Links to pages for computer-generated writing tools.

• Charles O. Hartman's original DIASTEXT. C source and DOS executable. Unsupported. Uses the input text as the reading key.
• Diastic Reading
  • Web implementation of diastic reading.
  • Perl program for diastic reading. Standalone version of the web implementation.
• Travesty
  • Web implementation of Travesty.
  • Perl implementation of Travesty. Standalone version of the web implementation.
• Markov Generator
  • Web implementation of a Markov generator.
  • Perl implementation of a Markov generator. Standalone version of the web implementation.

• Marius Watz's computer-generated writing page. Probably the best place to start. Includes bibliographical information as well as links to a wide variety of software and texts.
• Prose, a random sentence generator, source and Mac version available from Charles O. Hartman's site. Program is described extensively in Hartman's The Virtual Muse.
• RoboPoet, a text generator.
• A large set of text manipulation programs. Abstracts and compressed files. Includes Janus-Node ("formerly McPoet"): abstract and program. Macintosh only. There's also a Macintosh travesty program: abstract and program.
• A Word 97 (Windows) template by Taylor Brady that implements Jackson Mac Low's diastic reading. Read the documentation before using it.
• Ray Kurzweil's Cybernetic Poet. Starts with Markov chains and then does a whole lot more.
• The tool collection at the Burning Press site. Big collection, includes Mac and DOS/Windows programs.
• The best implementation of Perl for Win32 is available from ActiveState. If you're writing programs for text manipulation, you really ought to be using Perl. And, of course, there are Perl implementations for every platform in existence....

Last updated 21 January 2002.