I am a professional writer with thousands of books in circulation who has spent the last three years investigating the craft of writing a novel. This includes a lot of the Mac Novel Writing Software out there. I used demo versions and often was given a reviewer’s copy to use for longer time. The following list I recommend for you to consider. I give brief descriptions now and will follow through with a much bigger review of most of these to post on my site: www.thewritersinterface.com.

Working at writing a full book or writing a novel takes a long-term commitment of time, skills, creative imagination and focus.

Novel writing software, and book writing software, helps you organize and develop further thousands of info-bits of information, dramatic action and character, and helps you plan out well a novel or book structure that can help make or break you in obtaining success as a writer.

Another point: Software is function. Each of these pieces of software does some functions well. None of these softwares have all or even most of the functions I need working daily a number of hours as a professional writer. Over the last three years I have used double the number of writer’s software that I show here. I don’t include usually the software I don’t use anymore or judged not good enough for my writing needs. When you read the sentence or two I say about the following software, note that I am also describing a writing function that software provides. Thus you learn to use writing software as an extension of your own imaginative storytelling brain. If so, then note the software writing functions I also describe. Finally all my two years of research and development notes on writing the novel, or writing a novel, are in my 92,000 words The Writer’s Interface at www.thewritersinterface.com, which will put you ahead by years even in over 2000 novel writing prompts described.

Microsoft Word

– this standby and stable word processor will do things other word processors don’t do as well, like make Find and Replace substitutions of grammatical functions as well as words. But it’s unimaginative and its outline function not enlightening.

SlidePad

– a little note taking tool that slides out of the side of the screen in any program. I use it to keep safe notes and text I make in the moment, or to create notes for work, or a task list for the following day. It’s easy to create or delete notes so if you keep it cleaned up you can manage this memory and focus helper. It can be an easy to use multiple clip board. In writing story, book and novel you want this kind of help to remember from the previous day and week what your focus was and what you must focus on now.

WriteItNow

– A new beta 4 for the Mac out. Already out for Windows. This has for me one of the best organizing outliner. Now added to it are writing prompts that can be put with any time of page, such as Character, Event, Scene, Chapter and so on. Writers have already contributed a number of writing prompts. You make your own as well. I created The Writer’s Interface to use with this software, though TWI is independent of WIN and you can use the PDF version with any writing software of TWI.

Bean

– A new small number of essential functions writing software, being open sourced developed and therefore free. I am still trying it out but like it. Sometimes the simple functions writing software is better because easy to learn all its functions and create your writing style around it. I have a standard book text already written that I put into five or six of these softwares to do a revision on. This shows me which helps me and which does not.

Author-me

– What I need as a writer is both good functioning writing software and software that gives me focus, clarity, even inspiration, organizational help, and psychological context so I feel good doing the long grinding years of writing.

Scrivner

– is a full writer’s word processor with outliner, cork-board for placing note cards scenes in plot rows, one after another. It can search by keywords you assign to it. Scrivner boards on the complex so you have to learn to use it by using it. Looks like the functions are good. WIN 4 has all these similar functions but in a different style, and Win 4 have writing prompts and links from any page to any page for quick traveling by relationship connections.

Linking Function: linking function is good for connecting to go in one click of the link to another page and back again if you want. Building a novel having a linking function that is simple to use means you can create hundreds of links and so check out themes, actions and characters. Look for a linking function then. Word does not have this or keyword easy search because it is old, unless the latest version has these new functions. You want them to plan and write a tight novel or book or screen play. The less structure elements you have to keep in your mind, the more room in your mind to let your imagination and intuition develop. Build novel, story-telling structure as the framework for a free, rich dramatic action and development.

CopyWrite

– has text you write on the below half of the writing page and on the upper half is the last of chapters and scenes you write. This can help you organize and keep organized scenes and chapters, as well as draft versions until the final copy. It has full writing screen function, as a number of software now have. So instead of seeing a sidebar outline with small space for titles you see the scene and chapter titles like a pile of wood, one on top of the other, that you can drag around of course.

EverNote

– this software has a basic page for writing text with simple functions added like bold and underline. The great thing about EverNote is that you can write hundreds of articles, scenes, keep copies of web pages and EN keeps these organized for you in folders on the left, by date made, by search function, by key words. EN also keeps a copy of everything on the web as well as keeping the original in its software on your computer. I use it everyday. It is free in basic form, including free storage. It’s paid for Pro version simply gives you more storage which I have never needed, though I write in EN every day.

Rest of List Mini Reviews Here – I don’t think I should put the whole list here on Yelp, so the rest will be just like the above but written out more fully on www.thewritersinterface.com. This is a big review since it covers most of the current usable software out there up to date now and in use by me as a full-time writer. I include alternatives, knowing that a style of software may fit better one kind of writer creativity than another. And I believe in and support all these little software companies putting effort into improving the serious writer’s life.

The Serious Writers Software: What characterizes a book and screen play writer is their willingness to struggle and learn to stay focused for months, and even years at a time to put out a masterful creative work. With Focus then you do need, I say, to study and get acquainted with the right writing software for you, so that you use it for at least a couple of years. Explore and try much software, but then pick the better one that works for you and really use it to organize and write.

GhostReader

– a wonderful tool for me because it has the best read your story back to you by the best computer-real-human voices so you can hear and edit. Other software speech functions does not have GR’s ability to start and stop in place to review and change a word with just one click to stop and one to start. And having a ‘real friend’ is nice to the ‘lonely writer.’

NoteBook

– I only use this as an extra place to process text, but you may like it. It automatically indexes every word in your text, even with categories, such as titles. It is a full outliner as well. It keeps notes. Does indexes and table of contents, so a full word processor, not a simple note taker.

StoryMill

– from Mariner software which has more than one major writing software it sells, StoryMill is a simple writing tool, adequate to write your text with in the flexible bottom half of your screen, or in the nice full screen mode. The upper half on the main page has the chapter, scene, characters and other titles. So on the left is an outline of types of contents in folders, while on top of the middle screen are the titles of contents of the folders you click on on the left. No note cards cork-board layout to do a storyline plotting, but do you really need this? The upper half middle screen has the titles of chapters and scenes and a submenu to classify these as first to final draft. You can add labels of your own. I have put in over 20 labels here of different types of scenes like in The Writer’s Interface. Thus you can type your kinds of scenes to write: chase scene, reflection scene, intimacy scene, fight scene and so on. This is a new trick of mine. All story is a collection of types of scenes in use. To prove this, when you see a good movie or read a good novel, simply classify scenes as to types. This is the greatest key to writing a good novel or screen play. Most novel writers don’t know this, even bad movies fail at this. It’s all in the writer’s interface.

Writing Craft Tools and Writing Software – What makes the difference to the professional writer is to have his and her writing software have functions that include writing craft tools. The WriteItNow software has a function for the writer to make a series of writing prompts important to them. My The Writer’s Interface has over 2000 writing prompts you can use to plan and write your novel or screen play. I modified StoryMill, as said to mark different types of archetypal scenes used and needed in great story-telling. Make sure then that your writing software can be modified and individualized to you so you have the comfort of a really good ‘house’ to write in that is also individualized as your own. Or have more than one type of software for this.

TimeLine

– I am just exploring this, but if you read in history on the web you like to see that timeline of dramatic events as an overview of that period of history you are writing about. Then I conceived of the idea: instead of a cork-board or plot notes and cards, use timeline software. TimeLine is new as are a few other software candidates. But I know I want to see a timeline of my historical novel’s evens to inspire me into knowing I have a good plot to write to. It is already history, and I only have to copy the timeline and flesh it out.

Celtx

– standard good playwriting software that is free but been around for awhile and has an audience. Celtx is community based, and you can join and put your efforts on line. All sorts of documentary and video produces use Celtx because it is oriented towards production use. I used Celtx to create over 200 cards for my novel revision. One side of a card has a list of eight key points for the scene. Turn it over and you have the actual dialogue and other text for that scene. Move the card up or down as you develop your story plan, or play plan. Color the cards for different types, like a color for four main characters and then four other colors of cards for other main
categories you invent. You can share with other Celtx playwrights and get feedback and give it. You can make live connections and maybe get into Hollywood that way, or at least a drama community wherever you are. Your text is on your computer with a copy on line if you want.

MacJournal

– I used MJ for years to write my articles and chapters into, good for using its folder system to keep track of hundreds of writings. But I had so many it slowed down on me and I switched to EverNote when it came out. EN has an easy way of synching your articles into your account on line and into your computer. My policy now is to try and have all my precious writings, I think, saved on line almost automatically, as well as to my computer. This way if and when my computer breaks down … MacJournal can put you on line by publishing your text as blog entries, but I have never used it because I switched.

WordPress

– This is the software I use for my blog at www.strephonsays.com/blog/ and www.thewritersinterface.com. WP is so professional now and good looking and my partner does the learning and the work, for which I appreciate. The result of a really good blog built up over a year or two is it is like publishing a book of yours. You get thousands of readers on the web, contacts, appreciation, and even income from little ads or selling books and reports from your site as downloads. Then after a year or two and you keep the statistics of how many thousands of visitors have come and stayed at your site, you know if you want to edit your blog material also into a paper book to get published and sell.

Writers Writing Blogs – The world of readers has mainly moved to reading for entertainment and information to the Web. Thus writers must follow there or lead. You write your blog on the same topics you write about as a book. You have a blog space to keep track of all your interesting research and articles you write. Write about your love of kites. Make your blog about kites, and stories and novels that have kites in them. It used to be a novel writer should go and live in the locals he and she write about. Now that can still be done, but also necessary is to do research. Don’t just copy gobs of web pages. Select the stuff you are interested in and put it into your organized blog on the subject. Get feedback. Develop your theme and knowledge and interest. Visitors will come to your interest area and eventually buy your books. You will learn what interests your niche readers best. When you have a book manuscript also you should have an excellent blog developed a couple of years old with thousands of visitors and a few hundred comments or a mailing list of people who want to know about your new developments. Let the publisher see your blog and your statistics. It’s a better sell and follow through. You as writer are testing the interest in your material before you even write it up as a book, novel or screen play.

HubPages

– the site I use that gives you a free template to make great web pages on a specific topic of yours. It’s like a blog but each HubPage should be a single narrow subject. It gets high rankings in the search engines and statistics of people who come and which of your HubPage subjects are most people interested in. A mini publishing platform that is fully professional. Use it. I do.

Mellel

– it’s a standard word processor but more colorful and easier to use than the old Microsoft Word. I use it. I like it makes a blue background for writing on, which is easier on my eyes, and Word does not. Has all the good formatting options and an outliner. But not exactly innovative. The formatting of text more important than the organizing of story planning elements, like in WriteItNow, StoryMill, and Storyist.

Dictionary

– given free for the Mac. It connects to Wikipedia so you get other info with the word also. It’s that other info that may add to your story ideas as you write along. Try to use the extra little information that Dictionary and Wikipedia gives as color for the location and actions in your scenes.

EasyCrop

– You need a cut, save and paste software for capturing images from your screen that appear in web pages. Images add inspiration and color to your story-telling and text writing, whether they remain in the final copy or not. For some of my novel characters I cut out interesting faces from my university alumni photos. If they only knew!

Tofu

– wonderful free reader with a blue background if you want that forms easy reading columns for the text you want to read. About the easiest and best just to read. It does not let you edit.

OmniOutliner Pro

– I would like to say I like this but I don’t. They tried to make a full outliner with lots of functions so that OOP could be a major word processor as well. Organize ideas first, then write text to them. If you want to write this style, then get OOP and develop yourself in it. Maybe it will work for you.

FreeMind

– FM is free and a good diagram, mind-brain organizer of your ideas and connections between ideas. But it seems a bit difficult still. Not all ideas are equally important. If it were easy to increase the size of a title according to its increasing importance, maybe I would use such a device. How much of my brain functions do I want to give over to software? Only those brain functions I do not do so well at myself.

Advice: keep your strongest brain functions that you like the most to your brain. Only give weak brain functions, such as detailed memory, to the computer and its software.

Storyist

– I’m still trying this out. It seems difficult for me to understand they way it organizes your story elements, so I may not try and break my back to learn it. However, it might be for you. One thing I liked is its easy way of creating manuscript size and text to print out and submit to a publisher. This gives a great feeling to see this.

Brightness Control

– this is a freebee that does one thing: regulate how bright your screen is for you when you need it. Thus if my eyes are tired and reacting to computer glare I use this, and so will use if you burn both ends of the midnight oil. Yes, I know, candle.

ThinkFree Office

– a full word processor for the mac similar to Word. I don’t need it and don’t use it. but it’s out there for you.

Montage

– another good playwriting software. I used to use Final Draft, but since I don’t do much with plays I have not recently compared. And there is the free Celtx also. Why pay for Montage or Final Draft? You have to compare yourself and see which one fits you psychologically. Buy the best for you because you are spending hundreds of hours with such software. What seems important is not only the script writing functions, and are they fast so you can write and compose fast, but also what organizing functions and frameworks does the software have? Celtx I can move with one click to my long list of note cards to check out which scene I want to or need to write next, or make a new note card on the spot for the new scene that just popped up when writing the story. Celtx note card view gives you instant review and changing of the storyline when you need to. Then back to writing dialogue again. Novel or Playwriting? – Why not both? At least a third to a half or more of your novel should be dialogues between characters, should it not. First step is to make your storylines in an outline, a spreadsheet or a series of note cards. The second step is to write the dialogues for all the characters in their scenes already planned on the note cards, storylines. The third step is to then rewrite all those dialogues as novel text with text for descriptions and actions. If you write first all the dialogues, you understand all your scenes as scenes for a screen play. You can then visualize all your scenes as a movie. What the director adds to your screen play are the visual and action elements, and these are created by the scenes and costume directors, as well as the acting directors. Then the director directs actors to act everything out on location. It is all filmed. Then an editor cuts and pastes the raw film into a finished story movie under the direction of the director. Well, in novel writing, you as writer do it all. Even if you write all the text you can ask a professional to create with you in conversations the scenes of your novel that clothe your novel’s dialogues. What a great creative effort. Or you do it alone if you have a rich enough mind – a genius mind. Nothing less will do!

Feedback – Feedback is always welcome on any of this. Remember, software keeps coming out or updating, or being left behind. I have tried to show writing and organizing functions that the best software can help with. I maybe understand the score because as a professional writer I want to research and organize my hundreds of story prompts and tools to use to dramatize my story into novel and screen play form. Thus The Writer’s Interface, my own extensive notes, are the clothes that clothe writing software functions. Without extensive writing craft tools the software is almost nothing. Software engineers do not know how to produce successful fiction, as I have nicely told them, so I have at times given them a writer’s feedback on what we need. My Writer’s Interface approach, the craft tools for writing, will come more and more into view now.

Not only do writers need to understand how to use their best software. They need to also know the thousands of writing tools for dramatizing and making a novel or screen play. This focus is the basis of my own approach.

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