mirrors my thinking faster than a sketch pad and a pencils.
It took me years to get past the fact my thumbnail concepts and doodles were atrociously drawn (and I read “Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain†to help). But there’s something inherently creative about drawing on paper – perhaps the way the act itself links one thought to another, creating a chain of ideas.
Does anyone else still do this?
Sugarless Chewing Gum
I’m a grinder. My teeth, that is. In fact, after a couple hours of really being in the groove, my jaws hurt. Gum helps.
Sure, MS Word is the Windows (and writer’s) standard, but after Office 2000, I grew tired of the feature bloat and expensive, pointless upgrades. So I downloaded OpenOffice, fired it up, and never looked back. An office suite that largely mimics the functionality of MS Office, it exchanges files with MS Office (pretty seamlessly) and runs nice and fast.
You can extend OpenOffice with plug-ins (I just added one that allows me to blog directly from OpenOffice Writer). Plus it’s available in Windows, Mac, and Linux versions, so if I eventually decide Vista’s not for me, I have choices.
There’s even a blog dedicated to OpenOffice Writer. So let’s summarize: compatible with MS Office but faster, more extensible, and… free (I donated to the cause). Is it better? I can’t say, but I do know it satisfies the populist streak in me far better than Monolithic Software’s Word.
Walking the Dog/Fly Fishing/Backpacking
Had all your best ideas at the keyboard? You need to get out more. There is a world of conflict, beauty and intrigue out there (three elements of a good story – itself an element of good copywriting), and if you let all that just-outside-your-window inspiration die, your writing will be the poorer for it.
I recently wrote a company tagline while walking Wally the Wonderdog. While fly fishing, I got clear about the clients I did (and didn’t) want to work with. Clarity like that isn’t found in conference rooms.
Blog Editor
Because I write more than one blog, I’ve found a desktop blog editor an invaluable tool. Right now, Windows LiveWriter is my choice, but that’s only by default; I can’t get the much-faster BlogDesk software to work and I’m still testing my way through the alternatives.
I tried to love Performancing FF (now FireScribe—a fast, handy Firefox extension that I use for short posts) but couldn’t. LiveWriter is easy to use and relatively powerful, but exhibits Microsoft’s typical interface clunkiness and sluggish response. My “ultimate†blog editor has yet to be built.
Image Editing with PhotoFiltre
I’m a former photojournalist, so I shoot a lot of images for my fly fishing blog. And while I use a high-end photo editor, it’s overkill for simple photos destined for online use. A great solution is PhotoFiltre; a freeware image editor that opens fast, operates faster, and does what most of us need done. There’s also a more-powerful, 25 euro version that I’ll try shortly.
I often scan concept thumbnails to show clients (along with reference materials, other ads, etc), and PhotoFiltre allows me to quickly make them presentable. It’s an online world, but there is plenty of offline material that can help you succeed. PhotoFiltre helps you – quickly and cheaply.
Also-Rans
Google Notebook makes recording online resources a click-and-save affair. But I could live without it. (Ask me again in a year.)
My 13 year-old IBM keyboard is absolutely the perfect keyboard, and it doesn’t belong in the “also-ran†category. It’s indispensable. I’m just preparing myself for the inevitable.
Then there’s FireFox 2.0, which – and it’s about time – actually checks your spelling for you. (Ranks right up there with the fax.)
What are the tools you couldn’t write without?
[tags]writing, copywriting, writer, copywriter[/tags]
Comments 17
I can’t get by without a thesaurus. I find it to be essential to not only writing, but also brainstorming (especially visualthesaurus.com). Thanks for the heads up on Copywriter, I’m downloading it now.
I love Clipmate (Clipmate.com) and have used it for many years. I think Google Notebook offers some equivalent functionality, but I still prefer Clipmate. Makes it so easier to categorize boilerplate copy snippets, URLs, even images.
I also, at times, like to work ideas out on a sketch pad, Tom. Must be our age showing itself. (I also always type with a pen in my right hand. It’s a hold over from my smoking days when I always kept a lit cigarette in my hand at the ready. I don’t use the pen, just like to hold it :=)
I find my brain quite a useful tool. Also my hands.
Nice post Tom.
Tim: Copywriter is a useful tool. Let me know if you get along with it.
Roberta: I’ll give Clipmate a look.
David: On some days, my brain is my least useful tool. It just keeps getting in the way… 8-)
If you describe your problem with BlogDesk I will try to help you.
Scrivener for OSX. Can be an amazingly simple writing tool, in fact, it’ll even blackout the rest of your desktop so you can just write, but it also supports some seriously handy features like a corkboard for notes and an outliner.
http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.html
I am with you on the gum!
I also am with Tim on the Thesaurus. I love to write but am not great at reading (ironically). So my vocabulary is not wonderful. But it has gotten better since I started my job as a copywriter.
A cup of coffee doesn’t hurt.
And I’m in search of the perfect way to keep my hands warm while at the office (i’m usually ok at home). Any suggestions?
Tyler: I’ve heard interesting things about Scrivener, but
Nathania: I use fingerless fleece gloves (my winter fly fishing gloves in fact). In the winter, I keep my office cool.
Support: BlogDesk is a great tool, but it asks for my “Office 2001″ disk several times each startup and use. I haven’t used Office for many years, and can’t find the disk. If you’ve got an idea, I’m all ears.
As you can see in the BlogDesk forum (http://forum.blogdesk.org/viewtopic.php?t=157), this is a weird problem related to Windows system files. Currently I have no solution other than inserting the disk Windows wants you to insert.
Well, being a Brit I have to have a constant flow of cups of tea to keep me alert and my brain box ticking over. Fresh air from an open window also helps – even in winter – I can always put on more socks and it keeps the cobwebs away.
Handy post. In the category of essential support tools on my Mac, I rely on two simple, small shareware tools from Apimac: Timer and CleanText. Timer has a stopwatch, a countdown, and an alarm clock, which I need in various combinations on hourly projects. CleanText is handy for stripping code, converting capitalization, and eliminating hard returns and forwarding carets from copied text.
I also need to have style guides within reach: Chicago, AP, APA, and GPO.
Tom – Microsoft Word and a clipboard. Those are my must haves! – Mike
I use a little application called TimeSlice. It allows me to add multiple projects and turn the clock on and off whenever I get up for tea, biscuits, laundry, mail, and other modes of procrastination.
Support: That was pretty much where I left it before. Thanks for the attempt.
Paul: I use copywriter (windows) for exactly the same purpose you use CleanText. And since I’m an ex-photojournalist, the AP Style Manual is never far from hand…
Michael: Have you tried the alternatives to Word? Or for that matter, are you using the new “vista” version with the ribbon interface?
Janet: I’ve heard of TimeSlice. I’m not at all sure I could handle the pressure of a timer… 8-)
Thanks everyone!
I don’t know if anyone here as heard of Glyphius software or not but I wouldn’t write a sentence of copy without it.
It’s a product by http://www.jamesbraush.com and it’s based on a statistical analysis of tens of thousands of ads/websites to see what words are “profitable”.
Even though I’ve spent money on Carlton’s packages and studied Halbert, Collier et al…this thing surprised the heck out of me.
For instance some of our favorite, “power words”… free, now, you…are some of the LEAST profitable words we could put on a page. Who knew?
It makes my top tools list.
Hi! Good post. It got me thinking (which is a good thing for a writer). I also can’t live without a thesaurus, but I find it easier to use an online version. I can’t live without my timer (I don’t use the computer’s because I forget about it…I need one in my hand). And I do use pen and paper. And a highlighter sometimes. And I need my printer. I don’t like to do everything on the screen.
Thanks for the ideas!
I haven’t ever found much utility for a thesaurus, but the timer sounds far more interesting.
I formerly used an online time tracking system, but freed myself from it after I began billing on a project basis.
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