LyX

LyX is a freeware document processing application for Windows. Unlike the Notepad, one of the simplest applications ever conceived, LyX tries to make writing accessible to the masses, and, also, to those who need more than just writing words.

LyX comes with several layouts inbuilt. Those layouts allow you to tackle all sorts of creative-writing works by providing you with the necessary tools for you to do it. For example, if you need to write a movie script, there is a layout for you, which has all the standard markers already added, so you don't have to add them yourself, and lose time on it. LyX is also great for mathematical expressions and general papers and studies. Adding mathematical characters is terribly easy. You just can't do that on the Notepad. I would be amazed if you didn't waste a minute doing a simple calculation on there. Also, LyX allows you to open and save documents in a variety of formats. This tool is an open source project, so it is free of charge for non-commercial use. If you are a heavy-duty writer, there's no harm in checking this out. The latest version of LyX is 1.6.1.1. However, this review deals with version 1.6.