OpenOffice.org’s excellent software suite has now release version 2.4. This is available from OpenOffice.org, or get a portable version for toting around on a USB drive or to use on locked-down worked computers. OpenOffice now supports extentions (like FireFox) to extent the software’s features. Here are some of the best extentions for Novelists and Writers:

1. TestFonts — Reporting for missing font faces, all used fonts and get statistic available system fonts.
2. OpenOffice.org2GoogleDocs — Export and Import your documents to and from Google Docs.
3. Writer’s Tools — Back up documents, look up and translate words and phrases, manage text snippets, and keep tabs on document statistics.
4. OpenOffice.org2GoogleDocs — Export and Import your documents to and from Google Docs.
5. Linguist — Provides an easy way for users to create a list of new candidate words to the existing spellcheck dictionary.
6. Alternative dialog Find & Replace for Writer — Advanced search capabilities including regular expressions, multiple search and replacement in one step, and more.

O3Spaces is another service you should look into. O3Spaces Workplace brings document management and document collaboration features to OpenOffice.org, including real-time version control, check-in/check-out and document security.