by Mishra Planeswalker

Created on: November 11, 2008

As a budding author, when I decided to start writing, both for Helium and otherwise, I simply opened up my Macbook and started to explore. When working with longer pieces of writing, using a cumbersome and oftentimes overwhelming application like Microsoft Word is simply enough to erase all thoughts of writing from your head. I had never had this urge to write when I was using a PC, as I knew it would mean extended hours fiddling with the various gimmicks of Word and the other Office apps.

With iWork, my word processing experience has no longer become a slow-going tedious experience. I now simply fire up the lightweight and efficient Pages (part of iWork '08) and let my fingers flow. I am currently typing this article on Pages, and I see the word count continuously advancing with every word I type, so I know when I've hit that 2400 character minimum. The inspector panel is a writer's dream companion, with all the information you need to know about your document available at-a-glance. Each tab serves a well-defined purpose, and everything from margin size to commenting your work is available without having to trawl through a murky help file.

But what are the benefits of iWork that help writers the most? I've listed my favourites below.

Running Time stats

The inspector panel, as mentioned before gives quick statistics pertaining to your document whereas these would have to be accessed each time you wanted them when using a competing PC application.

Comments

In iWork you have the ability to simply click on the Comment button, and off to the side you may add reminders, annotations, or other ideas to the margin, just as if you were writing on a sheet of loose-leaf.

User-Friendly-ness

This may seem obvious, but the clear and simple placing of common functions like line spacing and Tracking Changes make the writing experience seamless, and allow for smooth transition of thoughts from your head to the document.

However, if you plan on writing a book, there is a program that exceeds the capabilities of even iWork. Storyist is a Mac-only application that is designed exclusively for writers. All documents are started in standard manuscript style and the first documents you'll see are demo documents explaining the ins and outs of the program and the style it uses. In addition, Storyist provides full storyboard capabilities as well as room for character bios and everything the aspiring fiction writer dreams of.

So whether you're writing articles for Helium or are trying to pen the next bestseller, using a Mac gives you access to both Storyist and iWork, two of the best word processors available for writers around the world.

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