Stuffing around

I did some of my best stuffing around yesterday. I’d planned to work on the outline for my novel, determined to get something down before bed. I did some research on the best ways to outline, spending at least three hours trying to find a way that suited me. The internet abounds with suggestions on plotting and planning; they range from writing a simple two page summary to a fifty page précis that could almost count as a first draft. Then I researched characterisation and found similar results. Character profiles ranged from a brief description of key traits and roles to detailed profiles that ended up looking like medical reports or rap sheets. I understand that the writer must know more about her/his characters than the reader, but do you really need to know what colour pajamas they wear, or what their exact weight is? Isn’t this just another excuse to procrastinate?

In the end I decided that a scene-by-scene approach and a simple character card was appropriate for me. I opened OneNote and made some pretty templates (below) to aid me in my outlining mission. By the time I was done researching and setting up the templates it was 2 am. It was time for bed.

Scene by Scene card in OneNote

OneNote Character card

Outlining help with software

This evening I spent some time hunting for outlining tools online. I was interested only in outlining tools, but have included a few comprehensive programs

Online

• StoryRight - an online outlining tool which allows scene by scene outlines, character dossiers and plot summarise. Free

Software packages available for purchase

• Text tree – downloadable outliner available for purchase. Demo available (17 uses only)
• Idea Cruncher – software for organising ideas. Simple tree-like structure. Demo available (30 days)
• StoryView, by Write Brothers, Inc - a rather enthusiastic Write Brothers program for outlining and brainstorming available for purchase. I tried this product several years ago. To be honest I didn’t find the interface particularly easy on the eye, but mostly the reviews have been good for this product. Demo available
• DramaticaPro, Write Brothers, Inc -a comprehensive program for Mac and PC users that allows character creation, comprehensive plotting, brainstorming and more. DramaticaPro is a popular program with many writers, but it’s not for me. Demo available
• Page Four – a clean looking program with plot outliner, character summaries and a simple word processor.
• Writer’s Cafe – comprehensive software for writings with outlining and word processing capabilities. Demo available
• My Novel – allows planning of a novel from the original idea, to characters, plot and chapter profiles and writing it. Demo available
• Story Master Pro – plan and structure your novel with Story Master Pro. Demo available
• Liquid Story Binder – wordprocessor and comprehensive plotting tool. Demo available
• Story Planner

Templates (free)

• Outlining worksheets and checklists- Download worksheets from Karen Weisner’s book From first draft to finished novel, or read her article Y0ur novel blueprint.
• Ten point plot template - download template with sample

I think I’ll stick with bullet points.

Liquid Story Binder

Liquid Story Binder XE is a new shareware wordprocessing and organising tool for writers. I found out about Liquid Story Binder through Elle Weigert’s blog. Read her report on the software here. 

Before I start my own little review of the software let me fill you in on my computer and software experience: When I first learned to type it was on a mechanical typewriter and the personal computer, though available to the average consumer, was not a common household item. My first experience with a computer was on a machine which was booted directly from a 5 1/4 floppy disk and ran WordPerfect 5.1. I hesitate to say that was 20 years ago. Since then the PC has moved well beyond what I thought was possible and I’ve done my best to keep up. Though I’m no whiz kid, I can navigate my way round a computer pretty well, I even know some HTML and I love exploring new programs. But for all my computer savvy there is one thing I have systematically resisted: new wordprocessors. Currently I use Word For Windows 2003, but I still lament the passing of Microsoft Word 3.1. It was a beautifully uncomplicated program in which I happily wrote several novels, or halves of novels.

So it was with some trepidation, and bias, that I downloaded a trial version of Liquid Story Binder XE (LSB). I was pretty excited when I first heard about this software. For years I’ve wanted a way to store all the information for a novel as well as the manuscript in one easily accessible place. I wanted to be able to access outlining tools and character profiles within one program instead of having ten windows open at once. So I started clicking, explored the example files and tutuorial with brows raised in anticipation. Let me start by saying that most of the reivews I’ve read for LSB have been positive and while I won’t be using it myself, I would actually recommend it for creative writers who need help organising their manuscript – LSB will most certianly keep you on track. The program itself is flexible and expansive and is capable of carrying almost everything a writer needs, but ultimately I wasn’t feeling it. For me LSB overdoes it and has the potential to be more of a distraction than a help. Admittedly I’m an old fart when it comes to software, but I found it frustrating navigating through endless screens and popups and the customisation tools left me with a crinkled forehead. 

Microsoft Word isn’t necessarily optimal for storing novel sized documents or screeds of character information, research notes and outlines, but for me it remains the cleanest word processor. Most of the time all I need is a white screen to make me happy. Nevertheless I certainly encourage writers to download the trial, read other reviews and see for yourself if Liquid Story Binder makes a difference to your writing experience.

OneNote saved me

I am an untidy writer. I have index cards in my handbag, scraps of paper all over the place and notebooks with just three lines in them. I admit I like hard copies. But it becomes cumbersome after a while and I’m forever losing track of projects. I still like my index cards and I keep a leather compendium for all those loose pieces of paper one collects over the course of a project, but now I keep a Microsoft Office OneNote notebook too. My current novel requires a great deal of research of seemingly unrelated things. OneNote is a convenient and quick way of storing all that research, as well as notes on the development of the novel. It hasn’t made me a tidy writer, but accessing information while I’m writing has become so much easier and now I can manage writing projects without tons of paper. I highly recommend this program for writers.