Tools for Revising - TypeIT ReadIT

Wait, don't leave!

You'll be sorry you passed up this info. I've been revising one of my earlier manuscripts, OTHR. I like to read what I've written aloud to hear the rhythm, listen for repetitions, and anything else that strikes me. I was chatting with another writer friend, RRSmythe, yesterday morning. SHe mentioned that she does the same thing using a program called Text Aloud, which saves your file to an mp3 so you can transfer it to your ipod or whatever. Text Aloud isn't cheap, if you add the AT&T voices that read with something more than zombie doldrums.

Since I've been going to the trouble of reading a section into my tape recorder, which saves it as mp3, and downloading to my computer, this sounded great to me. So I searched for a free program that might do the same thing with an acceptable voice. Other voices can be added American, UK or foreign languages. Other languages and foreign voices are also available.

I found TypeIt ReadIt which was designed for students with reading impairments.



It is so easy to use and the voices are decent. Just copy your text into it, click save as sound and you'll have a file within minutes to listen to or drop into your ipod or on CD. Versions for Mac and PC, with choice of file type in .wav for Windows Media Player, .aiff for Itunes or other audio format. I'm heading over to get Duncan, William and Diane.

Distractions be Gone - Writing software

While cruising the web in search of a program like Microsoft's One Note for PC (why they don't make it for Macs is a mystery), I found this marvelous little writing program called Ommwriter. PC users, eat your heart out - but not for long. They say they are going to develop a PC version. Take a look. It's sweet! This is strictly for writing, going with the flow, no elaborate formatting available as they theorize it shuts the muse down. Simply save and paste into your favorite word processor.

Ommwriter from herraizsoto&co on Vimeo.

Looks like it would make a beautiful space to write poetry as well.

My new process is taking me toward handwriting the first draft or using Ommwriter, to eliminate distractions and create a muse-friendly environment. For transferring recorded notes and inserting revisions into the text I'll use Dictate. Unfortunately that means I'm still stuck using two different operating systems as I'd like to make use of WriteItNow or One Note for the story bible/roster but my dictation and first draft will be done on the Macbook.

As long as it works.

Writers software - MacSpeech Dictate

A couple weeks ago I mentioned this software I'd purchased to dictate the end of my book into the computer - the 15000 words I'd handwritten the previous week. As I said, I've had a lot of trouble with my right arm. I've tried to use it less but there's no way I can type with one hand. And if I tried to case the mail with my left hand I'd be six hours getting out of the post office. I can't imagine what a left handed mail person does to deliver the mail because I sit on the right side of the truck, drive and steer from the controls on the left with all the mail sitting behind the steering wheel, and poke the mail in boxes out of the right side window. Hmm.

Linda Faulkner suggested last week that I try writing with my left hand. I did. Here's a sample. Ugh. I know I could get used to it and might even benefit from the right brain release of cool writing creatamones or whatever happens when you use your left hand, but that will take some time.



I finished the handwritten ending on Sunday. Received Dictate on Thursday evening. After only thirty minutes of training the microphone and program to my voice by reading a boring bit of text, I began reading my messy handwriting into the mic. Amazingly, Dictate was more accurate than I was. Even when I stumbled because I couldn't read my own writing, it understood my stumbles accurately. So by mid-afternoon Friday including some training on the fly, I was done. (Because the book is paranormal there were words that had to be fine tuned along with local slang words like my favorite Southern expression - fixin' to.)

In the past I've tried Via Voice, Dragon Naturally Speaking (several versions including DNS 9.0) and IListen. This is the first time I've seen this kind of accuracy. Dictate is based on the DNS engine but Dictate is for Macs only. If you're interested in this type of product for PC you'll want to pickup DNS version 10. One of the secrets to the success of this software is the USB microphone headset.

A bonus - I expect Dictate will be handy when it comes to inserting the notes and text into the document after I've read the hard copy and made my notes. Dictate has its own little notepad from which you can copy and paste but will also dictate straight into Word. I haven't figured out how to use it to dictate all my recorded notes yet but now is the time. My recorder is full of great story ideas and I'm ready to incorporate them into the first rewrite.

Blogging today at Delilah's

I'm guest blogging today on Delilah Devlin's blog while she's on vacation - an overview of the software I reviewed a few weeks ago with links to those posts. She's got two weeks of guest bloggers filling in. Check it out.






Last month, we blogged about music for the muse. So for you musical edification I've included a lovely favorite for evoking emotion (and one I love to perform) by the late Eva Cassidy. Songbird. Sit back and create.

Bubbl brainstormer

You are going to love this little program! I guarantee it.

BUBBL.US is a free brainstorming tool I found through the Holly Lisle forums. Holly uses flowcharts and diagrams a lot in her lessons and I've always had a fondness for visual diagrams but haven't been able to find one that works like my mind does. (No smart remarks please.) Until now. And best of all - it's FREEEEEE.

Well, it's free, fluid, smart, colorful, easy to use, and can be exported or printed. If you sign up for a FREE account you can save your files on the site. I'm tellin' ya, this is a winner. I wish it was available in desktop version but who knows one of these days like Write or Die, it may be. There's a wonderful visual help file that illustrates the functions of the program.

And one other fabulous feature - you can collaborate, share it with friends online.

Here is an example of one I set up to think through the 'Who knows what?" business of my wip. Click it to open larger in a separate window.




The image below illustrates the program features as well as the ability to leave some ideas not connected. Note the little white boxes on one of the bubbles - the one to the right adds a sibling bubble and the bottom, a child. When you hover over a bubble a box appears for you to change color, font size, connect, delete or unpin the bubble.
If you want to get to a bubble that off screen just click on the workspace somewhere and drag the whole map a bit.




An especially handy tool is the 'fit' button which shrinks your bubble map to fit the screen. The images here are from the Beta version because that's the one I'm using. And except for one frozen map yesterday, it seems to be working okay. Just save frequently and if it locks up on you take a screenprint so you can reproduce it.

Heads up: your account works for the basic as well as beta, but you won't see the files you saved on Beta if you log into basic. Enjoy.

I. Love. It. Thanks to the Bubbl heads. If it's as handy as I think it will be, I'll donate via paypal.

Free-Mind for writers

Mind-mapping with Free Mind. It's a brainstorming tool. It's an organizer. Create a mindmap to collect family information, organize your week, or brainstorm a plot thread. I've been using this little program for four or five years. With the latest upgrade it's significantly improved.

Here's an example of one I made in the early stages of RCP to brainstorm the crime, clues, suspects, and motives of characters. You can also store links and customize nodes.



A world of information will fit in a small space by collapsing the nodes and expanding as needed. It's so easy to use, so versatile and it's free!

I've see some intricately designed mindmaps and simple ones like the one at Moving to Freedom for a very simple and creative application of the program. (Preview below.)



For Mac or PC download it here.

Writer’s Café software for Mac and PC

If you’ve seen my previous blogs this week on Ywriter, Write It Now 4.0, and Scrivener, you’re familiar with common features to look for in writing software.

Operating system compatibility.
Ease of use
Specialty tools for character creation
Research organization
Drag and drop capability
Export to rtf functionality
Potential for customization
The writing space
Storyboard features
Frequent/customizable backups

I discovered Writer’s Café recently, a program developed by a husband and wife team of writers from Edinburgh, Scotland. The interface looks a lot like we’ve come to expect from Windows desktop with the added benefit of being able to use it on Mac or PC.



Notice the icons and tip screen on the main window aimed at helping the writer understand the program, get technical support, and write a better novel, report, or screenplay. There’s an explorer window on the left where your files appear and options for creating folders for your research phase – Scrap, Pinboard, notebook, or writing journal are there as well.

Collect all your research or build a flow chart in Scrap. Throw in links, text, pictures. It’s your story scrapbook.





Start a pinboard where you can place stickies of ideas on a whim. Use the notebook or keep a journal of your writing process or the convenient name generator for characters. Many features in Writer’s Café crossover, so you can decide which is best for your writing process.

One of the best brainstorming tools is the flexible storyline tool which allows you to create different lines to track a story thread, povs, etc. in cards which translate into an outline and your writing space.



Here's a different setup



The cards can be tagged and color coded. Here I created a tag for sensual scenes. The cards tagged will be hot pink.


If you’re a panster the storyboard tool as much for analysis as for plotting. In my current WIP I wanted to trace the hero’s paranormal arc. I tagged those card scenes with purple and when I looked at the storyline, I found that it was happening all at once.

It’s similar to storyboard features in the other programs but the storyline feature here is a little trickier. WC also uses some different terminology. For instance you wip/manuscript is called a report. And exporting isn’t quite as easy with WC.

But if you are adept with computer software, Writer’s Café could be the program for you. The good news is you can get a demo here to try before you buy and tech support from Julian Smart and the yahoo loop is excellent.

(Are you familiar with mind mapping? It's an excellent visual way to brainstorm relationships between characters or scenes. Wednesday I'll run through some of the features on a fabulous FREE program for both Mac and PC.)

Scrivener for Writers

I switched from WriteItNow3 to the ‘Mac only’ Scrivener program about two years ago. There are many features Scrivener offers that can enhance your writing experience.

From this sample taken from my first novel, you can see the scene files on the left in the 'binder'. I chose to title them with sequential days because the timeframe was important to the plot and it was easier to keep track but you can name them Scene 1, Scene 2, etc. Notice each scene gets a Synopsis/index card in the inspector on the top right. The top line is the name of the file. Under it are the key phrases for the scene.









Under the synopsis are the Labels and Status options. You decide what works for you. I used the colored labels for pov, turning points, etc. The Status is just as flexible and is shown in the tutorial tracking first draft, 1st revision, final draft.






Insert a note you need on hand for the project or the document in the notes and keywords section.





Daily project targets help you stay on track with your progress. Notice the coded chapter headings in the document and the continuity of the scene names at the top of the program, in the document and on the synopsis card.





I mentioned the ability to keep research within the project file. The Research section is below the draft on the tree in the Binder. You can drag html, links, images, maps, all into a file in the research section. Build characters there, track your settings, or create a whole separate Scrivener file to hold research for a bigger project like a series and drag and drop from one to the other.



When you get ready to take a broader look there are several ways to view you WIP.

As an outline where labels, synopsis card and scene names are viewable and draggable.



Select a group of files and view or format them as one with 'Edit Scrivenings'. Or view as a corkboard, which is like a storyboard where index cards can be dragged around. The labels you apply to your cards show up on your corkboard like this one and you can adjust how many cards per row.



Or select several scenes and view them, copy/paste them into Word processor.

A great way to get familiar with Scrivener is through the interactive Tutorial in the Help file of the program. Still have questions? Maybe you'd like to know how other writers use Scrivener. Visit the forum at Literature and Latte.



Though it’s not the most difficult program to use, a lot of the features are not for beginners either. Like exporting the file using the 'Compile draft' feature. It may take you several attempts to get your ‘compiled draft’ to work with the formatting of chapter headings, font, and layout. But if you're adept with Word you can probably fix it. Or you can simply choose the entire draft, copy it and paste to Word.

Again, this program is only available for Macs and you can try it before you buy it like all the programs I've mentioned this week.

If you need an easier to use program for Mac or PC with seemless Export to rtf feature, check out my previous blog on Write It Now 4.03.

Monday – Writer’s Café, for Macs and PCs.

Write It Now 4.0 - software for writers

As I mentioned in Part 1 on Tuesday, Ywriter served me well for a while but my PC latop was four years old and my new Mac was beckoning to me to use it more so I started looking for a software package that would work on the Mac OS, Tiger or better.

Write It Now by Ravenshead Services is another user friendly package with some pretty awesome writing tools.

Versions 3 and 4 both offer a tree hierarchy so you can organize your folders of scenes, characters, ideas, locations, and notes.





One excellent feature put it in a category all its own – the complete character creator. Create a character from scratch by clicking on Tools|Create Character from Add-on. This is simply awesome and motivation for purchasing this program just for this tool. On one screen (below) you can choose to create a name, personality (based on Archetype, Enneagram, or Myers-Briggs), description, and the characters timeline in relation to world events. Use all or part of the creator.


Create a name (or part of one) based on culture. Add personality traits, relationships.





In addition, there is a flexible relationship chart to document each character’s relationship with others then with a click - view it as a chart.























Need a custom personality trait or relationship? Add them as needed.
The program offers the expected word evaluators like count, frequency, readability, spell check, and thesaurus. And like Ywriter, there is a section for tracking submissions.

ADDENDUM: I neglected to show the storyboard feature in Write It Now. Like the rest of Write It Now, it's easy to use and wonderful for revising. Here's a sample storyboard.



Another extremely cool feature for revisions - the export tool,reliable and easy to use, creates a macro in the top line which will, when clicked on, create a Table of Contents. Then you can view it in Word with Document Map and click to your desired page making revisions easier. Very convenient.

The same file can be opened in both Mac and PC! So you can work on your Macbook and your Windows desktop PC with the same file. On top of that, outstanding tech support is available from the folks at Ravenshead Services in Lockerbie, Scotland. You can try a demo of Write It Now 4.0 and see more screenshots here.

Next, the program many writers use – the Mac program, Scrivener.

Ywriter5 - Free Software for writers

Four years ago I began looking for a software package for writers. At that time, I was most versed in Windows, having taught Windows programs at the local community college - Word, Works, Word Perfect, QuickBooks, Netscape and Internet, Excel. Then I bought my 20 inch Imac, one of the first Intel chip Macs but the writing software the Apple Store offered was more of a scriptwriting program so for my writI decided to use my PC laptop with a smart little writing program by Simon Haynes, a writer and software designer at SpaceJock.


Simon has many useful programs on his site, all of them free. His easy to use writing program, Ywriter, has been upgraded in recent years but has always included such useful features as a Explorer-like drag and drop chapter/scene list, scene details like Goal, Motivation and Conflict, character development tabs, word frequency, readability values, locations tab and writing goals.




But that’s not all. Ywriter has a storyboard/timeline.



You can even track the POV character in Ywriter.



And automatic backups ensure you’ll never lose a revision.

Most writing programs use an export to rtf feature for the final revising and submission since publishers use Word as its standard and Ywriter does that as well.

Free in this case doesn’t mean you get what you pay for. You get far more. You can download Ywriter here. You can view all of the screenshots and reviews at Spacejock.com, watch a video tutorial and even download one of Simon’s entertaining books free here.

Pavlov's dog for writers

Wow! For my writer friends. Ever wish you could focus and just write? Have you used a timer? This little program will help, challenge and/or drive you insane!

Write or Die. 'Putting the PROD in productivity.' Sound intimidating? You have no idea!!!! I can't wait to hear about your experiences.

Click here to try Write or Die.