7 Useful Software Tools for Authors
Are you one of those writers who keeps a jumbled mess of scrap paper notes and post-its in a desk drawer or a folder that’s bursting at the seams? When writing a large piece such as a novel or even a screenplay, it’s easy to lose track of old facts, fleeting ideas, and even one’s own concentration. Several software programs are designed to make it easier for authors to solve their problems while keeping on-task.
Scrivener is great for organizing those long writing projects. It allows you to divide your manuscript into chapters and chapters into scenes. A bulletin board lets you jot down notes, storyboard, and summarize individual scenes and chapters. The program even provides templates for character sheets, setting notes, and research so you can keep everything – writing and notes – all in one place. Best of all, it autosaves frequently and it’s impossible to close Scrivener without saving your manuscript. When the project is polished just the way you want it, Scrivener makes it easy to compile it into a PDF file that gives it a novel-like appearance as opposed to a simple word-processing format.
WriteRoom is one of the numerous programs available that wards off temptation of distractions using full screen word processing. Its minimalist format, a dark screen with plain layout options, helps keep you focused on simply getting words written. WriteRoom also has autosave – so you don’t even have to worry about getting distracted by frequently saving!
SmartEdit is one of those must-have applications for writers, though the limited platform (PC only, for now) and the hefty price of $50 would make any author hesitate to click Buy. But you get what you pay for: SmartEdit discovers repeatedly used phrases, watches for adverb overkill, monitors sentence length, and points out writing clichés. This great editing tool won’t replace your editor, but it will definitely make their job far easier! A Mac version is in the works and their free 10-day trial might convince you that it’s worth the investment.
Momentum is fickle and fleeting – simply writing down a sudden thought to remember later is often enough to throw you off track. The ultimate goal of Jer’s Novel Writer is to keep a writer’s momentum going. It allows you to annotate text with side notes and will compile all those notes into a comprehensive outline. Jer’s Novel Writer is certainly a software for what program creator Jerry Seeger calls rocketheads: “people with more ideas than memory.” Jer’s Novel Writer is free on trial with a purchasable license key.
WriteItNow is much like Scrivener, giving writers the ability to write in chapters and scenes while also providing a storyboard for notes. It’s an easy way to keep your manuscript organized all in one place. One of WriteItNow’s nice features is that it checks up on your manuscript’s readability: deciphering the chosen vocabulary and helping authors decide whether they want their words appeal to teenagers, young adults, or scholarly readers.
Yarny, rather than a downloadable program, works more like an online Cloud storage system. It’s free with an optional pay-by-year version – $36/year, $18 if you win National Novel Writing Month – but the free version isn’t without its perks. Yarny allows you to divvy your work into scenes, color code them, create different browser skins, and compile it all in one document. All of this while keeping it transportable so you can grab it from anywhere you are.
ZenWriter is heralded as an extremely helpful writing program that can eliminate writer’s block. Its full screen backdrop keeps out noises while zen background music – with options to upload your own – and typing sound options like typewriter keys and water droplets put you in a consistent writing mood. For a measly $10, ZenWriter does what the title advertises: it keeps you in a calm, meditative writing mood while the always helpful autosave feature dashes the constant worries of losing your work.
Every author works differently but there are certain problems that all writers face. These software tools have free trial versions available, making it easy to see which program works best for you.