A Writer's Woes

Writing Software

One of the things authors struggle with is how to organize their thoughts, not to mention their entire novels. I do this in many ways, some of which I’ve detailed in other entries. Some people work best with post-it notes, others with handwritten outlines. I think best when I’m typing, so all of my thoughts and ponderings are done on my computer.

There are two software packages that I’ve found that I like very much: yWriter (free) and SceneWriterPro ($20).

yWriter (http://www.spacejock.com/yWriter_Screens.html) was developed by a computer programmer and a sci-fi author. This free software allows you to write your entire novel in it. You can set up chapters and scenes within chapters and move things around as needed. You can define your characters, set the point of view, and rate and define conflict, goals, and outcomes. It allows you to view a storyboard of your novel based upon the times you entered. It also counts the number of times you’ve used each word in each scene/chapter; this can be useful if you find yourself using the same words over and over and over and over and over (over = 5, and = 4). In addition, there are many other neat features I have not listed here. The only negative I see to this software is that it does not incorporate a grammar/spell checker. Also, remember to set up a new directory for your files for each story otherwise it will think they are all the same novel and start combining your character files and scenes which can be confusing. I’d highly recommend this program for ease of use, flexibility, and utility.

SceneWriterPro (http://www.scenewriterpro.com/screenshots.htm) is a commercial software package for screen writing. The list price is $99, but every time I’ve checked their website, it is on sale for $19.99. I came across this software first and outlined my entire novel in it. It is simple and easy to use, though has less/different features than yWriter. There is a main window where you can type a synopsis of your scene. There is the scene list where you can drag and drop things around to reorder them. There is a characters window where you can set up your characters and write little bio’s on them. There is also some automatically generated info based on Acts I, II, and III (I don’t use this), as well as a Locations window for the various locations you will use in your script. Each scene is given a length of time, another feature I don’t use since I’m not writing a screen play. I use this software not to write my novel, but to organize it. The thing I don’t like about this program is that there is no graphical representation of the story, no storyboard or other means of seeing how one scene relates to the next.

However you write your story, the most important thing is that you actually write it. Outlining is good and necessary for some people, but nothing replaces actually writing the story.

posted by chrmisha @ 4:00 PM