In a previous posting, I told you about Scrivener: maybe the best writing tool in the world today. One of Scrivener's many beauties is the way it helps writers juggle their "research" and "drafts."
If you're like me, you collect and analyze tons of information before you write your first word; then you constantly arrange and refer to the stuff you collected as you compose the sparkling new ideas you're famous for.
Scrivener is great for this. But what about that research you're juggling? Where does it come from, and how do you manage to keep up with it before the writing begins?
One new answer is an application called Papers. If you do "think work" in science or technology, Papers is practically essential. Stop reading now and just buy it; you won't regret it.
Even if you work in other disciplines, Papers is so cool that you too should consider it. It turns the chaos of a typical file directory into a lovely reading room. Suddenly you know what everything is, where it is, why you have it, and how you can get more like it.
Papers is a tool for managing electronic books and journal articles on your workstation. Through one simple interface it empowers you to:
- Quickly, easily perform online research in major repositories
- Download books and articles that pertain to your interests
- Match content you already have with online counterparts
- Group, arrange and explicate your research findings
- Acquire, view, and augment useful metadata
Scrivener was created by a writer for writers. Papers was created by a couple of young scientists for scientists. Learning pros of all stripes can use both tools to excel.
Great thoughts, Bob. As always, you're on the cutting edge of all this. Keep the updates coming!
Posted by: Jamie Turner | July 25, 2008 at 02:31 PM