Hey all.
So I'm on the hunt for a dependable text editor like ulysses, but that has rock solid sync. Recently I've experienced ulysses failing to sync, losing sections of work and generally not filling me with much confidence that my 100 K novel won't be swallowed into the digital ether or, corrections and edits I have made won't revert back to my original blather.
Of course, we can't use microsoft word, because we're on mac and we don't deserve nice things, but other suggestions would be great. I used to use Scrivener but found the export methodology highly convoluted. I'm sad as I thought Ulysses was the one but, on the other hand, if I dump ulysses I no longer have to stay on mac!
Thoughts wanted.
Comments
what's wrong with word?
Why not use the macos version of word? Its quite accessible.
Text editor of your choice, and Pandoc or Quarto
You can use whichever text editor you prefer. Options include TextEdit (in plain text mode), TextMate, CotEditor, Visual Studio Code, Vim, Emacs, etc.
I'm deliberately not advocating any of the options here. People have strong opinions... I'm not seeking to start a text editor dispute.
Then run Pandoc to convert the Markdown file to your preferred output format.
Quarto is an interesting tool that has recently attracted attention for its extensive Markdown and document conversion capabilities. It's based on Pandoc, but it has a variety of useful features and Markdown extensions beyond what Pandoc itself offers.
I'm a UNIX/Linux enthusiast. I'm used to writing in a text editor and running file conversion tools to produce the desired output. I'm glad I wrote my Ph.D. thesis in LaTeX, which I have also used for a variety of other work, before and since then.
Scrivener
Scrivener all the way!
Re: Text editor of your choice, and Pandoc or Quarto
I was wondering if you had links for either of those, and whether they have macOS binaries or can be built with the tool chain provided by macOS or Xcode by default. I too am a fan of text conversion tools.
Hi all
Thank you for your replies so far. I'll try to clarify my needs.
1. Microsoft word on mac, though partially accessible (Only works in print edit mode rather than any other, doesn't allow for standard spell check * command semicolon* and is generally difficult to navigate and manage large documents and, most of all, novels, 80 k words, crash voiceover*... Word, on mac at least, is out.
2. Yes, there are a bunch of good markdown editors, Byword, I.A. writer etc come to mind, but they lack the means of document management like ulysses, IE, you have folders and subfolders for chapters and scenes as well as the ability to label specific entries 'material sheets' which remove them from the final export.
3. I'll give scrivener another go. It sounds like that will be the cross platform system I probably need.
Basically, I just wish ulysses didn't have syncing issues as it's the application I know and has some handy features to it, not least its simplicity and self containment . All the suggestions that have been made are great, for short documents, but when a novel is going to be 80 k words and above, including notes containing character sketches, setting descriptions, scene ideas etc... That's when they become difficult. Word is the ideal, but as stated, it's not completely accessible and chokes on very large documents, believe me, I've tried it, and would love it to work. Oh, also, it's not cross platform in that there is no support for accessibility on iPad... It's something that neither microsoft nor apple seem to care about making good for us. Even pages chokes on large documents, hence the need for novel specific software.
I could create folders myself in finder and do it like that, perhaps using the notes app for my sketch pad, but it's fragmenting the work flow.
Also, yeah, I started learning latex years back. Markdown is fine though. Latex is perfect for maths but really over blown for something like pros where my output simply needs to be comfortable for reading, the specific layout aspects are unimportant prior to publication.
I've sent ulysses an email and I'm aware that they are transitioning from iCloud to some better supported sync system by apple, though I'm not sure what it's called right now. the issue is, they've lost my trust.
It just seems being a blind novelist/long form author, mac user collapses options.
HomeBrew
The best way to install Pandoc, Quarto, MacTeX and other tools discussed here is to use HomeBrew. For example, with HomeBrew installed, you can simply run
brew install pandoc
Note that HomeBrew includes packages for graphical MacOS applications as well as command line and terminal-based tools.
Yeah, I use homebrew already…
Yeah, I use homebrew already. This solution is a bit too nuts and bolts for my liking. I can write scripts with for loops and convert documents etc, but it doesn't really address the main problem which is finding an app that can help organise large projects.
I've heard back from Ulysses. They are aware of the problem and are working to move the back end over to web kit rather than iCloud which will function better. I'm just not sure when that will be.
I've got a work around until then, adding an external folder and accessing that from each computer with a Ulysses instance on it. It's not quite as slick as it should be, but does mean I can stay with ulysses, which is a damn good novel writing/project organising, app... When it works.