blog:articles_on_writing:wiki_farm
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blog:articles_on_writing:wiki_farm [2020/11/20 22:24] – created Phil Ide | blog:articles_on_writing:wiki_farm [2020/12/12 14:25] (current) – [Wiki Farms and Animals] Phil Ide | ||
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As a writer, I love sitting at my computer and either writing my next novel, or working on the development phase - world-building, | As a writer, I love sitting at my computer and either writing my next novel, or working on the development phase - world-building, | ||
- | I built a NAS (network attached storage) and put a handful of Tb of storage space on it. I've been building a laptop out of a Raspberry Pi and a pizza box, although | + | ===== Raspberry Pi ===== |
+ | The [[https:// | ||
- | I've also setup a VPN so anytime I'm away from home, as long as I can connect to the internet I can connect to my home network and access all the resources on it - which means, for example, SyncThing will work. | + | With these I have built a [[blog: |
+ | I installed SyncThing, which is like OneDrive or DropBox, except I can sync multiple folders with diskspace limited only by the amount of space on the computer with the least space on it, and instead of synching with a folder "in the cloud", | ||
+ | |||
+ | I also installed a VPN so I can access my network and all its resources from anywhere in the world - as long as I have internet access. As soon as I'm connected through the VPN, SyncThing will work and sync with the NAS (if necessary). | ||
+ | |||
+ | With a network, a NAS, a desktop and laptop, a VPN and SyncThing, the stage is almost set. | ||
===== Windows/ | ===== Windows/ | ||
The problem, for me as a writer, is that there is very little in the way of software for novelists that is available on both Windows (my desktop machine) and Linux (my laptop). | The problem, for me as a writer, is that there is very little in the way of software for novelists that is available on both Windows (my desktop machine) and Linux (my laptop). | ||
I usually use Scrivener. I've been using that for nearly a decade, and as well as being very happy with it, it is a very comfortable environment for me. There is an old version of Scrivener that is available for Linux, but the data files are incompatible with current versions. I don't like using traditional word processors, and if you've ever tried searching backwards or scrolling backwards through a 500 page document neither would you. | I usually use Scrivener. I've been using that for nearly a decade, and as well as being very happy with it, it is a very comfortable environment for me. There is an old version of Scrivener that is available for Linux, but the data files are incompatible with current versions. I don't like using traditional word processors, and if you've ever tried searching backwards or scrolling backwards through a 500 page document neither would you. | ||
+ | |||
+ | There are other programs out there: some of them are online (I need them to be able to work offline), and some of them just don't work the way I want them to. | ||
One program that worked equally well on both platforms was Zim-Wiki, which is a notepad program that stores notes in projects and orders them hierarchically. A quick test showed that it synched seamlessly using the NAS as an intermediary. Zim is created from code that came from the DokuWiki project - the same wiki software that drives this website. It's a useful tool, and I use it a lot in the development phase of any story, however, I wasn't keen on actually writing a novel with it. | One program that worked equally well on both platforms was Zim-Wiki, which is a notepad program that stores notes in projects and orders them hierarchically. A quick test showed that it synched seamlessly using the NAS as an intermediary. Zim is created from code that came from the DokuWiki project - the same wiki software that drives this website. It's a useful tool, and I use it a lot in the development phase of any story, however, I wasn't keen on actually writing a novel with it. | ||
- | If you look at the treeview on this site, you can probably see possibilities. | + | If you look at the treeview on this site, you can probably see possibilities. |
===== Wiki Farms and Animals ===== | ===== Wiki Farms and Animals ===== | ||
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The main (or default) wiki is known as the farm, and the other wikis are the animals. If you're getting a George Orwell feeling at this point, then good, because he was an author and so am I (although perhaps not in the same league). | The main (or default) wiki is known as the farm, and the other wikis are the animals. If you're getting a George Orwell feeling at this point, then good, because he was an author and so am I (although perhaps not in the same league). | ||
- | My plan at this point is to setup another Raspberry Pi as the host for this farm, with data being stored on a hard disk rather than an SD card. There is a plugin for DokuWiki that makes creating, deleting and configuring animals very simple. Each animal would, in this case, be a new novel. | + | My plan at this point is to set up another Raspberry Pi as the host for this farm, with data being stored on a hard disk rather than an SD card. There is a plugin for DokuWiki that makes creating, deleting and configuring animals very simple. Each animal would, in this case, be a new novel. |
With the VPN, I can access this from anywhere in the world, and all I need is a web browser. Further, I'd be editing the same version of the files. However, prudence would dictate that I create a local copy on my laptop using SyncThing, so if I'm unable to connect to the internet, I can still continue working. As long as I power up the laptop when I get home, everything would get synched. | With the VPN, I can access this from anywhere in the world, and all I need is a web browser. Further, I'd be editing the same version of the files. However, prudence would dictate that I create a local copy on my laptop using SyncThing, so if I'm unable to connect to the internet, I can still continue working. As long as I power up the laptop when I get home, everything would get synched. | ||
The other major advantage of DokuWiki is that it creates a backup in the form of a reverse-delta file of any page that is edited. That way I can always roll-back any changes or simply review an earlier version of a page and copy the bits I want from it. | The other major advantage of DokuWiki is that it creates a backup in the form of a reverse-delta file of any page that is edited. That way I can always roll-back any changes or simply review an earlier version of a page and copy the bits I want from it. | ||
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+ | The next article, [[blog: | ||
+ | |||
+ | ~~socialite~~ | ||
+ | ~~DISCUSSION~~ | ||
blog/articles_on_writing/wiki_farm.txt · Last modified: 2020/12/12 14:25 by Phil Ide