This might seem like a bit of a silly question--but does anyone know if they have special software for writing novels? I know they have software for writing scripts and what have you, I just wonder if they do ones for novels as well? I tried googling book writing software and got a few answers back, just wondering if anyone knew of any software than might be worth using.

I've not used them myself, but there are some programmes mentioned on this thread:

http://www.writewords.org.uk/forum/108_280122.asp

I've just put my experiences with writing packages on that thread.

Generally, the best option is Word, but some of those packages are fun to play with.

Yeah, word is pretty good--I just recently downloaded a trail period of some writing software, so see if that's any good. But if I want the full range, I'll have to pay for it.

On the subject of word, does anyone know how to set it up to make it look more like a novel typeface? I've tried justifying the words, but sometimes they just drag out the shorter lines and make it look really spread out. What I really would like is to know how to put a hypen between words when you want to start a new line, rather than just sending the word to the beginning of the next line. Anyone know if I can do anything like that in Word?

Word 2007 can pretty much do anything you want - the problem is finding out how. It's beyond the range of your average word processor - pretty much a full DTP package now!

To answer your question, it depends upon your version. In the old version it was in one of the top menus as H&Js (short for hyphenation and justification, I guess). In version 2007, it's up in Page Layout and then hyphenation. By default, it is turned off on my version. But generally, I turn it off anyway and align left. It took me a long, long time to get used to that, but I kept hearing that agents and editors hate justified text - and they hate hyphenation too! But it's useful to know how to change it in case you need it, or just prefer it.

Colin M

Yes, I would say don't justify text - it's not standard and WP programs do it very badly compared to a proper, human typesetter.

Emma

Erm... haven't those days long gone by?

Printers (and graphic designers) use programs like Quark Xpress and Pagemaker (mainly Quark), which do it automatically. I could set out a novel in Quark, send it to a professional printer (even Clays) and have a novel printed with very little human interaction.

Word justifies pretty much the same way, evening out the blank space equally. The very old wordprocessors used to put extra (full) spaces alternatively left and right, and that really did look shit

Colin M

Yes, they do it better. But I find justified text looks awful in Word et. al - lots of rivers of white, which typesetters get rid of with shuffling the kerning about, and so on - different from Quark and the proper pro DTP programs.

Yeah, I have that problem with justified text. Sometimes it looks ok, but other times, it has that awful "white river space", as you put it. Maybe I could just keep it left alignment, but then it just looks a little messy to me.

Left aligned is standard for submitting MSS though, so it's a good idea to get used to it.

The other thing you could do is reduce the line-spacing from double to 1½, which can make it more fluent to read.

Emma

Yes, that's what I do when submitting my work to agents (I prefer to use 1 1/2 to double anyway, as my novel is so long), but I was interested to see how my book would look if I tried to set it out in typical novel typesetting (if I decide to go down the self-published route).

Funnily enough, I tried hypernation on both left alligned and justified--personally I thought it looked a little messy with left allignment, justified seemed to look a bit clearer. OF course, there were the odd "white space" issues, but nothing that I couldn't clear up myself.

If it's simply a matter of software for getting the words down and formatted, Microsoft Word can, as Colin has said, do just about everything you want. But the best reason for using it is that it is the standard product worldwide, so just about anybody can read a Word document, which means no compatibility problems.

If it's software to help write (i.e. create) a novel, everything I've ever looked at has been unmitigatedly crass and formulaic. On top of that, most of those products don't inspire confidence technically which would always leave the lurking fear that they might chew up a section of your work and digest it without trace.

There's a lot to be said for sticking to an industry standard (whatever one's feelings about Microsoft).

Chris

I recently downloaded some trail software of a writing program, and to be honest it's pretty poor. However, recently I discovered Open Office Writer again, which I found to be better than word in many ways. Navigating the options takes a while to get used to, but it's pretty decent and you can also export documents as PDF's, which is good.

There's a freebie on the net called StoryBook which can be downloaded. Google 'StoryBook' to get it. It's fairly simple to use. There are tutorials that come with it. I have a program called Writer's Cafe which is good if a little more difficult to learn to operate,and can be trialed free. Like everything else, you have to learn how to drive them and get the habit to get the best out of them. They're not necessary if you've worked out your own way of organising your work.

Hi, new member here!

I think it comes down to the right tool for the job and your own preferred way of working. A word processor is designed to prepare a document -- it lacks features to help you organise your research, manage the novel's timeline, manage the status of rewrites, manage character profiles, etc. Crucially, I also find that word processors often lack a tactile "creative surface".

Personally, I am a big fan of StoryMill, which, in basic terms, is a hybrid of a word processor, database, project management tool, research assistant, and note taker.

My favourite features are:

* Distraction free full-screen writing surface, which has a blue background with white text (much easier on the eyes during a long session). Also, working full-screen keeps you away from emailing, random web surfing, and other procrastination!

* Chapter/scene management with easy drag and drop re-ordering. The progress of chapters can be tracked too; e.g. "first draft", "needs work", "not started", etc.

* Character management allowing you to create a very easy to control database of your novel's characters.

* Location management... same as for characters.

* Timeline, with drag and drop scenes, key events, etc.

* Productivity tools... as well as tracking the status of chapters, you can set a word count goal for the novel (say 80,000) and a goal for each writing session. I set my session goal at 500, so I see a nice progress bar filling up as I type and I get a sound effect when I hit my goal. It gives me a sense progress and allows me to realistically track novel progress.

* Easy export to Word for preparation of the actual manuscript.

* Tracks submissions to agents and publishers.

Of course, I should say that great novels were obviously written without computers and professional writing software. I am a technophile and StoryMill works very well for me. I don't have a fixed place where I can always work and surround myself with my notes, research, and inspirato; me and my Macbook end up in very random places!

Hope that was helpful!

Cheers,

Ian