Science fiction writer Robert J. Sawyer decided to revive the WordStar editor for DOS and collected the most complete version of WordStar 7 for DOSBox-X and VDosPlus and posted the archive on his website. This was reported by Ars Technica.

WordStar is a word processor for microcomputers, later adapted for MS-DOS. It is known as the text editor that George Martin used to finish A Song of Ice and Fire. WordStar received its last update back in 1992.

Why did Sawyer-and Michael Shebon, Anne Rice, Arthur C. Clarke, and James Gunn-use and continue to use a DOS program that hasn’t been updated in decades, even though there have long been solutions that offer more? Because it’s designed to help writers keep writing. The editor can be used with a keyboard command system completely without a mouse.

wordstar

WordStar puts commands at your fingertips and makes navigating text, creating bookmarks, and leaving unpublished notes for yourself much easier than anything that came after it.

The README document details the settings the author recommends for running WordStar in DOSBox-X, including setting the screen to 80 columns and 25 lines of text, selecting a font, and toggling the CapsLock and Ctrl keys to use keyboard shortcuts that target the WordStar home line.

There is even a utility for converting WordStar files to a format that can be read by Word or other modern programs.