Newnovelist software – a boon for the new novelist and the old pro – a product review
Written by Peggy Bechko
One of the greatest challenges to a novelist, new or old, young or long-in-the-tooth, is the organization, outlining and thinking through of plot and characters.
Authors have many ways of writing and composing and they're all right. There simply is no wrong way to write so don't let some teacher try to convince you there's only one way to do it.
That said there's no escaping the organizational end of things. For years I used notebooks, sticky notes, margin scribbles, filing systems; anything and everything to get my ideas and information organized and easily accessible. And for those of you just beginning I'm not saying that didn't work. It did. I wrote and published a whole lot of books and other things that way.
And if you're working on a shoestring here's the method that worked best for me over the years. Get a loose leaf notebook and begin one page for each character. Yep, get some sticky notes too. Get some of those colored sticky tabs from the office supply store and make sure you have several colors. Use one color to indicate a character (you can use a different color for each character if that works for you), another to indicate locations. Another to indicate general notes. Stick the different colors on pages like tabs so you can flip easily to one or the other. You'll find as you work that you're going to have quite a few pages. Be sure to leave spaces between notes so you can fill in more detail as you go along. Sticky notes are helpful when you want something to really stand out. Just jot your comment, addition or change and stick it on the page it relates to. Write everything you know about your characters on their pages and all you know about the locations on similar sheets. Give lots of detail so you can really live your story and get a feel for the tale you're telling. Then block it out in outline form and give it legs. Whether you do it with bare-bones outline notes, a synopsis, or a detailed outline, you need to know where you're going with your story.
If this works for you, feel free to use it and embellish. But I really do look for ways to make things easier, to make things happen more swiftly with less effort.
Newnovelist does that. I have to admit this is one of those "wish they had this when I started" things. As an experienced writer it helps eliminate most of that clutter. (Hey, we're writers, there'll always be some clutter!) And it does more than that. It has a "story creation" feature with 12 divisions. These are helpful trailmarkers along the way to help you write the thing – to get it down on paper. It's a great feature that prods the writer along, giving the impetus to actually finish what you've begun. And remember great writing is in the rewriting so getting it down on paper is just the beginning.
I had a few misgivings when I ordered it like how long is this gonna take to learn? It didn't take long. There was a learning curve, but it was relatively fast. It might have taken a bit longer for writer like myself with long established habits to become used to the new method than it would for someone who hadn't started writing on a typewriter! And, when I contacted them while having a small problem, their response was quick. I heard from them the next day. Problem resolved.
Is this the only way I'd write? No, but I can tell you it's a great help when wrestling with that right brain, left brain thing: creativity vs. organization.
This software isn't going to write your novel for you, your own creativity is still very much needed for that, but it'll sure help keep you on track. If you're interested in checking it out, take a little guidance from Lucinda Hawksley, the editor of newnovelist and the great, great, great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens. Go to NewNovelist and check out the site. Investigate thoroughly and decide for yourself. If you're a newbie it might just give you that boost you need to get going. If you're an established writer take the time to learn this very easy program and spend less time organizing and more time following your muse.
Pursue the methods best for you and keep writing and good luck.
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Peggy Bechko is author of 15 published novels through Doubleday, Harlequin, Thorndike Press and others, many articles, optioned screenplays and more. Check out her latest fantasy novel at http://www.fictionworks.com/estormrider.htm. Interested in New Novelist? Go see it at NewNovelist
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