Being a newbie at taking my writing seriously, I’m still navigating my way through the world of writing tools. Recently I looked at software for writers and found a variety available. Just Google “writer software” and you’ll see for yourself.
The software varies in what it can do and how much it costs. Freeware is free (big surprise) and other software can run into hundreds of dollars. I downloaded demos to see what worked best for me. The one I chose was WriteItNow by Ravenshead Services.
The main thing that sold me was its simplicity and features. Not being a rocket scientist, I figured out how to use the features easily. .
WriteItNow has prompts to help you work your way through writing a scene. Also, it has prompts for character traits and charts the relationships of characters. No more having to go back through pages of manuscript to refresh your memory about who’s sleeping with whom.
For me, a fiction writer, this works. However, I suggest that you spend the time to check out what’s available to find one that meets your needs.
A good editing website I found is autocrit.com. It has an analysis wizard to check a section of text for overused words, repeated phrases, and sentence length variations. You get that for free. I’m trying to decide whether it’s worth paying $47 a year for a gold membership or $77 a year for a platinum membership to get additional reports. Check out the site and let me know what you think.
This and That 
Thanks for the info. Will check it out and get back to you.
Good luck. You may want to check out the more indepth response.
Nice post!
But what would you recommend to use?
Can you post a software review?
What is your best experience?
Share this with us all 🙂
Amit
My computer skills are not so great that I can provide a software review like you might find in PC World or other magazine. However, I can give you some highlights about my selection process. I Googled “writer’s software” and found quite a few options. I wasn’t sure how much I would use software designed specifically for writers, so that immediately eliminated WritersBlock, Final Draft, and Dramatica Pro 4 because they cost over $100 each. I decided to set a $60 limit on whatever I bought.
There are some programs that are freeware: yWriter and Rough Draft. I downloaded those and couldn’t make heads or tails of how they were supposed to work. Hit the uninstall.
I also downloaded demo versions of New Novelist ($54.99) and Story Weaver ($29.95). My experience with them was similar to the freeware.
I narrowed down my selection to WriteWay for Professionals ($59) and WriteItNow (59.95). They were easy to use and had similar features. I chose WriteItNow because I thought its graphics were more attractive. So much for the scientific method. Both programs allow the user to develop the different segments of a story (characters, scenes) and keep them handy. Unlike word processing software, I didn’t have to start looking for files. I just clicked on a tab.
Besides appearance, WriteItNow has prompts to help the user develop scenes. As a fledgling writer, I find that helpful because it reminds me what makes a good scene.
Anyone who is considering the purchase of writing software needs to do a little research and decide what meets their needs the best. Someone with more computer experience might do well with freeware. Or you might choose one of the more expensive programs. At this point, I’m happy with WriteItNow. However, I can see myself checking out the more expensive programs in the future just to see what additional features they offer.