I hate to disappoint you, but my writing piece is not about that. It’s about various software packages and apps to make writing more efficient and faster. Yes, I’m a software junkie. No, it’s not cheating. I’m sure if Shakespeare had access to Fictionary, Storyteller, and some of these other apps, he would have completed A Midsummer Night’s Dream in half the time and written more plays before leaving this earth. I’m only going to discuss software I’ve used and loved or other writers can’t stop talking about. I receive nothing for mentioning these apps. Please comment on any you’ve used and found helpful that I haven’t listed.
Plottr - An affordable software program for planning your book. It took me five years to write my first book without Plottr, and I finished the second draft using Plottr in six months. Even a Panster might find this program helpful because you can use it how you want to. Plottr provides visual timelines, scene cards, plot templates, story bibles, and series planning. It integrates with many other software packages, like Scrivener and Microsoft Word. It synchs across devices, offers cloud storage, and you can work offline if you choose. Many tutorials and a YouTube channel are available to assist you with quickly understanding the program. Good customer support. Any time I had a problem, they handled my issue promptly. The Pro plan is $79.00 and covers three devices, but more affordable plans are available.
Living Writer - a writing app for fiction or non-fiction authors that allows you to select a template to shape your story or create your own. I won’t name them all, but some of my favorites are Hero’s Journey, Romancing the Beat, and Save the Cat. It also allows you to save story elements, characters, objects, and settings. You can write your entire book on the app. It’s fun, easy to use, and you can change chapters around seamlessly. It saves everything on the cloud. You can try it for free for 14 days and then pay $9.99 monthly or $96.00 a year.
Fictionary - StoryTeller is a book editing software app for writers. It acts like a writing coach or developmental editor. It evaluates each scene against thirty-eight story elements, but you don’t have to use them all. It keeps track of your characters, time, and place and shows you where things fall flat on a visual story arc. It also provides short little videos to guide you in using the program and longer YouTube videos if you want them. When I have a hot mess on my hands after Nano, I bring my manuscript into this program, which helps me sort it out. This program is worth every penny of the $20.00 a month charge, and I swear it’s made me a better writer.
ProWritingAid - “a grammar checker, style editor, and writing mentor all in one.” Grammarly is a handy app, and I use it for the first run-through, but when it’s time to get serious, I turn to ProWritingAid. I especially like the Sticky, overused word and Passive Voice check. It scores you in real-time, and you can see what area needs improvement. $79.00 yearly cost for premium covers three devices, but you can often find ten dollars off coupons.
Microsoft Word - This is where I bring my finished story. It’s what most editors request, providing a home for my final document that most people can open and read. I’ve talked to some writers who write their entire manuscript in Word and don’t have an issue. $159.99 cost.
Scrivener - Many of my writer friends swear by this program and love it. I used it for a few months, but unfortunately, it didn’t work for me, or most likely, I didn’t work hard enough to figure it out. I found it cumbersome to use. My biggest problem was saving my document in the right location. I never experienced this with Word or the other software listed. I know some will argue about the ease of arranging chapters and being able to save notes and pictures. But I can quickly shift my scenes and chapters around in Living Writer or Fictionary. By the time I export my document to Word, I’m working on line edits, well beyond the need to shift chapters around. Also, taking notes, saving pictures, and saving links to websites, I can do with ease in Evernote, which is always available across devices and software apps, so any advantages Scrivener may offer are taken away with the steep learning curve involved. If you haven’t figured it out by now, things have to be easy for me to use. Scrivener offers some definite advantages, however. They offer a very generous thirty-day free trial. After that, you buy it for $49.99 and then own it for life. If price is a significant concern and you’re willing to commit to learning this program, it could be the best option and perfect for you.
Evernote - This is a valuable, life-changing app. You can use it in all areas of your life, not just for writing. You can purchase it from your App Store or download it from them. You can try it for free until you’re convinced. Remember the idea you had for the story on the way home from that bar, and then you couldn’t remember it the following morning? If you had Evernote, you could have opened your phone and put one line down in the Evernote notebook. You’d have read it the following day, written a best-seller, sold the movie rights, and been shopping for a beach house with that guy with dreads, the beautiful smile, and the great abb’s from the bar by now instead of reading this substack newsletter by a crazy woman. Evernote personal is available for $7.99 monthly, but other plans are available.
That’s all for this week, folks. Next week we’ll discuss places to take courses in writing. My MFA was in painting, not writing. Luckily, there are fabulous places to refine your craft while not spending $40K a year on an MFA in creative writing, as fun as that sounds.
Don’t forget to leave comments about the software you’ve found helpful for writing. I’m only one person, and I’m sure you’ve got other ideas. The rest of the community would love to hear from you. Have a productive week! Thank you for reading What Do Romance Writer's Think About? This post is public so feel free to share it.