Top 3 Free Novel Writing Software You Should Check Out!
In the many years which I have spent writing manuscripts and novels (my first debut Malay novel will be published this year in Malaysia), I’ve never been told that there is a software out there that can help novelist to write better. It has always been Microsoft Word for me when it comes to writing, even if it means writing an entire novel of 300 pages. I hated the fact that I have a couple of Word files opened when I work on a manuscript. One on the characters and profiles, one on random scenes, one on wardrobe and settings – it’s all too complicating to be toggling between browsers for reference as I write. This year, I came across a website that solves all my writing challenges. I discovered yWriter5 – by far my favourite novel writing software. And it’s FREE!
As a novelist, each story is created based on a whole new world we imagine in our mind. We decide on the settings, characters, profiles, wardrobe, time settings and scenes. The world we build in our mind has to be strong, solid and believable – first to us, before we can translate it to words to be shared with our readers. Thus it’s important have a word processor that breaks your novel into all these elements in a systematic way to further enhance our imagination and story, which is exactly what yWriter5 does. It takes care of all the technical and system concerns from you so that you can just focus on writing that story you have always wanted to write.
yWriter5 is one of the most comprehensive novel writing software I’ve come across because it allows us to attach images of people and places to further enhance the reality of the story world which we are working on. And files are categorised into chapters and scenes for easy reference. We can simply drag and drop certain scenes to different chapters when we need to re-arrange my plots. And with just one click, you can export your entire manuscript (all the chapters and scenes) to a Microsoft Word file formatted and ready to be submitted to your editor. I’m using yWriter5 for my latest manuscript and it’s simply brilliant.
The other two free novel writing software I have on my computer are Storybook (PC platform) and WriteItNow (Mac platform). While Storybook seems a little more complicated compared to yWriter5, it could actually be a helpful assistant if you are simply in love with colours. The Storybook interface makes use of colours to categorise various elements and functions so that you can easily look for the things you need. For example, you can set blue for main characters and green for minor characters, or pink for scenes in the house or yellow for scenes in the office. Just like yWriter5, everything is presented on one browser for your writing convenience.
As for Mac users, I have installed WriteItNow on my iMac and it has been the most brilliant novel writing software for any Mac users. It has all the functions that any novel writing software has to offer. It even has a tab for Ideas and Submissions – perfect for random notes or ideas that come across your head while you are writing. After you have installed the software, the first file that appears when you activate the software is a demo copy where you can view how to construct your story based on the example given.
Even if you are not writing a novel or book, these novel writing software could really be useful for script writing as well as theatre writing. I recommend these softwares to all my writer friends and they have been benefitting from them ever since. Even students who are writing thesis find the softwares helpful in terms of content management. So what are you waiting for, writers? Go check them out!
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