I agree that I would die if I had to live with Microsoft Word!
Sadly, though, I don't remember many of the names of the software packages I researched—there were couple dozen—and it was more than 18 months ago. I will say that of all the products I researched, none went far enough to solve authors' problems, i.e. the whole problem. I think the issues authors need to solve are quite extensive, and I, for one, want to know that the software in which I'm going to invest my time (and money) is a product which will solve most of the issues I encounter.
I'm not suggesting the product you use isn't valuable, in fact I'd like to hear more about it. It's possible that the product you use is fully featured and I missed it in my evaluation. Tell us (in detail) why you like it so much.
Have you tried Power Writer? (www.write-brain.com) I couldn't live without it. Making revisions in Word makes me want to scream. PW has an open outline by chapter/plot point always open on the left. The author can move chunks of text in the manuscript by dragging and dropping the corresponding plot point/chapter on the outline. PW also has non story tools that track things like scene and character development.
If I had to write a book in Word - well, I wouldn't.
Thanks for visiting Sharon. It's going to take a long time to detail exactly how the software is structured, so laying out the specifics will take a little while. For a start, have a look at the items marked in the Glossary menu tab--these are elements of the data structure. Please have patience and I hope you'll visit often! If you register, you'll be able to keep track of your own remarks.
Let me just say that pulling apart the story so I could get all of the action on one Thread (plot line) together so I could look at it in one place was completely disgusting and frustrating until I was working within the software. Now, of course, I can just run a report which shows every thing in one Thread with a WordCount too. Pretty deluxe, eh!
As far as what "better" looks like, I hope that we'll have a very lively discussion!
I'm here because I'm doing a re-write on my current book, and keep going backwards and forwards in the ms. as I follow various plot and character threads. In my day job I'm a huge fan of finding the right tool to get the job done - and these days, it's usually a technological tool. But when it comes to re-writing, we seem to be stuck with things that essentially have a linear basis. Like you, I'm convinced that there has to be a better way, but I also haven't found anything that works better.
Part of my challenge is that I can't quite visualize what "better" might look like. I'm intrigued by your use of Access - how are you using the tables?
I agree that I would die if I had to live with Microsoft Word!
Sadly, though, I don't remember many of the names of the software packages I researched—there were couple dozen—and it was more than 18 months ago. I will say that of all the products I researched, none went far enough to solve authors' problems, i.e. the whole problem. I think the issues authors need to solve are quite extensive, and I, for one, want to know that the software in which I'm going to invest my time (and money) is a product which will solve most of the issues I encounter.
I'm not suggesting the product you use isn't valuable, in fact I'd like to hear more about it. It's possible that the product you use is fully featured and I missed it in my evaluation. Tell us (in detail) why you like it so much.
Have you tried Power Writer? (www.write-brain.com) I couldn't live without it. Making revisions in Word makes me want to scream. PW has an open outline by chapter/plot point always open on the left. The author can move chunks of text in the manuscript by dragging and dropping the corresponding plot point/chapter on the outline. PW also has non story tools that track things like scene and character development.
If I had to write a book in Word - well, I wouldn't.
melinda
melindaleighauthor@yahoo.com
www.melindaleighauthor.com
Thanks for visiting Sharon. It's going to take a long time to detail exactly how the software is structured, so laying out the specifics will take a little while. For a start, have a look at the items marked in the Glossary menu tab--these are elements of the data structure. Please have patience and I hope you'll visit often! If you register, you'll be able to keep track of your own remarks.
Let me just say that pulling apart the story so I could get all of the action on one Thread (plot line) together so I could look at it in one place was completely disgusting and frustrating until I was working within the software. Now, of course, I can just run a report which shows every thing in one Thread with a WordCount too. Pretty deluxe, eh!
As far as what "better" looks like, I hope that we'll have a very lively discussion!
Hi Therese,
I'm here because I'm doing a re-write on my current book, and keep going backwards and forwards in the ms. as I follow various plot and character threads. In my day job I'm a huge fan of finding the right tool to get the job done - and these days, it's usually a technological tool. But when it comes to re-writing, we seem to be stuck with things that essentially have a linear basis. Like you, I'm convinced that there has to be a better way, but I also haven't found anything that works better.
Part of my challenge is that I can't quite visualize what "better" might look like. I'm intrigued by your use of Access - how are you using the tables?
Sharon Rowse
Author - THE SILK TRAIN MURDER
Carrol & Graf, 2007