Here we talk about writing and designing fully functional software for writers. We're solving
writers' issues, one author at a time. Right now, I'm the only client. But as soon as
we get funding, you could be next. We want to hear what you need.

About software design

About designing software for fiction authors . . .

Authors have to do a lot of things which software could help. This isn’t an attempt to create a paradigm shift in what authors are doing, the shift is in enabling authors to do what they’ve always done. This is the same kind of change which a word processor caused when it replaced a typewriter—authors still did what they did before, it just became monumentally easier. Word processors didn’t change that the author had to write every word, but they did make the editing and revision process easier.

By fortuitous circumstance, see About Us, the software prototype is being designed as we speak, and as I write. Here you will find lots of microscopic views on the problems experienced by many authors, and ways to tackle the problem. If you don’t agree, I’d like to know why. Someday we will obtain funding for this author software project. Make sure we understand your issues, so that the software will be able to do what you want. You may no longer leave comments anonymously, though with a login, you'll have more abilities. After you create an account, you may enter in future with OpenID. OpenID gives you one password to open this site, Facebook, MySpace, etc. You may also send an email using the Contact menu option.

Sorry, but we've been bombarded by spam, so not only must you create a login to post, but you must use the Contact form to request a login. We apologise for its necessity, but spammers must be circumvented :)

The longest story of my life . . .

Submitted by prennebohm on Tue, 03/03/2009 - 07:00

I’m not sure that I’m the right person to be writing for this blog because I’m nearly computer illiterate. Theresa says, however, that good software would enable me to do what I do more easily. It's unimaginable what that means, but I would certainly like the computer side of this business to be easier. The writing side isn’t a problem. In fact—a funny thing—the first book I wrote, Be Not Afraid, a story about a seventeen year-old hockey player’s fight to overcome a devastating injury, sold out immediately. From writing through publication and sales, it went very smoothly, so I thought this writing gig would be a nice easy way to make money.

Little did I know.

What's in a clue?

Submitted by Theresa de Valence on Fri, 02/20/2009 - 12:09
Posted in

First, we must concede that I’m probably not as good a writer as I think I am.

Yet.

Second, everybody had to learn how to write once. Recently, an author wrote she had completely rewritten her story 13 times over 9 years before it was published. Ugh.

Did the writer’s skill improve during that time? Yes.

Did the writer feel the story was better at the end? Yes.

Was this the only way for the writer’s skill to improve? No. There are less painful ways to go through the job of tightening up a story. To say nothing of accelerating the learning curve.

How I Write A Novel (and Stay Organized in the Process)

Submitted by ljsellers on Fri, 02/13/2009 - 06:30

For some novelists, the act of writing is a mystic, free-flowing, almost out-of-body experience. Then there are people like me who approach it with a collection of notes, databases, and timelines—a process almost as pedantic as end-of-year bookkeeping. But in my defense, I must point out that I create complex crime stories that come together without any gaping holes. So if you lean toward anal and would like to know how I do this, here’s my process:

Revision, the bane of an author

Submitted by Theresa de Valence on Tue, 01/27/2009 - 11:01

I suppose having to revise my story is what really blew my gasket. I interviewed my local police crime scene investigation (CSI) officer during a slow Easter week when the citizenry weren’t committing homicide. Having nothing more demanding to do, he shot gaping holes into my plot. By the time he was done, I had rather a lot of work to do. Since I had to rewrite some of my story, I decided to incorporate all of the changes I had noted.

Therein lies the problem. With 65,000 words already written, I had to take apart the story in fine enough detail to allow insertion of new Threads (plot lines) and plot elements.

I thought I would die. The tools authors have to work with are laughable.

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