A while back I posted a
technology challenge that no one accepted. Don't worry, my feelings aren't hurt. (sniff, sniff)
But I'm still trying to think of ways to make your creative life easier -- and if that results in more stories for the archive, everybody wins. LabRat says we're down on stories right now. Maybe we could look to technology as a muse to bump up submissions.
For those interested in looking beyond the word processor, I thought I'd share news of a sale going on for the flagship writers' tool called Scrivener from
Literature & Latte : Normally $45, you can get it for $20 for the next couple of days through a site called
AppSumo . It's available there in
Mac and
Windows flavors, though Mac is the native format and probably has more features. For each version there's a free trial you can
download and use .
I've bought the program myself for tech writing projects, and I'm enamored with it.
Scrivener can be used for all kinds of writing -- novels, short stories, nonfiction, screenplays, blog posts, research papers, legal briefs, and more. It's like a word processor on steroids, and it was designed by writers for writers to help structure a piece of writing.
Most people write their stories with word processors -- well, duh! But most people also have their struggles with word processors, especially for longer works. Do you really begin at the title of your story and proceed linearly through the piece until typing the words "THE END"? I bet you begin with a random scene, or maybe alternate versions of a scene. Or scenes that you're not sure where to place in story flow. And maybe there's an outline that gets fleshed in. And all that sits as lumps you need to keep track of and cut and paste to move around in your document. And maybe the word processor begins to feel more sluggish the longer the story grows.
What if the word processor could help you structure your story? What if you could write scenes that you could move around as easily as index cards on a corkboard -- then easily turn back into linear flow? What if you could color-code or tag your scenes to tell at a glance which are complete and polished, and which are just rough sketches? What if you could see word counts for each section? How about setting and tracking daily word count goals? And of course export to familiar formats (Word, HTML, RTF or text) for import in your word processor.
Wouldn't it be nice if there were a class of software to address the needs and work habits of writers? From reviews I've read, Scrivener sits at the head of this class -- but there are other options, some free:
Celtx - a free Windows/Mac/Linux program mainly for screenplays but also fiction.
Demo on YouTube StoryO - a $79.95 Windows/Mac program (with a free trial) for writing sceenplays, novels or short stories.
Demo on YouTube yWriter - a free Windows/Linux program for writing novels and short stories. It was created by an Australian science fiction writer.
Demo on YouTube It would be interesting to hear a Lois & Clark fanfic writer's take on any of these writing tools. So if anyone takes a crack at any of these programs and winds up writing a story using it, could you share your experiences with us?
Or maybe there are techniques you use in your favorite word processing program to organize your writing or make your creative life simpler. It's fascinating to find out how writers write. I would love to hear your tips, and other writers here may benefit from your experience.
Rereading this, it comes off as a sales pitch for Scrivener. But what I'm really trying to sell is you guys -- on writing more. The archive needs more stories.
What if you're tired of writing.... Do you still have tons of ideas but are burned out on hammering away at the keyboard? Sometimes a shiny new hammer can make all the difference.
Best wishes,
Lauren W.
