May 8, 2015
Deajei Neufeld and Jenna Mann
It’s hard to keep writing if you can’t keep organized. If you find yourself losing track of characters, motivations, settings and smaller pieces that fit into the whole of a bigger project, you may benefit from some structure. The focus of section two is on organizing your projects with applications that outline progress and help you stay engaged at and away from the desk. Inspiration can be a fickle beast, and it’s best to be prepared when the beast comes to call.
A Novel Idea is a novel organization app for iOS users. It enables writers to record musings on the go so they won’t risk losing a burst of inspiration. A Novel Idea provides a framework to organize and cross-reference characters, settings, ideas and chapters—even across multiple books. Catch a YouTube review here. A Novel Idea comes free on your iOS system and you can pay for an upgrade with more features.
pros: help organize your thoughts as your world expands using ready-made prompts
cons: only available on iOS
Scrivener is the perfect program for an epic project. Users can organize work in a variety of ways with different templates for customized projects. With scrivener you can add notes, links, customize keywords, attach music or photos and view your project by the chapter, the scene or as a whole. Scrivener comes with a seven day free trial and a comprehensive video tutorial to help get you started. Downside? This app is pricey. Scrivener has helped me to organize the novel I’m currently working on and would argue the app is a must-have if it didn’t come with the heavy price tag. Another drawback is writers may find themselves spending more time organizing than writing as the plethora of features provides a lot to play around with.
pros: provides many options to organize your writing, different formats for different projects, autosave, user friendly, and a concise video tutorial.
cons: price, users may get carried away with the organization aspect and lose focus of their main task.
With a clean interface, easy folder organization and the option of saving your work in several common file formats including PDF and DocX, Jotterpad is a good choice for the writer in motion. Stuck in the waiting room at the doctor’s office? That doesn’t have to be wasted time. The text editor includes a handy find-in-text feature also takes snapshots as you work, reducing the risk of losing your progress if, say, your battery dies mid-keystroke. Jotterpad might appear simplistic at a glance, but that just means it’s easy to pick up and get started with right away.
pros: clean interface, dropbox capable, find in text feature
cons: offers less diversity than other writing applications available
This android-exclusive app will put you in touch with a whole community of writers and their work. It will also provide the means to share your work with others. While the app’s interface and the community itself have room to grow. Unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be an option to import files or edit documents on other platforms. It also lacks Google Doc’s group editing capability or A Novel Idea’s organizational features. Given the modest price tag, though, it could be a good opportunity to get in at the ground level and nurture this budding community.
pros: built-in community
cons: use of screen real estate, file transfer absent, some load time issues, Android-exclusive
This list is by no means exhaustive. There are other options for those looking to expand, refine, or structure their work. Two examples are Persona and Contour, programs available for Windows or Mac which aim to aid in the realizing of characters and worlds. However, their prohibitive costs prevented me from testing them out. If you’ve used any programs we have missed, or if you have any tips or tools for keeping organized, be sure to share with us in the comments section!
Part One | Part Three