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Here we are at the beginning of another writing adventure. Mary and I are officially getting underway on the revision of Microsoft Word 2007 Inside Out, the huge in-depth, intermediate-to-expert level book on Microsoft Word 2007. I love working with Mary--we have lots of fun and really complement each other well.

I love the changes in Microsoft Word 2007--I really do think this new release is smart and intuitive, making it possible in a real way to create even sophisticated documents in a way that seems to move naturally with the creative process. That's one of the liabilities of using software--it's a tool you have to master (to some degree) before you can be effective at it. If you're a painter, you have to learn how to use your various supplies before you can be any good; if you're a writer, you've got to learn how to put the corrective tape in the Smith-Corona (remember those awful things? Did we really ever use those loud, heavy monsters?!)

Microsoft Word 2007 lessens some of that startup pain by offering the various options you need in a logical way that follows the basic steps you'll use in creating, fine-tuning, enhancing, and sharing your document. It's the whole "document lifecycle" idea. I think it will help us get out of our own way when it comes to getting those thoughts down on paper. That's the subject for my writing today, anyway--letting Word give you the room to create and getting yourself in sync with the whole document lifecycle idea so that those creative ideas can really flow.

I'll let you know how it goes. :)

# posted by Katherine Murray @ 9:19 AM