Novel Writing Software
By Dave Hitt on Jul 16, 2009 in Featured, Personal Adventures
I’m about to start a novel that will have some complex characters and an intricate plot. After hearing writers sing the praises of Scrivener, which is a Mac only application, I’ve been looking for something that will do the same thing on a PC.
I’d like to be able to create an outline, character files, plot files, the text of various chapters, notes, random ideas, and of course the text of the novel, and have it all available on one screen. It should be easy to jump from one thing to another and if I change something – say, the position of the scene or the name of a file, everything should update automatically. I want to be able to add margin notes, like “research this” or “sounds clumsy, rewrite” and get to them quickly. All that stuff should be on a sidebar, or otherwise easily accessible. And when it’s finished I need to be able to export the manuscript to Word.
I tried Liquid Story Binder. There are a plethora of options – binders, planners, storyboards, etc – but they all look the same. Once the window is open you can’t tell what it is. I can’t figure out how to link things – nothing in the program is intuitive. The instruction manual is a joke. Even worse, the second time I loaded it, the files I started with are gone, and so is the example book that came with it. They’re listed on the file menu, but won’t come up. Since I don’t plan on writing the entire novel in one sitting, the program is useless.
Next I tried Keeper, which appears to be better, but has one fatal flaw: New pages are titled “Untitled 1,” “Untitled 2,” etc, and there’s no way to change it! It also keeps everything, including the example files. Evidently once you put something in there you’re supposed to keep it forever. Since I’m not writing about Sparta or the Greek Pantheon of Gods (the samples that came with it), I don’t need those in the sidebar. But they’re there, evidently, forever. At least until I uninstall the program, which I’ll be doing soon.
I’ve found lots of other similar software out there, but rather than spend days looking at various programs to find one that might do the trick, I’m asking you fine folks for advice. Is there any fiction writing software you’d recommend?
Two other requirements: It has to have a free trial download, and it can’t be too expensive (no more than $50 or so).
Well, this isn’t exactly for Novel writing, more for script writing. But it has many of the elements you are looking for. And it’s Open Source. http://celtx.com/overview.html
Chris | Jul 16, 2009 | Reply
Thanks, I’ll check it out.
Dave Hitt | Jul 16, 2009 | Reply
Celtix is the kind of thing I’m looking for, but the real power is in script writing, which locks you into a script format. There is a plain text document, but when you use that you lose the ability to link to anything. I haven’t given up on it entirely, but I don’t think it’s going to do the trick. We’re in the right church, wrong pew.
Dave Hitt | Jul 16, 2009 | Reply
WriteItNow or Storybook is probably what you’re looking for. Storybook is free and open source. WriteItNow has a free demo but costs 59.95. Check them out here:
http://www.ravensheadservices.com/index.php
http://storybook.intertec.ch/joomla/
Secret Agent X9 | Jul 21, 2009 | Reply
Write it now has a demo that doesn’t allow saves. Idiots. I don’t have a problem with time limits or page limits (as long as they’re long enough to let you put something through it’s paces) but never bother with something that won’t let me save.
Storybook is only missing an editor, but it looks like it’s got everything else I want. I’ve been using Celtix to keep track of things, but I think Storybook will do a better job. Thanks. (And keep those recommendations coming.
Hittman | Jul 23, 2009 | Reply
I have found a great software in called ywriter5. It is totally free and makes it easy to keep track of everything on one screen. I use it when I compete in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month)
Will | Jul 29, 2009 | Reply
I’ve tried yWriter 5, and that’s the winner. I like the layout and the organization, and have used it to track everything I’ve written so far. It’s so handy when you need to find the name of a minor character or a reference to a specific event.
It has a text editor, like most of these programs do, but it’s pretty primitive (again, like most of these programs). I’m still using Word for writing, switching to yWriter to retrieve information or update something.
Dave Hitt | Sep 4, 2009 | Reply
Come on, “Novel writing software”? That’s a scam on the scale of religion. What will any of these do that you cannot do with MS Word?
I have been a professional writer most of my life and have written technical manuals, how-to books, a novel, and a screenplay. None of these required “special” software.
Novels are written with your brain. Almost any word processor will do any formatting you need.
Save your money and your effort learning to use these scams and devote it to writing.
James Smith João Pessoa, Brazil | Feb 14, 2010 | Reply