I find it easier to write an essay or document using software that was made to write it like MS Word, NeoOffice Writer, or OpenOffice Writer. These are geared more for documents like essays, letters, and etc. It would be hard to manage and keep track of a book in these standard word processors. Once you get to a 10,000+ words, it’s hard to find a specific place where you left off. It’s nice to have an application that works all-around, but sometimes it’s nicer to have a specialized application.

I was going to look at Bean, but in my opinion, it’s still a word processor and not geared so much at large books. I’d suggest it for short stories, or people who want a truly freeware application for writing, but it doesn’t provide all the features writers may be looking for.

Bean is great for full screen writing. It is lightweight and has some features that other full screen writing software don’t offer. I’d suggest it to those lacking finances in a wallet, but I, personally, wouldn’t want to type up a 50,000 word novel for NaNoWriMo in it.

Some others actually recommend using wordPress.  There’s a wordPress plugin that allows you to export to an rtf (I believe, can someone e-mail me a link if they find it?, so far BlogBooker, WPTEX, and Some other stuff).  As for some plugins until I find the export one, there’s WP-Print which provides readers with a way to print a nice copy of your post(s).  Wordpress.com has a FAQ that explains how to make a wordPress blog into an e-book type setting.  I think it’d be cool to write a book using wordPress, but I personally prefer sharing excerpts as I go along and a finished work if I think it’s good.  I don’t like showing as I progress, personally.

Back to actual software…  Sorry, I’m easily distracted.

The first piece of software I’d like to show you is called Jer’s Novel Writer.  Jer’s Novel Writer is a generously priced (at $30) Book Writing Application.  My favorite features are the drawer and the margin notes.  It’s probably one of the easiest pieces of software to use.  When you first start a project, you’re presented with a settings panel.  This allows you to configure how you want your book setup and how it will appear on the screen.  After setting it up, you are presented with a blank white canvas ready to be filled.

Jer’s Novel Writer has many features every writer will enjoy.  I already mentioned margin notes.  Margin notes allow you to comment on a specific part of your book.  You can color code the notes, some suggestions might be revision notes, places that need revision, comments, and etc.  It’s also useful for asking someone to comment on the work.  There’s also an “Outline.”  This is useful for jumping between different parts of your book.  You can also drag and drop various parts for rearrangement.

One of the cooler features is the database.  The database allows you to keep information about various characters, settings, and anything else you could come up with.  There’s also an option for “notes.”  My only problem with the notes is that you can’t specify what part it ties into (I guess you can put that in the note).  Margin notes are great for short notes relative to that part in the text, but the “Notes” in the drawer allow you to write much more than in a margin note.

Jer’s Novel Writer is a great piece of software for those who don’t want to spend much, and those who enjoy a minimalistic interface for writing.  It can do basically anything most writers will need, but lacks some features that other more expensive software have.

Another great app is Scrivener by Literature and Latte.  Scrivener is another good piece of software.  It isn’t as nicely priced as Jer’s Novel Writer, but if you’re a student or teacher, they have an educational discount that can get you a copy at ~$35.  Scrivener breaks up your book into a series of folders and files.  The Folders can be different parts of your books, chapters, or however you want to organize your book.  The files can be chapters or scenes.

One feature I like it the Cork-board.  It allows you to see all the different parts of your novel.  If you prived a good title and synopsis, this can be very useful.  You can rearrage the novel through the cork-board.  Another part I like is the multi-panel display.  You can view a research document, a chapter, the boardboard, and etc and other file.  I like this approach as it allows me to have the order of events displayed so I don’t go off-track or write something that doesn’t agree with other parts of the text.  Scrivener’s full screen mode is also a bit nicer than the previously mentions software.

I’ve heard some complaints that Scrivener doesn’t provide Character Sheets, Setting Sheets, and etc which make it not worth getting.  I just created a Folder called “Characters” and made my own character sheets with bios and etc.  You can create folders for Settings, Plot notes, and other things if you wish.  It might not be as nice as other pieces of software, but Scrivener provides more freedom compared to other pieces of software.

The next piece of software I want to look at is Storyist.  I haven’t dived deeply into it myself, but from what I’ve read, it’s a more feature rich software that’s very similar to Scrivener.  It has plot cards, character sheets, setting sheets, and some other things setup by default.

From what I’ve played with in it so far, I don’t really like it.  I felt bound to the way Storyist wants people to write.  It also always has a Character, Plot, Section Sheet, and Settings section.  In other applications, these remain hidden (like JNW), or don’t exist until I create them (Scrivener).

Another problem I had with Stroyist was the price.  It costs ~$60.  The features it has are good and all, but I, personally, don’t think they’re worth the $20-$30 extra bucks.

If you like a more elegant user interface and think it’s worth $20+ more dollars, then I’d say go for it, but if you want more control over your organizational structure, I’d suggest something else.  As they say, There’s a right piece of writing software for each different person.

Update: I’ve played with Storyist some more.  I like the features a lot more compared to some of the other things out there, but I still can’t justify paying an extra $20 yet.  I’ll have to make my own decision prior to the start of NaNoWriMo though.

Storymill is another writing application.  To be honest, I don’t like it too much.  I haven’t played with it that much, but the organizational structure and user interface push me away.  It’s not the type of application I’d enjoy using day to day.

Storymill does have some useful features in it though.  The timeline is great for productivity.  It also has notes specific to scenes.  The notes remain hidden until you hit the “notes” tab.  It also has a place for characters, settings, and other things by default.

Some may find Stroymill to be a great writing app, but to me it was a turn-off.  It’s at a reasonable $45.  If you can work in the environment and with the structure Storymill provides, then maybe it’s for you, but Storymill wasn’t for me.

Strictly Writing Apps

Writer.app is pretty unique.  It isolates your window and only allows you to go forward.  You can scratch out parts, but you can’t delete them.  It can also try eliminating all distractions by disabling network connections while you write.  I think it’s pretty neat, but I’d only use it for free writing and thought provoking processes.

WriteRoom is pretty neat as well.  It presents you with a blank screen where all you can do is write.  It’s a whooping $25 for a task so simple, but there are some free alternatives.  I sortof like it.  If I’m in class taking notes and find myself getting distracted, then I’ll use it.  If I’m working on my book, Scrivener, Bean, and Jer’s Novel Writer all include a full-screen editor, so I don’t see a need for using this to write it.  If JDarkRoom doesn’t suite you, for a free alternative, there are many others that provide more features, but I can’t seem to get them to work on my macBook.

In Conclusion

Most writing apps out there for macs will cost you $25 and up.  On average, they’re about $35.

I’m using Scrivener for one book (that takes advantage of what Scrivener offers), and for another book I’m using Jer’s Novel Writer (that takes advantage of its features).  I’m currently torn between both Jer’s Novel Writer and Scrivener for my writing projects.  So far it’s been me asking myseld “What does the program need to do in order to make this book fun and easy to write?”

Dear Reader,

I hope this post has helped you in looking for writing apps.  I wish you luck in finding which app is right for you.

If you have any suggestions, feel free to post’em here and I’ll add them to a list with my emoThoughts.

 

Sincerely Yours,

emoKid.