After the loss of NaNoWriMo, it did not take the Crowvus writers long to realise how much we relied on this structured routine for our writing. For me, November had become the only time I was guaranteed to do creative writing. In fact - if truth be told - I've done very little at any other point of the year. Consequently, we decided to adapt to our own interpretation: Cro(w)NoWriMo - the W is in brackets because there was some discrepancy over whether or not it should be in there. The rules were simple: Write. As November went on, the end goal changed slightly for each writer. Was it 50,000 words? Was it to write every day? Was it to write an entire book? For me, it was about finishing a book. I haven't finished an historical fiction book in ages - though I've started plenty! Now, with four more writing days left on the clock and into the final chapter, I might finally be able to lay the ghost. The story I returned to was Poisoned Pilgrimage , the book I began as a submiss...
Day 7 -Thursday 7th November 2019 – Software
Now the world has moved into the technological age we’ve largely abandoned the pen for the keyboard. I do still have one story which I love writing by hand, but by and large my writing is now done on a computer – usually my laptop.
It’s taken me a long time to settle into any form of writing
software, but these days I tend to gravitate towards Scrivener for my
writing. I (mostly) like the layout, and
I find its sensible approach understandable enough so that even I know
what’s going on! The use of the binder
and corkboard approach is really easy to use and keep tabs on. But I’ve got to be honest, I have no idea how
most of it works! Ultimately, my books
make their way into Word, are shaped and formatted, and then converted to .pdf
files. In this way, I feel like I’m
using the best aspect of all the software I have!
Here are a few considerations about choosing the best software
for you:
- What do you want it to do? If you’re after a word processor document, you really can’t beat Word, but it’s much more difficult to cross-reference research than in writing software like Scrivener. For a professional level, .pdf files are the most reliable, but when you’re converting them, remember to embed your fonts, or some of your characters can be distorted or lost.
- Software doesn’t feel loyalty. Don’t feel restricted to only one programme, you
can get the best of all
worldssoftware! - There’s no right and wrong. If you decide you’re happier writing your story on a different programme, on a typewriter, or by hand, that’s fine! Just find a willing volunteer who will copy it up for you at a later date. BUT always keep copies of your writing. You may not like it now, but I guarantee you will be disappointed if you lose it!
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