Tools for Writing - Software Organization Tip

Wednesday Writing Tip

Have you ever felt like the picture above? I sure have! In fact it's almost a daily occurence. I am what writer's call - a PANSTER - actually a half-way panster, if that exists. Most of my ideas are in my head and stay there until I get a scene out on paper. As I get older, there's only so much my head can carry. This summer I had a breakdown and decided I needed a panster-friendly writing program to help me stay focused and motivated to write. Here is what I found!

A writer's software program .... I mean, can it get better than that? A program geared for someone like me... an author... who is a mess at times.... who needs to oragnize characters, thoughts, scenes, research, pictures, lists, and you name it! Writeway Pro Writing Software is the software I found suitable for me.

I went from this:

These are my character notes for Frequent Flyer

To this:

My heroine notes - She looks better, doesn't she?

The notebook was not doing it for me. I always kept it by the bed (and to be honest it's still there for emergency brainstorming), but what if an idea came to me as I worked on the computer? No time to search down my notebook. A computer is a much easier way to keep my ideas, scenes, descriptions all huddled together in one ORGANIZED place. Another downside of the notebook was the way I organized everything. I had a characters section, then a chapters section, then research section, then favorite lines section. But somehow they always intermingled and my sections turned into a section. Not good.

Some of the great features that help me organize my panster mind are:

Storyboard

Word Count Report

I could go on and on, and since I'm not a salesperson for Writeway, I won't. 

The point is... a writer should find the system that works for them. 

I hear other writers swear by Scrivener. I checked into it and it did look great. However, for me it was more overwhelming. I just wanted a program that was simple and close to a normal WORD program. Writeway worked for me.

So, my writer's advice to you is to find a way to organize yourself. It makes a world of difference! I am 75% through my newest WIP and I know I wouldn't be as far along if I didn't invest in this program.

You, too, can finally look like this:

WoW is a Smart & Savvy Group of Authors who write this weekly feature for their blog each Wednesday. While we don't claim to be experts, the goal is to impart what we've learned about writing, editing, getting published, book promotion, and more along the way. 

Follow along and read all this week's contributors' posts. 

Paloma Beck

Jessicca Collins

Tammy Dennings Maggy

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Happy writing and thanks for stopping by,

Melinda