Writing Software
When I suffer from writer’s block, I mostly tend to do two things: google and read all the “how to be a writer”s I can find and download “writing software”. I came across the first writer software in one of the “how to”s and I was amazed by the amount of helpful tools for the desperate/eager writer. Growing up believing all you need to write is some sort of pen and some paper, I was mesmerized and started to play around with some of them. Now, whatever some of those software promise you, you still have to come up a story and write it yourself.
(Although some of the crazy expensive programs basically promise to do it for you, so maybe you don't have to after all....)
Anyways, I listed some software tools I found helpful and which are FREE.
Text Tree: This one I found actually really handy. It is basically an outliner, where you can add and move information as you see fit. Works like a mind map. Simple, no fancy stuff, straight to the point. My favorite.
Writer’s Café: They offer quite a lot: journal, notebook, pin board, research organizer and you get writing exercises and tips and even “inspirational quotations”. Their story lines section was what I found most useful.
You can buy the whole version or download a trial version, I myself was happy with the trial version.
StorYbook: Again a software, that helps you organizing your project. It has a different style from the writer’s café but offers more or less the same (no inspirational quotations though; ) ).
Other stuff I find quite helpful:
Pen and paper is usually enough to draw a map, but if you like to play around (like me) you might want to take a look at this: AutoREALM
And, like everybody when it comes to creativity, I have
Dark Secrets
Yes, go ahead and laugh. Go on. But it does help me thinking about how my character might look, the way she might dress… even though none of these details will ever show up in a story, I find it very relaxing and playing around I tend to get (the best) ideas. Now which shoes would go with that… oh, I know, you are going to die quite horrible, betrayed and… maybe all alone? hmmm…. oh, the red ones look nice!
And yes, it is fun :P
(Although some of the crazy expensive programs basically promise to do it for you, so maybe you don't have to after all....)
Anyways, I listed some software tools I found helpful and which are FREE.
Text Tree: This one I found actually really handy. It is basically an outliner, where you can add and move information as you see fit. Works like a mind map. Simple, no fancy stuff, straight to the point. My favorite.
Writer’s Café: They offer quite a lot: journal, notebook, pin board, research organizer and you get writing exercises and tips and even “inspirational quotations”. Their story lines section was what I found most useful.
You can buy the whole version or download a trial version, I myself was happy with the trial version.
StorYbook: Again a software, that helps you organizing your project. It has a different style from the writer’s café but offers more or less the same (no inspirational quotations though; ) ).
Other stuff I find quite helpful:
Pen and paper is usually enough to draw a map, but if you like to play around (like me) you might want to take a look at this: AutoREALM
And, like everybody when it comes to creativity, I have
Dark Secrets
Yes, go ahead and laugh. Go on. But it does help me thinking about how my character might look, the way she might dress… even though none of these details will ever show up in a story, I find it very relaxing and playing around I tend to get (the best) ideas. Now which shoes would go with that… oh, I know, you are going to die quite horrible, betrayed and… maybe all alone? hmmm…. oh, the red ones look nice!
And yes, it is fun :P