Like this:

While not a writer by profession it’s something I enjoy and have recently committed to doing more of – primarily for personal pleasure – by writing short stories, a screenplay and starting that classic never to be completed novel.

Prior to starting the novel and the screenplay I decided to do an evaluation of the writing tools available (see, I already have the art of procrastination mastered) as neither Microsoft Word on Windows or Pages on OS X were environments I really enjoyed writing in. Since I do most of my work on a MacBook Pro I primarily focussed on native OS  X apps although I did look at offerings for Windows as I run it under VMWare’s Fusion as well.

The problem I have with both MS Word and Pages is that they are Word Processors that don’t really facilitate the actual task of writing. Word has a plethora of features I don’t need and Pages dual focus on layout and writing didn’t help. Plus, I have unpleasant memories of writing a 120 page thesis in Word, and wasn’t convinced that I wanted to repeat that experience for fun.

So, what were the criteria I was looking for?

• Standard writing assistance – support for Dictionary, Spell Checking, Thesaurus and other OS level tools.
• Full screen or ‘ignore background shit’ mode – back in the day a writer stared at a blank sheet of paper or black screen and nothing else. I actually find that inspiring and wanted something similar.
• Brainstorming/Non-Linear tools – Index cards, reference material folders, scraps of paper. A digital equivalent available in the same application was a must.
• Standard formatting support – Screenplays, comics, radio plays and other creative writing projects need to conform to an industry standard format so any tool should have pre-sets or templates that assist in writing to those standards.
• Project management tools – although not core to the decision, if there was an ability to link ‘to do’s', deadlines and other project related necessities to the actual document that would be a bonus.

Based on the criteria above I eliminated some excellent tools that didn’t fit my requirements. One of those is an OS X word processor that is worth a look – Mellel is a particularly impressive application adept at long documents with support for multiple languages, complex indices and other challenging formats. However, for me, it lacked most of the features I was looking for. I still bought a license to support the developer as it’s reasonably priced and an excellent application.

So the short list of tools was reduced to Scrivener, Write Room, StoryMill, CopyWrite, Celtx and Final Draft. The project management/note taking element I actually split out into a separate evaluation looking at One Note, Notebook and Evernote.

Please note that I am not trying to provide a full review or comparison of these tools. They are all comprehensive and capable applications and I don’t want to suggest that any of them are incapable of meeting your needs. Rather, this is a shill post for Scrivener which I personally love. If you’re looking for a creative writing tool, these are excellent starting points one and all.

Scrivener – OS X only

Scrivener is my personal axe of choice for fiction writing but it’s not necessarily the best tool for everyone. Scrivener is an OS X only application that approaches the writing process as a non-linear activity. It utilizes several metaphors that I find appropriate and useful. Firstly, it has the concept of a cork-board that allows you to to organize and categorize your content in whatever way makes sense to you. It is incredibly flexible and customizable but also comes with templates and formatting tools for Screenplays, Novels, Stageplays, Radio Scripts, Comics and more. The authors of Scrivener are also obviously writers, they’ve priced the tool at an incredible price ($40) and have provided a page on their website suggesting a wide range of alternative tools for people to consider if Scrivener doesn’t fit their needs.

In terms of interface Scrivener provides a very flexible folder and summary based metaphor that allows the writer to quickly draft outlines, develop, organize and arrange thoughts, collect reference material, manage background materials and summary’s and basically organize yourself in whatever manner you like – provided you don’t want a page based word processor.

The cork-board view allows the writer to easily see, manage and re-arrange chapters, sections, ideas or references in a very flexible manner.

The Scrivener full screen mode is highly customizable, font type and color, background color and opacity and many other attributes can be modified. My settings are minimalist white on black.

Scrivener is essentially a non-linear writing tool that really fits the way I work. If you write fiction and use a Mac I highly suggest you check it out.

While it won my heart however, don’t ignore the other excellent tools either – Mellel is probably the worlds best general purpose word processor, Celtx is amazing for screenwriters as is Final Draft, Writeroom I haven’t used but garners rave reviews from people looking for a simple writing environment and there’s many others that are beyond the scope of this post.

For me however, Scrivener is an inspirational tool. When I want to write anything will do, but Scrivener helps me get inspired even when I’m feeling lazy.

Next up – project and personal management tools.