Newnovelist software - anyone used?

[JMJ]

I bought the New Novelist software about 18 months ago.  i thought I was quite computer literate but this seemed to baffle me. The software was ok at storing specific details about characters and places but then I had difficulty in transferring them to scenes and the the story etc.  My biggest hurdle was choosing the genre and category and I must have changed this everytime I logged on.  I must admit that I had major problems with my computer at the time and I moved across the world, leaving all my discs etc. in storage in the UK. Now I have lost everything I had on Newnovelist and have had to start agaiin.  I dont' think I will be buying another copy to replace it as it seemed more trouble than it was worth

[Ann]

Ann

I'm slowly transferrig my work to a new computer. When the latter is connected to my network I will fire up new novelist and get the upgrade.

I bought a reading program recently from Serif for £9.95. It's called Word Read. I have tried it out and it's easier than taking my work to a writing group but doesn't have the persoanl touch. Serif are curently having a sale so it may be available more cheaply now.

 I had previously downloaded the demo of an American program which could be customised for country and accent but cost something like £60.

Many thanks and good luck with new Novelist.

Geoff

I've made a note of Word Read to check it out.  It reminded me that I have a program that came free I've never tried out.  It's called yWriter and is described a Novel Builder.  It's from Spacejock Software.  The designer is a sci-fi writer who has built it and other free programs for his own use.  http://www.spacejock.com

He tells you why he's qualified to write programs and his site has some articles on writing too.  I've just had a quick 'go' at yWriter and so far I like it.  As it's completely free, it can't do any harm trying it out.  When I've had a longer trial, I'll do a proper review.

[glued]

Isnt Ywriter the program which deletes the what you wrote once you have the report. I think someone mentioned that.

Or am I mixing up software now.

[Ann]

Isnt Ywriter the program which deletes the what you wrote once you have the report. I think someone mentioned that.

Or am I mixing up software now.

New Novelist does that, but I wrote to them about this and they came back with an updated version of the program for me: New Novelist 2.0.  It has various new features but still deletes all your text once the report is generated, though it warns you of this first.  I've asked them if they'll consider tweaking this in any future upgrade.
I have just started using yWriter so don't know if it will do the same.  When I've got to grips with it I'll do a review.  I do like that when you are setting up to write a scene, one of the questions you are asked is the goal of the scene.  This really makes you sharpen your focus.

[Andrew Watt]

I've never used software of any type before but am in desperate need of help. do you guys know of any cheap or even free programs worth having. I start life as a student on Sat so can't aford to be splashing out money at this stage.

Memnoch,

What did you want software to do for you or help you to do?

If you're just looking for a free word processor you could do a lot worse than OpenOffice.org, http://www.openoffice.org/. The word processor component has a very high level of file compatibility with Microsoft Word (at least up to Word 2003, I can't comment either way about Word 2007 compatibility). And it's free.

Andrew

[noelgama]

Hi,

I did buy NewNovelist but for a different reason: to learn what writing fiction is all about!:) I did not know about WritePro at that time. Write Pro is about 4 times the price but with far superior tutorials built in.

The advantage of a software over a word processor is that when you are working on a word file, you have an extremely long document to navigate in while in the software items are well organized in different 'slots' yet retrievable at the touch of a key.

What I don't like about NN is that it is not mac compatible:(

For non fiction, (books, articles, etc) I use CopyWrite which I have set so as to incorporate Nick's '28 days' and I just love it!

Noel

[paramour]

Thanks for the review of New Novelist. It sounds like a pain in the butt.

I use MS WORD and WriteItNow. i have used yWriter, but find it a little cumbersome when comparing it to WriteItNow. I really like the functions in WriteItNow.

[fordy]

...
I use MS WORD and WriteItNow. i have used yWriter, but find it a little cumbersome when comparing it to WriteItNow. I really like the functions in WriteItNow.

Snap!  Yes, I like WriteItNow as well, it has a lot of great features and I found it easier to use than yWriter.  The one area I have concerns about is its 'chapter' focus.  Personally, I have learned to write in 'scenes' rather than chapters and I have to fudge that in WriteItNow by using "Events".  The problem being that you can't assign an 'Event" to a "Chapter" which is what you would want to do with scenes.

I wrote to James (the program's author) about this and the good news is that he is already working on a new version which includes this functionality and a lot of other 'goodies'.  He said it should be about six months, but that was a month ago.

[paramour]

That's great news! Thanks for the info on that, fordy! I don't work so much in scenes, but use the function occasionally. I really do love this software, tho. Let us know if you hear anything else!

[fordy]

I have just visited the NewNovelist website.  Now, if you happen to use this software and find it useful, then that's good and I am not having 'a go' at you.  But, I am suspicious.

I am in the software business (making it) and I also download lots of software titles every year to try out and to review.  I didn't download NewNovelist.  Why?

• Their web site is simply two pages - a home page and a purchase page.  The home page was 100% marketing; hype + endorsements - even one from the great-great-grand daughter of Charles Dickens!  Wow, am I impressed 
• If you look around the web at other software offerings you will see that most sites will, at a minimum include a list of features and usually offer the prospective buyer a few screen shots, so that you can get an idea of what the program looks like in action.
• The other major missing item is a link to a trial download.  They want you to plonk your $54.99 dollars down without showing you what's on offer.  That's unusual to say the least and plain bizarre for a site that gives no actual details of the product.

When I put those facts together with the occasional post I have read about (a) how hard NewNovelist is to learn and (b) how it has lost some writers lots of work, I have to suggest that steering clear might be the best option.

But please, if someone actually uses NewNovelist, has completed a large size project in it, and loves it then I will be pleased to bow to their superior knowledge.  Meanwhile, my antenna will keep twitching whenever I hear the name.

[paramour]

I'm with you on this one, Fordy. I saw those same things you are pointing out and it turned me off. There are a ton of "writer's software" out there and some are very expensive - upwards into the 100's of dollars! I have been having great fun with WIN and it's free free free! (i like free!) I'd be interested to hear more about any of the other writing software out there - especially the expensive ones. Anyone?

[Andre]

I used newnovelist and noticed that it is a rip off from Storycraft. I bought Storycraft some years before so I knew that program very well. I asked them about this and they contacted Newnovelist. It WAS via illegal way that they used the Storycraft info, but without knowing this. Compex story... Anyway, for my writing I use Atlantis (on PC) in combination with Power Structure to keep all my material together. Works well for me.

André, Sweden

[fordy]

I used newnovelist and noticed that it is a rip off from Storycraft. I bought Storycraft some years before so I knew that program very well. I asked them about this and they contacted Newnovelist. It WAS via illegal way that they used the Storycraft info, but without knowing this. Compex story... Anyway, for my writing I use Atlantis (on PC) in combination with Power Structure to keep all my material together. Works well for me.

André, Sweden

Thanks André, rather explains why New Novelist doesn't provide any screen shots on their site - it would be rather a giveaway to the Storycraft people.  I am glad my scam antenna is still in good condition, but I wish it didn't have cause to twitch so often; especially in the writing community.  'There be dragons' - writers beware.

[madgewildfire]

  I have tried New Novelist and don't like it very much; I prefer Writers' Cafe. Thinking about writers' software that is very involved. Has anyone tried DramaticaPro? It is good in many ways, i.e. keeping details re characters, but in some ways it become too esoteric for me and I got to think that more than half a novel could be written in the time spent going through this software.

[Writewayze]

Hi folks,

I have 'New Novelist', but it 'forces' me to write chronologically. I don't like that approach for novels, so the program is largely redundant for me. Instead, I bought a piece of 10mm thick MDF, 1.22m x 0.61m (Approx. 4 feet x 2 feet) and propped it against the wall. I use post-it notes (10cm x 5cm), on which to set out my ideas and I put them onto the MDF. The notes can be moved around at will, like cut and paste and once I have a reasonable story-line, I start up the PC and get going in Word. I don't start at Chapter One. I type the end first, so I know where I am going.

I liked Power Structure, but by the time I had made copious notes in their 'windows', I realised I could have had a first draft more or less finished from my MDF story-board!

As for New Novelist 'plagiarising' Storycraft I can't argue, but there are only so many ways of organising your ideas and setting about writing a novel. It's also clear that almost every 'Writing How-to' book, has elements of 'plagiarism', i.e.  imparting the same advice in different ways. Certainly the authors use the same old books as examples.

To quote a few that crop up with sickening regularity:

'Wizard of Oz', 'Madame Bovary', 'Lolita',  'A Christmas Carol' and  'Moby Dick'. I'm not sayiong these are bad books to use, but there are many others just as useful, for teaching purposes.

Also, should you be a fan of James N Frey, you will use the Mythological Journey, and come up with storylines that differ only in their premise, if they differ at all. 

J.K Rowling writes formulaic fiction, yet few complain about her work.

The fact remains, there are only so many plots and a glaring example of transposing a plot was the Connery film, 'Outlander'. It was just 'High Noon' in outer-space.


John