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
I agree that writing is mostly in your head, but some of us need a systemized option to layout out writing projects. Being able to have you ideas in front of you and manuverable is an advantage.
Allen Daniels | Jun 2, 2010 | Reply
Dismissing something as a “scam” because it doesn’t fit your idea of how something should be done is a remarkably narrow view — not to mention smacking of defensiveness.
For myself, I find that after chapter 7 or 8 (which might mean 15 to 30 scenes), it gets a little difficult just to navigate around in the book, much less write it. So something like Scrivener can be extremely helpful.
Unfortunately, I haven’t found anything on Windows that’s as helpful. YWriter comes closest, but it’s hampered by a cluttered UI.
eric | Jun 24, 2010 | Reply
As far as actual software, I’ve been surprised to learn that a number of these programs seem to work very hard to hide how you actually create or edit the text of your work.
StorYBook is a case in point. I can start it up and see how it organizes work pretty easily; I can create new scenes; I can place these scenes into new chronological orders. What I can’t figure out how to do is actually edit the scenes (apart from a small edit box attached to the scene summary).
Dead loss. Total waste of the time spent evaluating it. Others do the same thing, but I don’t have their names offhand.
As I’ve said, on Windows, yWriter is the best I’ve tried. On a Mac it was Scrivener, and yWriter comes closest to that. So maybe people should go out and pay Hal money for yWriter so he feels like it’s worth his while to spend more time on that instead of writing books…nah, it was just a thought. (That is the downside of yWriter: Hal seems to be a pretty competent professional software developer, but — like any dedicated writer — he’d rather be writing. So you get what improvements he is willing to make time to make.)
eric | Jun 24, 2010 | Reply
As someone who has been a professional writer for over 30 years, I’ve found that specialized software contributes nothing. If you want to write, write. If you are using a computer, any text editing program will work fine. There are so many free programs like OpenOffice, or even the Text Edit programs that are on every computer (unless you deleted them) that will do the job.
Yes, programs like Word make formatting easier if you are dong, say, a screenplay. But how do you think these things were done before computers or even typewriters? Reams of paper and a pencil, that’s how. Most of the great novels of history were written that way.
Instead of focusing on the tool, focus on the product. The main advantage of writing on a computer is it makes changes easier to do. Other than that, write, write, write. Then get someone else to edit, edit, edit.
James Smith João Pessoa, Brazil | Jun 24, 2010 | Reply
Get someone else to edit? That’s like chopping out the first 1/4 of a sculpture and having someone else finish it.
Writing is editing, and rewriting, and editing, and rewriting some more. Having someone else do the COPY editing, the proofreading, is a good idea, and something most of us need. But unless you’re that one in ten million writers who gets it perfect the first time through, editing IS writing.
Hittman | Jun 24, 2010 | Reply
Dave, speaking as a professional writer, I guarantee you that editing bu someone else, not just copy editing is vital. When you read your own work, you often read what you THINK you wrote, not what is actually there. Good editing will catch this and errors in consistency, logical mistakes, and even technical errors. I have seen all of these appear in my own writing and that of well-known authors such as Steven King, Patrick O’Brian, and others.
Yes, re-writing is important but good editing will often show you where rewriting is needed.
Ask any professional writer. I’ve done this for well over 30 years and I do know whereof I speak.
Doubt this? Let something you wrote rest on a “cooling box” for a few months and then read it after you are no longer so familiar with it. This is something Steven King does, or at least used to do before he became so successful he could afford professional editing for everything.
“Writing IS editing”? Sorry, but that’s the words and attitude of an amateur.
James Smith João Pessoa, Brazil | Jun 24, 2010 | Reply
Skip MS/Word ($400.00 a copy) and use the superior FREE totally compatible Open Office Writer. It does everything the MS product does, and it’s entirely FREE. I use it for everything and don’t have to pay Mr. Gates one red cent.
Excellent / professional / Free
Open Office.org
http://www.openoffice.org/
Curtiss | Aug 16, 2010 | Reply