What is RSS?

This is going to be another two-parter. In the first part I’ll explain what RSS is and why it makes your life easier.

What is RSS?

RSS stands for Rich Site Summary. Don’t worry if that doesn’t mean anything to you. It’s basically a way for a website to deliver content straight to its readers instead of making them come to the site to check for something new. Kind of like an email newsletter, except you read it in your web browser or another piece of software, called a news reader or feed aggregator.

Here’s an excellent video summary:

Why do I want to use this?

This means you can keep up with changes and new content on your favorite websites and blogs without actually visiting the page to check if something new has been posted. This is good for quickly skimming new headlines from sites that update frequently, and usually they include a short summary so you can tell whether you are interested in the full article before you open it.

It’s also useful for following sites that don’t update frequently without wasting time visiting the page. Just subscribe and forget about it until your feed reader tells you there’s something new. It’s a good way to keep track of those sites you might forget about otherwise.

Some blogs include the full content of their posts in their feeds, which means that unless you want to comment, you don’t even have to visit the site to see the new content. And speaking of comments, some blogs offer RSS feeds for those too, so you can keep tabs on a discussion without visiting the page a dozen times just to see nothing new has been added.

Cool. How do I get it?

You need two things. The first is the address of an RSS feed, the second is software to read the feed in.

To get the address of an RSS feed, you need to visit a site that has one. Most of them do. (We’ll use the Writech blog as an example, and you can test it out.) Look for an icon like this:

That’s the universal RSS symbol. You’ll probably see it somewhere on the page, usually on the sidebar, header, or footer. You may also see it in the address bar, to the right of the URL. Most of the time, it’s as simple as clicking on the icon and letting your browser do the rest. Go ahead, try clicking on that icon. (It’s the feed for this blog.)

If your browser doesn’t know what to do, you can get the address in a few different ways.

If the icon appears on the page, you can click on it and then copy the contents of the address bar. You can also right click on it and choose the option that will let you copy the link address or location.

Sometimes you’ll see the RSS icon in the address bar, but you don’t see a link on the page. This means your browser found a feed for the site, even though they don’t announce it on the page. This is pretty common with some blog services. Just click on the RSS icon and it should take you to the feed page, where you can copy the URL in the address bar.

It’s better to use the address from icons that appear on the page, rather than the address bar, if you have both options. This is because many sites will use a third party service like Feedburner to produce their feeds. If they change their web address, they can also change Feedburner to reflect that and you will continue to receive updates without having to find the new address and subscribe again.

Next you need something to read your feeds in. Most browsers have an RSS reader built in these days, which makes it easy to subscribe to feeds. (And they even automatically detect if a feed is present.)

In my browser, Opera, whenever I click on an RSS icon, it takes me to a page that has a subscribe button. After I subscribe, I can check the site from the “Feeds” menu of my toolbar.

For Firefox users, your browser also has RSS functionality built in, but they call it “Live Bookmarks”. Mozilla has an excellent guide to using Live Bookmarks and if you need something with more features, there are lots of Firefox plugins to choose from.

Google has a web-based news reader called Google Reader. If you already have a Gmail or Google account, you can use that to sign in and get started. Andy Wibbles has a great introductory video on using Google Reader.

Now you can read the new content from all the sites you visit regularly in one place. Next time, I’ll explain why you should have RSS feeds for your website and some tools to help you manage them.

More Information

• What Is RSS? RSS Explained
• How to explain RSS the Oprah way
• HOW TO: Getting started with RSS
• Wikipedia comparison of feed aggregators

Password Managers

As promised in this post, tools you can use to manage your passwords.

Important: Always keep a current backup of your password database file somewhere safe.

(Just in case your hard drive fails, your computer is lost or stolen, or the file gets corrupted.)

For Everybody (cross-platform)

1. PC Tools Secure Password Generator – This website will let you generate random passwords from your browser. Select the length of the password and requirements (numbers, special characters, and so on). (free)
2. Nic’s Password Generator – this site lets you generate passwords by entering a master password and an easy-to-remember identifier. You can use the web form or download it to run from your computer. (free)
3. pwgen plug-in for Firefox – This plug-in adds a password generating utility to your Firefox toolbar. (free)
4. SplashID – cross-platform password manager and generator. Desktop software for both Mac and Windows, plus a variety of mobile platforms include iPhone and BlackBerry. Can synchronize between devices. (30 day trial, full version: $19.95)

For Windows

1. PC Tools Password Utilities – Windows users can download a version of the generator linked earlier, along with a utility for checking how strong passwords are. (free)
2. Password Safe – generates and securely stores passwords. (free)
3. KeePass – another program to generate and store passwords. It can also be run on Linux and OS X using Mono. (free)

For Mac

1. Keychain – This is Apple’s password management system. You can use it to generate and store passwords. To learn more about using Keychain, check out these articles: The Mac OS X Keychain Service, The Keychain’s Hidden Powers, and Manage Mac OS X Keychain. (included in OS X)
2. Pastor – software to generate and securely store passwords. (donationware)

For Linux

1. MyPasswordSafe – generates and securely stores passwords. For Ubuntu users, the package is already in the repositories, just $ sudo apt-get install mypasswordsafe. (free)
2. pwgen and gpg – for the somewhat nerdier, use pwgen to generate passwords, and save them in a text file encrypted with gpg.

Creative Writing Software

After a bit of a hiatus, I’m back, and I promise more regular updates.

I’m always looking for a better word processor, something with less distractions, or alternatively, more features. In a twisted way, it’s just another tool in my procrastination arsenal. What I want is software that will just pluck the story from my brain and actually write it for me. I haven’t found it yet, but as soon as I do, I’ll be sure to post about it here.

In the meantime, this is a list of various software packages for writers. Some are minimalist and promise to reduce distractions. Others are loaded with features that promise to help organize plotlines and timelines and chapters and so forth. I’ve only used Celtx and JDarkRoom; inclusion in this list is based on reviews and recommendations I’ve read.

The descriptions come from the product site and I’ve limited the list to products that offer a free trial. Nobody wants to spend a hundred bucks (or even twenty) on software someone else really liked just to find out they hate it. I’ve included links to donation or wish list information because I think it’s nice of people to make their software available for free and they deserve a little acknowledgement if someone uses it and enjoys it.

I’ve left out general purpose word processors, though I may write up a comparison of those later. If there’s another creative writing program you use, or you’ve written one, go ahead and leave a comment with a link.

For the Mac

Scrivener “Scrivener is a word processor and project management tool created specifically for writers of long texts such as novels and research papers. It won’t try to tell you how to write – it just makes all the tools you have scattered around your desk available in one application.”	30-day Trial	Cost:$39.95
CopyWrite “CopyWrite is a project manager for writers of all kinds. Rather than focus on formatting and layout, CopyWrite stands apart in its project-oriented approach. Word processors and page layout tools are good at what they do – formatting and layout – but they offer no help at all to a writer during the creative process. In fact, the ‘gee-whiz’ features crammed into these tools do more to hinder writers, getting in the way of their work flow. Put simply, these tools constipate writers; CopyWrite is like a tasty bran muffin … with extra bran.”	Limited Trial	Cost: $24.99
StoryMill “StoryMill enables you to manage the creative process like never before. You can track, tag and filter characters, scenes, locations, research and more with the unique dynamic outline. For fiction writers, StoryMill provides features like word frequency counting, a cliche meter, and a progress meter to help you meet your daily writing goal.”	30-day Trial	Cost:$44.95
Jer’s Novel Writer “Jer’s Novel Writer is a relatively simple word processor with extra features to support large creative writing projects.This program is all about momentum, and reducing the number of things that break the flow when I am writing. Jer’s Novel Writer is designed to help me keep writing when the creative juices are flowing, and then find all the things I need to go over again when I am more in a nitty-gritty mood.”	Free Trial	Cost: $30.00
Ulysses “Ulysses was developed mainly for writers who work creatively with text and want or need to realize large amounts of text. Ulysses also wants to enable the writer to fully concentrate on the story he wishes to tell, without hobbling his creativity by means of unnecessary burden and distraction.”	30-day Trial	Cost: $122.00
WriteRoom “WriteRoom is not Microsoft Word. It won’t generate a table of contents, it won’t place borders around your documents, and it doesn’t have an animated paper-clip looking over your shoulder. Instead WriteRoom just provides the essential features required to get words on the page. Stay focused with WriteRoom’s distraction free environment. Stay on track with word count. Stay safe with autosave. You just type, and WriteRoom will do its best to stay out of your way.”	Free Or you can buy a license, but it’s not required	Cost: $0 License: $24.95

For Windows

This is just a small selection of what’s available for Windows. If you don’t see anything you like, just Google for more.

yWriter “A scene is a pleasant chunk to work on – small and well-defined, you can slot them into your novel, dragging and dropping them from one chapter to another as you interleave strands from different viewpoint characters and work out the overall flow of your book. You can also drop a scene completely if you’ve written yourself into a dead end, without feeling you’ve ground to a complete halt. Of course, you can’t just write a bunch of unrelated scenes. You need an overall design goal … your plot. yWriter will generate a number of different reports from your scene and chapter summaries, from a brief scene list to a comprehensive synopsis. If you update the ‘readiness’ setting for each scene it will even generate a work schedule showing what you have to do to meet your deadline for the outline, first draft, first edit and second edit.”	Free	Cost: $0 Donate
RoughDraft “RoughDraft is a freeware word processor for Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000 and XP. Although suitable for general use, it has features specifically designed for creative writing: novels, short stories, articles, plays and screenplays. It’s designed to be as practical as possible, offering all the features you need, but without being complicated or awkward to use.”	Free	Cost: $0
PageFour “PageFour is a simple and easy to use piece of software. It was designed creatively for creative writers. PageFour is a tabbed word processor and outliner for writers. It has a simple structure based around Notebooks. Each Notebook contains as many Folders and Pages as you wish, and is structured in whichever manner best suits YOU. Every writer works differently, and PageFour recognizes this.”	Limited Trial	Cost: $34.95
Liquid Story Binder XE “Liquid Story Binder XE is a uniquely designed word processor for professional and aspiring authors, poets, and novelists. Writing software for those who require the editing ability of a commercial text editor as well as a document tracking system. It is for those who want the freedom to create, outline and revise but are tired of losing track of their work.”	30-day Trial	Cost: $49.95
DarkRoom “Dark Room is a full screen, distraction free, writing environment. Unlike standard word processors that focus on features, Dark Room is just about you and your text.”	Free	Cost: $0 Donate via paypal button
Q10 “Q10 is a simple but powerful text editor designed and built with writers in mind. Q10 will clean your kitchen, walk your dog and make excellent coffee. Well, not really. But it’s really good as a full-screen text editor.”	Free	Cost: $0 Wish List
WriteMonkey “Zenware for full screen distraction free creative writing. No whistles and bells, just empty screen, you and your words. WriteMonkey is light, fast, and perfectly handy for those who enjoy the simplicity of a typewriter but live in modern times.”	Free	Cost: $0 Donate via paypal button

Cross-Platform

(For Linux, Mac, and Windows)

Writer’s Café “Writer’s Café is a software toolkit for all fiction writers, whether experienced or just starting out. The heart of Writer’s Café is StoryLines, a powerful but simple to use story development tool that dramatically accelerates the creation and structuring of your novel or screenplay.”	Limited Trial	Cost: $45.00 CD: $50.00 Mac: $0
Celtx (I use this one.) Celtx is geared toward screenwriting, but it includes a plain text editor and many of the features are equally useful for writing fiction.”Celtx is the world’s first fully integrated solution for media pre-production and collaboration. It replaces old fashioned ‘paper, pen & binder’ media creation with a digital approach to writing and organizing that’s more complete, simpler to work with, and easier to share.”	Free	Cost: $0
JDarkRoom (I use this one, too.) “JDarkRoom is a popular, simple full-screen text file editor with none of the usual bells and whistles that might distract you from the job in hand. If you are writing a novel, essay, thesis or just need to be able to concentrate on your writing, then JDarkRoom may help you.”	Free	Cost: $0 Donate
Writer Writer is a web-based full-screen text editor.  It allows you to save your files in text format.	Free	Cost: $0 Donate