Writer's Tools

[srcroft]

Most of us use Microsoft Word, but I wanted to list out some of my tools that I find very helpful in novel development. Of course none of this is "necessary" per say, but for certain people I think these can be invaluable. Everything I'm postings is free stuff, so anyone can get it. They won't work for everyone's style, but they might work for you. I am not posting actual links:

For Continuity and Keeping Track of Complex Worlds and Settings
zim-wiki .org : Zim is a program that is much like word in but with almost no styling. It allows you to link pages and create sub pages just like Wikipedia. You can also link outside to say Wikipedia. Lets say you have a character who is a Templar. You can link Templar to wikipedia article for it and now you will always remember what gave you information and where.

You can create glossaries for words, allegory, symbols, everything you need.

Lastly and the coolest is you can attach or link files and embed images. So If you do a page summary of plot points for ActI / Chapter I / Plot, you can link the actual doc for the chapter.

Get Distracted Easy or Want that Typewriter feel?
gottcode .org/focuswriter : Focuswriter is by far not the best document editor. What it offers (with the download of some pretty cool themes), is a full screen, constant scroll no pagination, perfectly novel size 250 words per page environment, and the ability to make a typewriter sounds as you write.

Google Drive
If you aren't using Google Drive, this is a must have for everyone. You can create any type of office doc, access it from anywhere, allow access for editing or comment to others, and best of all save copy versions as you develop. You get 5GB of storage and it can handle almost any file type. I also suggest keeping copies in your Dropbox which is another free online storage system that can sync to you computer.

If you have your own favorites I would like to hear what and why you use them. If it makes someone’s life easier or resonates with their style its worth it.

 

[Sheilawisz]

Hello srcroft, this can be very useful and so I validated this thread, but please include at least one link to Zim Wiki, FocusWriter or Google Drive because links are part of the requirements for every Writing Resources thread.

 

[srcroft]

Sure no problem:
Zim Wiki Personal Desktop Wiki Program
Google Drive Google Drive (you'll need a google account.)
Focus Writer

 

[icebladeaskante]

This may or may not be what you mean, but I always find the English Dictionary (Oxford or whatever the American standard is) nearby as well as a good thesaurus a very good to have beside you.

And thanks to helpful tips and tricks provided at Holly Lisle: Official Author Homepage a folder with all your world-building notes. While I enjoy a digital copy of things sometimes you really can't beat being able to organise all your notes and characters in one folder and being able to flick around as you need bits and pieces of information to keep yourself consistent.

Though your Zim Wiki does seem to be a very good digital version of this. (will have to investigate further)

 

[Lawisendro]

Thanks. I immediately see that I'll need to take a look at Zim Wiki. Yay!

 

[Steerpike]

I like FocusWriter a lot. Scrivener has a nice full-screen option that provides something similar in feel, but without the option to include typewriter sounds.

 

[gethinmorgan]

Hi. I'd have to give a shout out to Write or Die by Dr Wicked | Putting the 'Prod' in Productivity for that 'sit-down-and-bloody-write' effect.
You choose how may words you must write, set a time limit, then choose the degree of punishment when you stop writing. The wimpy punishment is the sound of badly played violin, or a baby screaming after thirty seconds of no-writing - the kamikazee punishment is that your first lines get deleted if you stop writing.
Nothing worse than seeing your text disappear ...

 

[Wilson Geiger]

I'd also mention WikidPad, in the same vein as Zim Wiki. I've used it several times for world-building, and it's been an absolute life saver.

I'll also echo Google Drive. Write anywhere, on any local machine, I just need internet? Done!

 

[The Blue Lotus]

I will have to give these a try, my current sytem (or lack thereof) leaves a lot to be desired.
One can only search through countless notebooks and computer files and ExHd's so many times before grey hairs becomes the norm rather than the exception.
Write or Die sounds exactly like what I need on my ADD days!

 

[The Writer's Realms]

I love Google Drive! If you ever have to work with another person, sharing on Google Drive makes life way easier.

 

[Zero Angel]

Hello srcroft, this can be very useful and so I validated this thread, but please include at least one link to Zim Wiki, FocusWriter or Google Drive because links are part of the requirements for every Writing Resources thread.

I had no idea that was a requirement...I should really read rules more -_-

I was pretty annoyed when MLA format updated to no longer require links with the reasoning that people can just use search engines to find stuff. I was like, "gimme the bloody links!"

In regards to the OP, I use Microsoft OneNote for tracking info, but I also use my own website and wiki as well. I have a couple of information documents, including a "what readers know" one keeping track of what people know after reading and when they find out/if they are reminded.

I also use old-fashioned pen and paper to draw timelines, sketch battle arrangements/formations, etc.

Oh, and people recommend Google Drive AND Dropbox? What's the difference? Or is it just the extra storage from having two?

 

[Meteora]

I whole heartedly recommend Google Drive, I do all of my writing there. Much less hassle than having to have a physical Word document carried around whenever I want to do more writing elsewhere. A nice thing is that it saves every change you make to it on the fly so you don't ever have to worry about losing your work. On the other hand it sometimes does quirky things like undoing one word at a time.

Oh, and people recommend Google Drive AND Dropbox? What's the difference? Or is it just the extra storage from having two?

Google Drive has its own sets of tool for writing documents (among other tools), while Dropbox is exclusively cloud storage (access via browser). If we look at only writing alone, there isn't much point in using Dropbox unless you wanted to use Microsoft Word or whichever program instead. In that case you can store your file onto Dropbox, so you can access it elsewhere.

Installing Dropbox allows you to sync your files to the cloud storage and in my opinion is a bit easier to upload multiple files when using the web interface. If you have a word document in the Dropbox folder and make changes to it, it'll synchronize those changes to the cloud storage so it'll be the same file. If you have the program installed on another computer it'll update the offline files with the updated ones from the cloud.

On the other hand, Google Drive can sync up files as well similar to Dropbox if you install it onto the computer, allowing you to access files offline if they were synced up before hand (same deal with Dropbox). Difference is that its more intuitive on selective syncing, its a bit troublesome to do the same with Dropbox. Note that this is just for syncing.

Basically if you don't use Google Drive, then Dropbox is your alternative in a nutshell, unless you realllly need more than 5 gb of storage. I don't see the point in using both if you're just using it for writing alone.

 

[Typhon]

Am i not mistaken, but isn't Google starting to charge to use those services?

 

[Meteora]

Am i not mistaken, but isn't Google starting to charge to use those services?

Every user of Google Drive gets 5 gb of free storage (apparently the amount of storage is shared with Google+). You can subscribe to a monthly plan of 25 gb for $2.50 USD, all the way up to 16 TB for $800 (I have no idea who needs that much storage but there you have it).

On an unrelated note, Gmail users get 10 gb and that's not tied to Google Drive/Google+

 

[Typhon]

Every user of Google Drive gets 5 gb of free storage (apparently the amount of storage is shared with Google+). You can subscribe to a monthly plan of 25 gb for $2.50 USD, all the way up to 16 TB for $800 (I have no idea who needs that much storage but there you have it).

On an unrelated note, Gmail users get 10 gb and that's not tied to Google Drive/Google+

I don't trust Google, i refuse to even entertain using or storing anything on Google.

 

[Meteora]

I don't trust Google, i refuse to even entertain using or storing anything on Google.

I'm not sure why you'd even ask the question in the first place if your position on Google is that to begin with.

If you don't trust Google then you're better off with alternatives, not like they're any better however. Based on what you're saying, you shouldn't be trusting anything on the internet. Using anything Google related would certainly include the search engine, I don't think switching to Yahoo or Bing would make a difference. That data can still be tracked and in theory sold by their respective company.

 

[Amber]

Does any of you know ywriter?

It is a free program that helped me a lot. It is easy to use and realy handy if you want to create structure with chapters and paragraphs. For me, I like the freedom of skipping (part of) a chapter and start writing in another one without losing sight of which ones are finished or not. It also alows you to describe characters (a bit like a box with cards), places, items, etc. and you can create a timeline for each character.

It has a ton more options so really nice thing to check out!

 

[Steerpike]

I like yWriter well enough, and also Liquid Story Binder. To me, Scrivener is more polished that yWriter and more user friendly than LSB.

 

[writeshiek33]

due to my thought process which is fractured like add and dylexia i find MyNovel 4.0: Inspirational novel writing software for Windows useful it iteracts with ms word you can choose to either edit word or the software itself as individual who has organization probs this essential for me this is thwe right one for me but might be for others but i do reconmend it still learning to use the different functions as till self teaching myself the craft of writing

 

[Philip Overby]

I just started used Scrivener after kind of going "meh" at the trial version when I was doing the tutorial. Having skipped the tutorial, I'm now really excited about using it. Also if you did NaNoWriMo and "won" you can get it for 50 percent off. I'm really loving it now that I've transferred my WIP into the program. I can look at all my individual chapters easy (which I love because I'm always scrolling down lots and lots of text to find the right chapter). The corkboard system is cool too because I can have tons of notes about individual aspects of my story all together in one place without having to look at reams of notes or opening up tons of separate files. It's really, really great if you're bad at remembering certain parts of your story because you can easily access the information. Some people may not like the way it's set up, but I really like it so far.