Writing-related software

Someone's mentioned Scrivener, but there's no summary yet, so I'll add one, if that's OK. While I'm at it, I'll do one for SuperNotecard, which I used to use before discovering Scrivener.

Scrivener
Outlining/drafting/editing software. Allows you to have each chapter/scene in a separate document, but you can merge multiple documents together temporarily and edit them as one. Can view documents as normal text, index cards or outline. Research section allows inclusion of images and multimedia files.
OS - Mac OS X Tiger (10.4)
Document Format - RTF (export)
Formatting - Uses TextEdit
Notes - Yes. Separate synopsis field, notes, keywords, three customisable drop-down fields
Spellcheck - uses built-in Mac spell-checker?
Word count - real-time word count
Price - $34.99
Trial Download - Available via site

SuperNotecard
Outlining software (can use it for writing, but that's not its strength). Index card emulator, with lots of visual options: coloured flags, tension 'thermometers' and so on. Includes sections for characters, which can then be automatically added to cards via a text search.
OS - Windows XP (needs Java installing), Mac OS X Jaguar (10.3) onwards
Document Format - RTF (export)
Formatting - Limited
Notes - Yes
Spellcheck - probably as per Scrivener
Word count - real-time word count
Price - $29
Trial Download - Available via site

Thanks, Redfox. More support for Scrivener here. An outstanding program for writers. I'd like to add that version 1.1 is about to be released, so keep a watch for that.

And in the notes section, there's a toggle to go between Document Notes (separate for each file) and Project Notes (overall notes for your project).

Scrivener organizes work into Projects rather than document by document, so you can have all your novel, for instance, in one Scrivener project, with all your chapters, fragments, notes, etc., still separate documents. Very nice.

I also have SuperNoteCard and still use it from time to time, mostly because it has many more features (stacks, for instance) than Scrivener's implementation and I sometimes need that. But for the simpler linear outline, the card feature in Scrivener works great.

AbiWord - FREE Software (OpenSource)

DamaNegra said:

I'll write reviews from the rest of the software during the week.

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Hello, all!

Just wanted to mention AbiWord.

I just became an ICL student and all my previous 'authoring' has been on web pages and FP98 simply does NOT do manuscripts the way I need them. So, I went on a search of my own.

I found AbiWord at http://www.abisource.com/ and so far it's features equal the best of programs like Publisher and far surpass M$WERD!

You might want to try it out and give a review on it, too.

TTFN

Syl

paprikapink said:

I just dumped my WIP into Google Documents. It's stripped down, but it's got basic formatting, it gives a word count, it tracks revision, I can access my files from anywhere, and if I want I can give access to (or take access from) my writing group and get review comments online. Those are my reasons for trying it. After I've done this for a while, we'll see what reasons I come up with, if any, for abandoning it. I've abandoned Jer's Novel Writer. Mostly because I couldn't select blocks of text the way I wanted to (the software helpfully selects what it thinks you must want), and I couldn't select the whole file to dump it into other software...maybe I could have, but I couldn't figure it out lickety-split and got fed up. I'll miss the margin notes.

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I've started using Google Docs for the same reasons. It's also platform independent, works well in Safari (which means it should work in Konqueror for those of you with Linux), and provides the needed formatting for an agent. I can even use it with a Pocket PC/SmartPhone/iPhone, as long as I have the internet connection to support it.

It's also stored in a place other than my hard drive, so if my drive fails, I've still got the book. I've found that nothing is more annoying than losing whole projects (with outlines, first drafts, etc.) through a bad drive.

oldsioux said:

Hello, all!

Just wanted to mention AbiWord.

I just became an ICL student and all my previous 'authoring' has been on web pages and FP98 simply does NOT do manuscripts the way I need them. So, I went on a search of my own.

I found AbiWord at http://www.abisource.com/ and so far it's features equal the best of programs like Publisher and far surpass M$WERD!

You might want to try it out and give a review on it, too.

TTFN

Syl

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I have a friend that lived for AbiWord. He still uses it, though he has almost completely migrated to Open Office for work. ^_^

Good to see an open source alternative that works for you!

Dramatica Pro

Did I miss it or has Dramatica Pro been neglected to be mentioned?

It's quite spendy but I've heard mostly great things about it. It's around $299, the last time I checked. If you have a student ID, it's available for only $99.

Has anyone tried this? I've always been intrigued by it but haven't used it.

I would like to hear some of the arguments for and against writing software. The arguments against it do seem to be more sensible to me. Mostly, no cookie-cutter novels.

Any editors out there with opinions on the matter?

I have Dramatica Pro but haven't used it for years. Actually, I never used it in the sense of creating a novel from it. I had thought the software would help me create/hone the story I was working on at the time, but all it ended up doing was annoying me when it would cut off areas that I wanted to explore and go down avenues that didn't interest me at all.

The software I have asks you a series of questions and then, based on the answers to those questions, takes you down one story path rather than another. It probably can help some writers, but I'm not one of the them.

Do they have a demo? If so, I would definitely try it before buying.

I would like to know some others' opinions of Liquid Story Binder XE. I've downloaded it and use it, and I like it. I'm toying with the idea of buying the license for it. I'd just like to collect some other opinions on it (maybe by those who have fully explored the software - I've only just scratched the surface).

Thank you!

I'll try whatever software I can download without paying this weekend and give my reviews on it Sorry for not continuing this thread, life kinda caught up with me.

Fahim said:

I don't know if I mentioned this in this thread but I do know that I've said this elsewhere - expecting writing software to actually write the novel is sheer laziness (not to mention a lack of brain cells ). That's not what writing software is about. Good writing software should help you with the writing process and make certain tasks easier. However, plotting and writing is still up to the entity between chair and keyboard So I don't really see how there could be more cookie-cutter novels by using writing software. But then again, maybe you are thinking of those suggest-a-plot or suggest-a-story type of applications when you're talking of writing software ...

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Thanks for responding, Fahim.

I will admit, I'm a total novice when it comes to writing software. I've never used it before. I do my first drafts by hand and "on location." If I'm writing a restaurant scene, it helps to be sitting in a restaurant to write it. My scenes are so much better that way.

Writing software writes the novel for you? I can't imagine. My understanding was that it keeps track of details for continuity and to ensure no loose ends or unanswered questions. I know it does more, but I liked the idea of what the software could do. It had impressive reviews by pro-writers. That's the only reason I considered it.

In the meantime, I decided against it anyway. Thanks again.

Fahim said:

I've used Liquid Story Binder before and it is one of the few writing tools that I really liked The notes/source collection feature is great and the fact that you can not only store notes but images as well makes it a great tool to collect all your research for a story in one place. And the fact that it allows you to work in outline mode and has a timeline feature seals the deal as far as I'm concerned. I believe the only reason that I stopped using it was because Liquid Story Binder stores all files for a particular manuscript in one folder and so ends up scattering a bunch of files and sub-folders on the hard disk. I would have preferred everything to be in one single file for the sake of portability.

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I use MS Word (because so much of my non-fic work requires compatability with other MS Office products), but I've been looking at Liquid Sotry Binder, which looks pretty cool.

But I don't quite understand what you mean about preferring everything to be in an single file (any publisher taking soft copy will want something in a common word processing file without all your notes and drawings and outlines) or by "scattering a bunch of files and sub-folders on the hard disk." Does it really fling them around, or does it lay them down in a logical, orderly fashion?

Any clarification you can give would be appreciated, as it is a seductive tool. Thanks.

I blogged about this topic recently -- software for creative writers. I've listed some of the alternates to the "feature rich" applications in Fahim's list for anyone looking for a simpler user experience.

I want desktop publishing software but I see the price can vary from 'free' to over a thousand dollars. My first need is a simple magazine product. I've been lumped with producing the Manx Society's newsletter and want it to look reasonable. Then I'm thinking of producing my own books after the contract with my publisher finishes. Can I do both of these with free software like PagePlus?

Maybe. Depends on how much you want to learn how to do. You can probably do a lot more with Word than you know. I do newsletters using Word or MS Publisher. Using Word and a free PDF converter, I could set up a passable book. You can't expect too much help from the software

I like Rightwriter

I use Rightwriter to check my grammar and I like it a lot. It is easy to use, just copy and paste for a quick check. It has saved me from many embarassing(and stupid) mistakes that often result from mixing two thoughts or editing.

I have tried many of the grammar checkers(whitesmoke, writers workbench, and editor, plus gramatica which I dont think they make anymore) and rightwriter is the one I keep coming back to.

None of them are perfect but rw does a really good job and catches 90% of my errors which helps me a lot in editing and proofing.

They have a free demo but I cant find the link to it, right-writer.com is the site though.

As far as writers workbench, it was too complicated. I need something quick and easy to use otherwise I dont bother. And for editor, well, lets just say the less said about it the better.

Hope that helps.

You mean this site? http://www.the-right-writer.com/

No mention of a free service.

I have an old copy of Lotus Smart Suit. I use it because it has the tabbed property so i can sort my chapters. I've learned to use the Windows Word with the table of contents but it just isn't the same as flipping through tabs.

Unfortunatly Lotus does not transfer files into Windows, though it does make them into RTF and HTML, and can be transfered that way.

Mumut said:

I want desktop publishing software but I see the price can vary from 'free' to over a thousand dollars. My first need is a simple magazine product. I've been lumped with producing the Manx Society's newsletter and want it to look reasonable. Then I'm thinking of producing my own books after the contract with my publisher finishes. Can I do both of these with free software like PagePlus?

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Depending on your budget and the time you have to invest in learning the software, I recommend Adobe InDesign. It's the industry standard in print publishing. The software is for layout, not for composing text, but if that's what you need, you won't find a better application.

So what is the software recommended for newbies

dpaterso said:

If you're a Windows user and don't already have MS Word, and if downloading/installing isn't a problem, I'd go for OpenOffice

-Derek

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Derek,

Can I just tell you how much I love your avatar? Jake Ryan has always been the ultimate hero for me!

Thanks for the recommendation. I have MS word so I will check out Open Office.