Although OpenOffice.org Writer and AbiWord top the list of open source software for those who write for work or fun, they are not the be-all-and-end-all of writing tools. In fact, there are quite a few other nifty applications that can help you to collect ideas, manage notes, edit documents, and even improve your writing.

Contrary to the conventional wisdom that a word processor can’t help you to become a better writer, you can use OpenOffice.org Writer with the Writer's Tools extension to improve your writing skills and make the writing process more efficient.

Even if you have the perfect idea for the next Great American Novel, getting it down on paper is never easy. While you could always use standard word processors like OpenOffice Write or AbiWord, they don't have the bells and whistles that make writing books, manuals, and theses as easy as possible.

With the popularity of blogging and online journals, writers working in the online realm have a growing number of opportunities all the time to practice and refine their craft, and maybe even get paid for it. And if you're working online, why not take advantage of all the opportunities to get great free and open source resources that can help you to write, edit and organize your work?

One of the perqs of being a journalist is that I often hear about software and events before most people. A case in point is Writer's Tools, an extension for OpenOffice.org Writer being developed by my fellow journalist Dimitri Popov, whose articles about macros have taught me most of what I know on the subject.

AbiWord has been my favorite open source word processor for a long time, and it's now out in a new version 2.6.5, which adds some excellent features. If you haven't used this application (for Windows or Linux) before, definitely download it, and if you already use it, go for the upgrade.

I use a ton of software applications, but a major portion of the time I spend using a computer goes to writing, and creating documents. There are many good open source tools for everything from word processing, to desktop publishing, to booklet creation, to weaving words and graphics together.

"Large documents are almost impossible to write without outlines. There’s just too much to fit in your head. Outlines help you work with a structure, so that you can see the big picture and how sections fit together. Outlines are also surprisingly useful when brainstorming. You can work with varying levels of detail, starting with a high-level overview and successively refining it, or starting with the details and then letting the structure emerge as you organize those details into groups. Emacs has one of the most powerful outline editors I’ve come across. Although word processors like Microsoft Word and OpenOffice.org Writer support outlines too, Emacs has a gazillion keyboard shortcuts, and once you get the hang of them, you’ll want them in other applications as well.

Writer’s Tools is a set of utilities designed to help OpenOffice.org users perform a wide range of tasks. Using Writer’s Tools, you can back up documents, look up and translate words and phrases, manage text snippets, and keep tabs on document statistics.