Free Writing Software

One of the first things I did after deciding to do NaNo this year was to search around for a writing program. I have Vista Home and of course, cheap Microsoft only gives you a trial of their suite which includes Word among other things. I think this is stupid of Microsoft since there are so many other programs out on the web to download for free -- the full versions!!! And they are pretty much just like Word. I have the Open Office Suite downloaded on my laptop. I also use Google's Suite of office tools online. There are a lot of different options for word processing.
I have a couple of programs downloaded and haven't yet decided what I will use. I am playing around with them this month and probably won't choose until it comes down to the first sentence of NaNoWriMo 2009. In my search, I found anything from free to expensive. I don't believe in paying for something if there isn't a need. I really don't see a need for myself to buy a writing program - if it came down to it, I would just use my Open Office or the Note Pad already installed on my computer.
Below you will find some free writing software programs I found on the net:

yWriter - Spacejock Software - this is the program I downloaded and will most likely use.
From the download site:
Features:
Organise your novel using a 'project'.
Add chapters to the project.
Add scenes, characters, items and locations.
Display the word count for every file in the project, along with a total.
Saves a log file every day, showing words per file and the total. (Tracks your progress)
Saves automatic backups at user-specified intervals.
Allows multiple scenes within chapters
Viewpoint character, goal, conflict and outcome fields for each scene.
Multiple characters per scene.
Storyboard view, a visual layout of your work.
Re-order scenes within chapters.
Drag and drop of chapters, scenes, characters, items and locations.
Automatic chapter renumbering

There are a lot of features in this program. At first I couldn't get around in it. After playing a bit, it was pretty easy to use. It's useful that you can store extra information in pop-up boxes which are quickly available. I saw something on the website about text to speech. I'll have to look for that to see what it's about. I love extra stuff!

Storybook
From the download site:

• Storybook comes with 3 views:
  
  
  
  • The Chronological View shows the scenes sorted by date.
  • The Manage Chapters and Scenes view shows all chapters and their assigned scenes. Scenes can be moved and renumbered by Drag-and-Drop.
  • The Book View shows all chapters and their assigned scenes sorted by chapter and scene numbers, as you would read it in the final book.
  
  
  
  
• Storybook helps you to keep an overview, especially helpful for complex stories with two or more plot-lines (strands). Imagine it as a kind of a "dynamic mind map".
• Strands and strand links: Each scene belongs to a primary strand. Optionally, other related secondary-strands can be linked to a scene.
• Characters: Add, edit or remove characters and assign them to scenes.
• Locations: Add, edit or remove locations and assign them to scenes.
• Chapters: Define your chapters and assign scenes to them.
• Parts: Large projects can be split into well-arranged parts.
• Information: A hierarchic tree shows all characters, locations, chapters and strands. If scenes are missing or exist twice, a warning informs you.
• Adjustable view: All views can be re-sized to fit to screen or to get a better overview. Even more working space is available if you hide the information panel with a simple click on the tool bar.
• Task list and Navigation: The task list shows all scenes with a status other than "done". With the "Go to date" respectively "Go to chapter" navigation you can easily jump to the desired date or chapter-number.
• Spell Check: Your text can be checked for spelling. New words can be added to your personal user directory.
• Instant save: Because Storybook uses an embedded database called H2 to store data (and not a file) each input entered is saved in an instant. Even if the program crashes, you won't loose any data
  

 Q10 - This is the most slim-lined, barebones download I found. If you want to just write, this one is for you. And you don't have to do without options. Q10 is packed with great ones for NaNoWriMo. I also downloaded this program. I plan to use it for free or timed writing and for competing in word wars & challenges with other NaNo'ers. I like this little program.
From the site: 
Full-screen.Focus on your work. Live text statistics. Word, page and character counts are updated live as you type.Programmable page count formula.Specify what formula to use for page count calculation. You’re not constrained to the 250 words per page rule anymore.Customizable look and paragraph format.Change the colors, line spacing, first line indent, paragraph spacing, font...Perfectly portable.A single self-contained executable file. That’s all. Easy to use with a pendrive, so you can carry your writing environment with you everywhere. Q10 will remember the last file you worked on, even if the drive letter assigned to your pendrive changes from computer to computer.Easy to use timer alarm.Perfect for timed writing sessions and word wars. When the time is over, it will tell you how many words you wrote in that period.Spell checker.You don't make mistakes. I know it. You know it. But many people do, and Q10 lets them check their spelling.Notes.Any paragraph starting with ".." is considered a note. You can get a list of all notes in the current document and jump instantly to any of them.Target count.Displays completed percentage. You can choose units: words, pages, lines, paragraphs or characters. If NaNoWriMo is your thing, this is for you.Partial counts.Keep track of the extension of current chapter or see how much content you've produced in the current writing session. You're free to use partial counts as you like: up to four counters with customizable labels and units: words, pages, lines, paragraphs or characters.Autocorrections and quick text.Unlimited autocorrection entries to fix on the fly those persistent typing errors. Unlimited quick texts list for frequently used words or phrases, like character names, places, etc.Standard and clean text format.You will be able to open your work with any text editor or word processor. Now and in the future.Encoding and line endings agnostic.Reads and writes ANSI and UTF-8 texts, and line endings formats are not a problem for Q10.Typing sound effects.Get that typewriter feeling again. For the trivia lovers among you, the typing sounds were taken from the movie "Amélie".Small, fast and stable.Less than 360Kb in size, you don’t need huge frameworks or runtimes to use this beauty.Autosaving.You can ask Q10 to save your work after some number of new paragraphs, or after some time has elapsed. If you're really paranoid, set Q10 to save every paragraph.

Writers Focus (have not downloaded)
From the site:
Research Sidebar
Fuel your thoughts with inspiration and research from the web without loosing focus on your ideas. To keep you in your world of writing and research at the same time, you can access Wikipedia, wiktionary, Reference.com, Encarta and other online tools in a sidebar. You can also keep notes related to your document in the sidebar. In one screen, blocking out everything else, you can keep your mind clearly on what you're writing.
Customize Your Screen
For maximum writing comfort you can design your perfect writing screen. Set the Font size, font color, page width and background colors. WritersFocus is all about having the most comfortable screen so you can jump in and start writing at any time without any visual interruption.
Save Settings Profiles: You can setup different configurations and switch quickly by pressing F11 and selecting the profile. This allows you to have different Visual customizations for writing projects.
Character/Word/Paragraph and Page Counts: WritersFocus can automatically calculate writing statistics as you write and display them on the WritersFocus Taskbar.
Record Time Spent Writing: You can also have WritersFocus record the time you actually spend writing. It will keep time whilst you a pressing keys and stop recording after a specified idle time. This allows you to keep track of how long you spend on each writing document.
Block Pop-Ups and Other Software:In the bottom left hand side of the WritersFocus Taskbar click the padlock to block any other programs from stealing focus whilst you write. This will block instant messenger Windows and other software alerts that might distract your train of thought.

NaNoWriTool (have not downloaded)
From the site:

• the ability to edit plain text files, much like Notepad
• a real-time word counter in the status bar
• the word counter exactly matches the counting algorithm of the NaNoWriMo website
• showing the word count target for the day in the status bar (assuming you write the same number of words every day)
• a timer for word wars that also counts the number of words you have typed during the word war
• a full screen mode that eliminates all distractions
• changing of the display font to suit your preferences
• changing of foreground and background colours for maximum readability
• simple formatting features, in particular: chapter headings and emphasis
• a wide margin that makes text easier to read and can be clicked and dragged to select lines of text
  

AbiWord - similar to Microsoft Word
Open Office Writer - I have this. It is a great substitute for Microsoft Office programs.
Google Docs - online word processing program. You automatically have this when you sign up for a Gmail account.
Zoho Writer - another online program, but with a huge suite of programs.
iDailyDiary - I have this program. The free version is awesome and is capable of keeping multiple tabs for each day. Right now I have tabs for daily notes, writing notes and work notes. Awesome program!! 

I think there are certain options that participants of NaNoWriMo find useful, most notably a word counter. If you find a program that you really like and it lacks a word counter, don't despair or choose something else you like less. There are places you can input your daily output or whole novel and have it counted for you. I think you have to weigh all options and decide which ones are most important.