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OldCorpse

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Dec 7, 2005
1,758
347
compost heap
OK, I have not done this in awhile, so forgive me. Yes, I apologize ahead of time - it's another request for a word processing app to be used on an iPad.

Now, I'd love a screenwriting app, but I've given up hope for a decent one. The flagship Final Draft Mobile is a wretched pile of burning garbage - until you try the alternatives and realize that those are even worse. So I fully give up here.

At this point all I ask for is something I can use for long-form writing (novel length). I know Scrivener is recommended day in and day out, but you know how sometimes everyone tells you that this girl is the prettiest, but somehow you just cannot get along with her? That's me and Scrivener - I don't know what it is, but I don't like it... plus I read posts about how it loses material on the iPad. So, OK, what app other than Scrivener?

A few conditions: (1) I'm willing to pay, but no subscription (i.e. no Ulysses etc.) (2) I can have it both on my MacOS iMac and the iPad and iPhone (3) it has to be able to handle LONGFORM really well - there are quite a few apps that are OK for note-taking or essays and shorter pieces, but I need LONGFORM, like 500 pages and up that dead reliable.

So far, I have been using iA Writer, but is there something better out there? There are a few minor issues and it's really not ideal for longform writing - so I ask.

I heard about Typora - anyone with experience with this one? Or any other recommendations? TIA!
 

caparsons

macrumors member
Sep 21, 2014
40
46
This is probably somewhat heretical, but I routinely write in Pages. It exports to word and pdf pretty well, and has not-entirely-horrible multi-user writing and editing support. For background, I write for a living and things that are between 10K-70K with regular frequency.

Pages isn’t are exciting software (nor is Word, for that matter). But they work and are reliable for an awful lot of folks who delve into the content mines on a daily basis.
 
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