Hi, This is my first ever post here so I apologise if I immediately ask something that's already been covered but what writing software do people use? My novel is coming along quite well but I am concerned that it is going to be evil to edit in the long run! Up until now I've just been using Google docs and that has been fine but as it gets longer and longer but for one thing I've noticed that it starts to chug a bit on my laptop. I haven't really used chapters to break it up, I'm conscious of sections where I think that probably is a chapter there etc but I thought I'd try to nip this in the bud a bit now. I'm not a huge fan of using word processing programs because I'm scared to death of a hard drive crash and I've got a habit of losing pen drives but I'm willing to bite the bullet and try though. Thank you in advance! Matt Oh, I've got a windows 10 laptop and a chromebook that I use if that helps.
I don't fully see the connection between fear of hard drive crashes and what software to use. Using software that is restricted to a particular machine doesn't mean you couldn't store a copy of the manuscript on the cloud, external hard drive, etc. (even your phone). Plenty of people only use Google docs but I prefer software more specialized for writing fiction.
I would try just making chapters in Google Drive. All you need to do is make headings and they'll show up in the sidebar. Currently it's like you're writing it all in one massive chapter. I don't know for a fact that will help the problem, I haven't written anything really long in there myself yet (I do use it though). But I would try it and see what happens. You can always move the chapter headings around later if you need to. I mean, that's one of the nice things about using Google Drive, you can download versions whenever you want and save them to your own hard drive, plus it automatically saves versions you can always revert to later if you need to, like saves in a video game, so you can play around. Copy the whole thing if you want to leave the original undisturbed, and break the new version up into chapters, just to see what it does. EDIT—Plus I suppose any software you can use will bog down with a file the size of a novel.
Thank you guys, Xoic - It is and it isn't without chapters...It's divided in a sense. I know that goes against standard writing practices but mostly I tried directly planning it out chapter by chapter and I thought it all felt rushed. This happens in this chapter and this happens in this and I was unhappy with it so I mostly scrapped it. I won't go into it or anything though because I'd feel silly discussing something that doesn't exist yet.I didn't know you could do all that in google docs though. I'm glad you said that though, I do like using my chromebook. Kind of made for it. Bruce - I don't have an external hard drive and my phone won't even let me look at the calender anymore, It says I don't have enough memory, So I don't think it would like that I think I have my answer though to sort it out in docs into a more manageable form and take it from there. Thank you again!
Evernote is always better than other note-taking apps. It's not taking more space for storage. But if you really want to try any other alternative to Evernote, you can try something from this list. My personal favorite is Evernote.
I'll have to take another look at Evernote, but I suspect its utility depends on usage. I've long been (and still am) a Devonthink fan. The recent update adds checksums and database integrity. I couldn't get through life without Devonthink, at least not without whining quite a bit. However, I've also gotten renewed enthusiasm for Curio, particularly for storyboarding/outlining. In 10 minutes, templates can be set up that give an almost desktop publishing quality appearance to notes. Curio won't do what Devonthink does, but there are things that Curio does that Devonthink can't. Lots of powerful tools out there.
I might suggest you look into Papyrus Author. I use it and the free version has many useful features that may be of some value to you. There is a Pro version that has many more features but it's a subscription fee. May not be your cup of tea.
