Top Ten Writer's Software/Resources

Let your fingers fly, your words flow and your mind roam the hills and dales of your imagination. Get organised and ready to go with one or more of these great applications.

UPDATE: The publisher of Liquid Story Binder XE is offering a 50% discount during NaNoWriMo (November).

Y-Writer is suitable for every kind of writing - articles, fiction, short stories, projects, essays - you name it and this program can handle it. It has a simple, well presented interface, is easy to learn and it's completely free to download and is now on it's 5th incarnation.

Did I mention that it's free?

From the website:
Main Features:
Organise your novel using a 'project'.
Add chapters to the project.
Add scenes, characters, items and locations.
Display the word count for every file in the project, along with a total.
Saves a log file every day, showing words per file and the total. (Tracks your progress)
Saves automatic backups at user-specified intervals.
Allows multiple scenes within chapters
Viewpoint character, goal, conflict and outcome fields for each scene.
Multiple characters per scene.
Storyboard view, a visual layout of your work.
Re-order scenes within chapters.
Drag and drop of chapters, scenes, characters, items and locations.
Automatic chapter renumbering.

Learn more and download here: Y-Writer

I have used this one quite a lot. I like the ease of organising work, submissions and notes. I also love the prompts and the ability to keep a journal at the same time.

Life Journal comes in several versions - the straightforward journal software, which is the one you can trial, but the version I use is specifically for writers. You can get a demo of Journal for Writers but not a trial.

Downsides - the programme is rarely upgraded, or if it is, current users are not informed or allowed free upgrades.

I notice that one version is "For staying sober" - maybe I should look into this one too??

From the website:

Write and Organize
Imagine writing and storing all your work--journal entries, drafts, anecdotes, research notes, poems, stories, and articles--in one comprehensive piece of software for writers. With LifeJournal's software for writers, you can work on drafts, do writing exercises to increase your skill, generate new work, record dreams and conversations, while effortlessly staying organized. You won't lose or misplace your work when you use this software for writers: By assigning topics to entries or passages you can always find what you are looking for in your writing journal.

http://www.lifejournal.com/

This is a fun program. It's very useful too. I often use it when I need to produce quick index cards for a project. It's a simple program but flexible... good for the basic pre-writing work like banging out ideas randomly, outlining etcetera but I don't think I could complete a whole project in it. I love to be able to move the blocks around until I have something approaching what I want to end up with. I then change the view so I am looking at the blocks amalgamated into one document. Then I transfer the work to another application for editing and finishing off. There is a free 15-day trial download. Oh... and I managed to get a substantial discount on the cost by waiting until the trial had finished and taking advantage of a special offer.

From the website:

# Create 100's of blocks with huge block text capacity.
# Drag and drop text between blocks and any Windows program that supports drag and drop such as your internet browser.
# Integrated full featured word processor lets you use Writer's Blocks from start to finish.
# Split Panel interface lets you view your blocks and manuscript at the same time.
# AutoType feature automatically completes any word that already exists anywhere in your document.
# Unlimited bookmarks let you jump to any block in your documents
# Use blockmarks to automatically scroll your manuscript to the section associated with the selected block.
# Format individual words and characters within a block.
# AutoScript feature let's you format a screenplay with ease.

Unfortunately, PCs only

Writer's Blocks

I love this program. I use it every day... not sure I could manage without it. I've had it since February 2006 and it is one of the most used applications on my computer. I use it for a daily journal, storing notes, organising my housework, lists for Christmas and other holidays... I have outlined a novel in it. I have my Flylady housekeeping schedule in it. I record our homeschooling activities. It is my private moany-groany-ranty-happy-dance place.

The Journal offers a 45 day free trial and I bet if you do decide to give it a whirl, you will end up wanting it! It really is a great program.... however, it is not my main writing software.

From the website

The Journal is Perfect for...

* Professionals! Use The Journal to track your daily progress on all your projects! Keep your professional secrets secret.
* Students! Take The Journal with you to class. Never misplace notes or struggle with deciphering your handwriting ever again. There is also a Special Discount Offer for Students.
* Writers! Whether you are a professional writer or an aspiring author, The Journal can help you organize your manuscripts and ideas. The Journal even provides writing exercises to help you hone your skills.
* Self Improvement! Journaling is a powerful tool of self analysis. With The Journal, you can quickly and easily record your thoughts and feelings throughout the day.
* Daily Devotionals! Record your spiritual insights and know that you can always find them again.
* Family Historians! Combined with the MemoryGrabber, The Journal makes it easy to write your own memoirs. You can also help your parents, grandparents, or even great-grandparents record the exciting story of their life.
* Recording your dreams! Let The Journal help you remember and analyze your dreams.

The screenshot does not do it justice!

Download the 45-day trial

A delightful freebie. You type in it. It sounds like an old fashioned typewriter. That's it. Oh, okay, there are lots of little benefits to it - see list below. Notepad on steroids. That reminds me... I haven't downloaded it to this laptop yet. Doing it right now.

From the website:

Q10 is a simple but powerful text editor designed and built with writers in mind.

Q10 is freeware. That's right, you can download and use it at no cost.

Q10 is small, fast and keeps out of your way.

Press F1 inside Q10 to read the help card.

Q10 will clean your kitchen, walk your dog and make excellent coffee. Well, not really. But it's really good as a full-screen text editor.

The sweet and useful Q10 (not a vitamin supplement).

This is another one which hasn't made it onto this laptop yet. I have the older version of this software and I found it to be great fun and very useful. However, what stopped me from using it all the time was the fact that you had to use an external word-processor to actually write in. The program has many, many useful and worthwhile tools; it was just a shame that it didn't come with a fully formed WP. I loved the built-in web browser function and the ability to have all my bookmarks right there where I could see them. The pinboard is great too. The major benefit is the very powerful Storylines, which is very useful in creating the necessary structure in your fiction.

Writer's Café is available as a demo download - it's the full version with a few limitations.

From the website:

Writer's Café is a set of power tools for all fiction writers, whether experienced or just starting out. The heart of Writer's Café is StoryLines, a powerful but simple to use story development tool that dramatically accelerates the creation and structuring of your novel or screenplay.

Writer's Café also includes a notebook, journal, research organiser, pinboard, inspirational quotations, daily writing tips, writing exercises, name generation, and a 60-page e-book, Fiction: The Facts, distilling 20 years of writing experience.

Writer's Café

NOTE: The publisher of this software is offering a 50% discount for NaNoWriMo (November).

This is the writing software that eclipses all the rest. I first downloaded the previous LSB version and almost uninstalled it within a few days. I felt as though I had no chance of getting to grips with what seemed like an unwieldy program with a learning curve akin to the south face of Mount Snowdon!

But.... just a little while later, Jesse of Black Obelisk brought out LSB XE and I was hooked. The joys of this software have to be experienced to be believed. Firstly, LSB XE will be anything that you want it to be. Want to use it for writing a series of six books? Yep, that'll do. Want to use it for the odd short story? That's fine too. Only want to use a part of the program? You can.

The best bit of all is that LSB XE is constantly under development with input from users at the Yahoo user group. Features are suggested, discussed, added or removed. All updates are completely free. Even completely new versions are free - no upgrade fee at all. Once you've paid for it, it's yours for life... unlike some of the others above. I can't recommend this program highly enough.

It has features that you would expect in a program that cost four times, nay, ten times as much. Too many to list them all here but here are some:

From the website

Dossiers
Create Dossiers with images for major characters and settings.
Timelines
Plot your novel by organizing cards along colored timelines.
Storyboards
Combine images and text to create a visual reference board.
Journals
Create a writing journal, or even fictional journals for each one of your characters.
Outlines
Create a collapsible tree of plot ideas.
Mindmaps
Link ideas together using lines and text.
Image Galleries
Organize your reference images into galleries.
Builders
Organize complex scenes using titles, descriptions, and color indexing.
Position Memory
Liquid Story Binder XE remembers just where you left off.
Manuscript Building
Combine multiple chapters into a single manuscript automatically.
Printing
Preserve your font and paragraph editing with Format Printing.
Workspaces
Preserve your favorite window layouts for quick access.
Project Goals
Words per day, words left to write, days remaining, multi-document word counts.
Color Schemes
Create the perfect writing environment with your favorite window colors.
Recordings
Record yourself reading your own novel. Test for pacing and time.
File Listings
Organize all your files into easy-access file trees.
Backups
Every Chapter has its own backup repository. Never lose a single word with automatic version and session backups. Compress your whole archive into a single ZIP file.
Shortcuts
Quickly access your favorite external software and documents.
Statistics
Times, Word Counts, Goals, Sessions, Versions, Days.
Reader
Read over your work in a easy to view columned window, free of editing distractions.
Music Playlists
Add your MP3s and sort them into playlists. Set the mood for writing.
External Editing
Open your work outside of Liquid Story Binder.

It is hard to come to terms with it immediately because it doesn't work like anything you may have used before. However, don't let that put you off. You can start using it right away. My first discovery was using Workspaces to contain my individual short stories. I'd have my original Outline, a Note or two, a Builder where I developed the scenes and then clicked a button to have LSB XE build it into a document or Chapter file (in this case the Chapter was the finished short story). I'd have some images to inspire me too. I'd save the lot as a Workspace and whenever I came back to work on that particular story - all the files would be there just as I'd left them, even though I might have been working on several other projects in the meantime.

Another bonus is the online support group. Post a question and either a more experienced user or Jesse, himself, will answer.

Magic.

30 day free trial here: Liquid Story Binder XE

Okay, this one's a little pricey but I have to say I use it all the time, especially for Squidoo. It's great for brainstorming, exploring options and even laying out the course of a complex lens. It is a memory-sucker but I still love it. I've tried loads of dedicated mind mapping software and there are a lot of very good free ones out there but this one, to me was money well spent.

From thewebsite:

iMindMap is a creative and very easy to use tool that is available in three Editions. It is the only software that accurately delivers the visual flexibility and brain friendliness of the highly proven and renown Buzan Mind Mapping techniques. iMindMap allows you to organise, create, innovate, plan, present, notate, learn, structure, communicate, problem solve and project manage all in one place.

My penultimate recommendation is not software but a website. Based in the UK but not exclusive to British writers by any means, this site is membership only. To become a member, you have to purchase an e-book, "The Fastest Way to Write Your Book" at a price of £7.95... what's that in $s? About $12.67. Okay, well the book is useful, very useful... but this little website is awesome. Membership gives you access to over 5000 ideas in genres right across the board.

The guy who runs the site is just about to release all the ideas contained therein in 35 e-books, which will be free for members to download, thus you will have a permanent ideas bank right where you need it.

From the website

The ideas and inspiration website for all writers. Offering ideas, inspiration, advice and technical support to writers around the world. Hundreds of ideas to inspire and improve your writing, plus what ifs, historic anniversaries, writing engines, critique forum, discussion forums, writers' bookshop, writing questions answered, computer & word processor support and much more. Also includes a dedicated support forum for Writers Bureau students.

When I am need of inspiration this is where I head to.

Ideas4Writers

Last but not least, I have to recommend Open Office - a free office suite to rival Microsoft Word. Most people have heard about it now, I'm sure. However, if you haven't got MS Office, then this suite of applications will stand in just nicely thank you.

From the website

OpenOffice.org 3 is the leading open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It is available in many languages and works on all common computers. It stores all your data in an international open standard format and can also read and write files from other common office software packages. It can be downloaded and used completely free of charge for any purpose.

Why OpenOffice?

Hope you found my small round-up of use in some way. Try a couple of the free trials but probably not a good idea to do them all at the same time like I tried to do!

Whatever you use, even if you prefer to stick with the good old-fashioned pen and paper, good luck with your writing!

Photo thanks to Caitlinator