Writing Software

Well, before you spend the money, see what you have in your "closet," so to speak. I was trying to figure out how to organize my paper filing system and ran across an except from a book, Organize Your Work Day ... in No Time. The exerpt was enough that to make me think about how I was doing it, and I did change it. A lot of it was paying attention to the file structure and how files were named so they were easier finding. I thought I was well-organized but I still found places that I could improve on a lot.

For software, try Microsoft OneNote. Some employers offer Microsoft Office Enterprise as a freebie for working at the company, so check first to see if you can get it for the cost of postage. If not, you might be able to buy it through the company at a discounted rate (that was an option at one of the companies I worked for). OneNote is note-taking software. It has tabs under which you can multiple pages. So you could have a tab called Characters, and then pages under that for each of the characters. You can even insert pictures in, so if you find a photo of a person who looks like your character, you can insert a scanned copy into the file.

This question comes up a LOT. I'd suggest doing a search. You can also try looking in the Tech Help forum, although these topics appear all over the place.

A free one I've used is:

yWriter

Lately, though, I've gone back to using WriteItNow. I find it very easy to learn to us (yWriter has a bit of a learning curve, but that might just be me ), plus it logically separates out the chapters, notes, ideas, etc.

The reason I purchsed it in the first place was absolute hatred of MS Word (I have no choice but to use it at work). I learned on WordPerfect, which is, IMHO, more logically set up and understandable.

If you want a free word processing program, you can try:

OpenOffice

My home desktop came with that on the hard drive. Needless to say, I don't miss using Word (nor its ridiculous pricing).

~Nancy

Ok, just a question, if I may: what exactly is writing software? Is it basically just for organizing? Or does it actually help with the creative process?

RebelGoddess said:

I'm curious to know what, if anything you all have heard about a specific spoftware called Power Structure.

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I love Power Structure. I use that to plan my novels. Then I switch to Rough Draft to write them. I'd write in Power Structure, but the word processor lacks something... not sure what, but something.

I've also used their other program, Power Writer, for shorter fiction. It has a very nice word processor, and you can move whole sections of text easily. If you move a scene name, the scene text moves, too. The major drawback of Power Writer for me is that it will not print all of the cool planning info it collects, or write it to a .doc or .rtf file.

I've been hearing rumors for a while of a new product that combines the great features of Power Structure and Power Writer. Last time I checked (a week ago), they're hoping to have the new version sometime in the fall.

Another tool you might find interesting is SuperNotecard from Mindola. Sometimes I use that for planning instead of the other ones I mentioned.

Where Power Writer and Power Structure have a moderate amount of gentle guidance for fiction, SuperNotecard has far less of that. Instead it affords a more free-form structure, and allows you to build whatever kind of structure you need for your current purposes.

I can't really pick a favorite among these. I go back and forth from SuperNotecard to the Power Writer/Power Structure duo. Maybe some day one or the other will add some killer feature and finally decide it for me.

Dale

RebelGoddess said:

Thanks, JerseyGirl!

That's just the kind of program I'm looking for.

What about yWrite4 and WriteItNow do you like, specifically?

Also, do you think the high price is worth it?

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Racheal,


You're welcome.

I liked yWriter because it was written by a writer (who comes on AW sometimes) and because, well, it's free.

The learning curve is somewhat steep, and while I'm not using it at the moment, it's free, so it's worth a download just to check it out - so you can see if it works for how you work.

I got my copy of Write It Now (got it on CD) about 3-4 years ago, and it was a little bit cheaper then.

I like it because it does have the feel of a word processor, but it doesn't have every last little function a word processing program has (i.e., it's not bloated).

The basic set up is that you add on however many chapters as you want; you can delete or add on as many as you want. You also have, all in one document, separate tabs for ideas, notes, characters, where you've submitted your Magnum Opus , and, built-in to the program, two different psychological profiles (Briggs-Meyers and something else I can't remember at the moment).

I really liked the characters tab, because it allows me to go back and see their bios - how old they are, what their likes/dislikes are, etc. This is almost all stuff you input, although that Briggs-Meyers stuff I mentioned above is included with each and every character you create; you don't have to use this feature, but it might be interesting to see how certain types of people might or might not react to certain things.

Is it worth the price? For me (although I used yWriter for a little while), it's worth it. That it's already logically set up in chapters (by my hand) is a big help. (It lists the chapters on the left-hand side of the screen, BTW.)

Plus it's not Word (yay!), which, as we all well know, costs plenty o'dollars (or Euros or whatever other denomination you might want to mention ).

Another nice thing is free updates. I've updated a few times already; mostly minor stuff, but a couple of biggies, too.

I see you also wanted to know about Power Structure. I thought the demo was nice, too; even filled it out. But it's even more expensive than Write It Now, and (from what I can remember) had a bit of learning curve, too. (I know all these programs have learning curves, but some are easier to pick up on than others.)

Back to Write It Now - I think you can download a trial version, so you might want to do that. Play around with it, see if it something you'd use for your stories (or not). That way, at least you haven't spent anything out of pocket.

And if none of those do it for ya, you don't have to spend anything on Open Office (if you prefer a straight-on word processing program).

Good luck!

~Nancy

ToddWBush said:

Ok, just a question, if I may: what exactly is writing software? Is it basically just for organizing? Or does it actually help with the creative process?

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Todd,

In a word:

Depends.

(You knew that was coming, right? )

Anyway, I've given a little review of Write It Now in answer to Rachael's questions, so maybe that'll give you an idea.

The ones I use on any sort of a regular basis are organizers with a dash of the creative thrown in.

For me, it's nice to get away from Word because I have to use it every day at work, and I detest using it (but have no choice). YWriter's kind of cool because it was written by a writer who actually used it to write his first novel (published) and subsequent novel (good way to promote it, says I ).

My other beef with regular word processing programs is that they're too bloated; software geared specifically to writing strips out stuff you (usually) don't need when writing fiction: Bulleted lists, that sort of thing.

Not sure if that directly answers your question, but I hope you get the gist.

BTW, if you use a word processing program and like using that, there's no reason to use anything else; always use whatever works best for YOU.

~Nancy

RebelGoddess said:

Jersey Girl: You say you use yWriter. May I ask how often/for which parts of your writing?

Also, have you looked at/downloaded any of the other software available on the site?

I downloaded yBook and it's definitely awesome!

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Racheal,

I used yWriter when I was writing my last WIP. I've since put that particular story aside, although I'm probably going to use bits and pieces of it once I'm done with my current WIP. I'm not sure if I'm going to use yWriter for it though, because I'm in a real groove right now using Write It Now.

I haven't looked at the website in question so haven't downloaded anything there, sorry.

I, too, have yBook. Used it for the WIP, to see what it would look like as a book; I mean, I can dream, can't I?

~Nancy

I use NoteTab. I was on the freeware version, NoteTab Light and just recently began using the very fantastic NoteTab Pro. NT is set up as a basic word processor, though there are a great many little features to be had within. Both can be found here: http://www.notetab.com/index.php

I really adore both. Pro isn't freeware, of course, but their setups are very similar so if you try NoteTab Light and decide to upgrade, there isn't a hassle in learning an entire new set of software. The difference, so far, is lovely.

NoteTab allows you to have several (many, many) files open, and it tabs them much like the newer versions of Internet Explorer and FireFox. It's easy to reopen files if you close them accidentally, to reload them, and NoteTab light comes with its own back-up feature (which you can adjust). It can convert to and from html, coding is pretty easy to insert, and if you're more computer savvy, it can be tweaked to perform special functions.

The difference from Light to Pro that I'm currently taking advantage of is the "Outline" function, which allows me to have several separate chapters inside of one tab. It fits with the way I write, but it keeps everything together so that I don't have to. No scrolling through fifty pages (unless it's an exceptionally long scene or chapter) and no flipping through files looking for the right version of the right part.

JerseyGirl1962 said:

I, too, have yBook. Used it for the WIP, to see what it would look like as a book; I mean, I can dream, can't I?

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I do this too. Not only is it a bit of an ego stroke, but it gives me a better idea of how my story is flowing. Knowing a scene is 2000 words doesn't mean much to me, but seeing it over 10 pages (Once the margins are set to average out 250 words per page) gives me a definite feel for cadence.

If you search on the board for yWriter and the names of other programs, I am sure you will come up with lots of threads with more detailed reviews of most of the popular (free and paid) software out there. I know I have written my own view of it about six ways from Sunday.

In the end, whatever works works. I personally get along fine with the free ones.