Scrivener, yWriter, or other?

Silver-Midnight said:

Are there any other free creative writing programs besides yWrter that are really good? I really want to get Scrivener, but I don't know when I'll be able to get it. So, I wanted to use something else in the mean time. Did anyone have any success with anything?

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Just an FYI, Scrivener always has coupon codes floating around the internet for anywhere from 20-50% off.

Right now ScriptFrenzy is going on. If you make word count, you get it for 50% off. Or you can use the code SCRIPTFRENZY and you get 20% off.

http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scriptfrenzy.html

At 50% off, it costs less than going out to dinner. Less than 2 tickets to the movies (well, at least here in CA it is). Cheaper than putting gas in my truck. Hell, I can't even get a babysitter for a few hours that cheap.

Midian said:

Just an FYI, Scrivener always has coupon codes floating around the internet for anywhere from 20-50% off.

Right now ScriptFrenzy is going on. If you make word count, you get it for 50% off. Or you can use the code SCRIPTFRENZY and you get 20% off.

http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scriptfrenzy.html

At 50% off, it costs less than going out to dinner. Less than 2 tickets to the movies (well, at least here in CA it is). Cheaper than putting gas in my truck. Hell, I can't even get a babysitter for a few hours that cheap.

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Thanks! Can we use more than one coupon code when we buy it, or are we limited to a certain number?

Also where do you find the coupon codes? Can I just internet search for them?

Silver-Midnight said:

Thanks! Can we use more than one coupon code when we buy it, or are we limited to a certain number?

Also where do you find the coupon codes? Can I just internet search for them?

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I don't know if you can use more than one at a time.

Yeah, just google *coupon code scrivener* whenever and you'll find them. During writing months is the best time and you get the best deals. If it were me, I'd be signing up for ScriptFrenzy right this second...

I use Jarte Plus, for two reasons.

1) It has tabs. I can have three chapters open as well as a general notes file and just write on whichever one I feel like. It shifts from one to the other fast, too.

2) It has a little word count box at the bottom of the page. I don't know why but man I love watching the word count go up when I'm typing.

Midian said:

I don't know if you can use more than one at a time.

Yeah, just google *coupon code scrivener* whenever and you'll find them. During writing months is the best time and you get the best deals. If it were me, I'd be signing up for ScriptFrenzy right this second...

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Okay, thank you. I don't know if I will sign up for Script Frenzy because a) I'm not a screen writer and b) I know I won't win so, it would be kind of a moot point, right?

I can Google as many of the coupons I can find though. Do you know when they expire?

Silver-Midnight said:

Okay, thank you. I don't know if I will sign up for Script Frenzy because a) I'm not a screen writer and b) I know I won't win so, it would be kind of a moot point, right?

I can Google as many of the coupons I can find though. Do you know when they expire?

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You don't really have to be a screenwriter. You do know that it's not an actual competition, right? It's not like you're competing for a winning script or anything. It's NaNoWriMo for scripts.

I don't really know what else to tell you. It's 50% off. Get creative to get those 100 pages. It's not like your script needs to be good. It doesn't even need to be comprehensible. but If you're writing already, sticking words you already have into a script doesn't seem like it would take very long to hit 100 pages given that scripts have a lot more white than novels.

I don't know when the coupons expire. You'll just have to try them and see if they're still working. I know the scriptfrenzy 12 code for 20% is obviously still working.

Midian said:

You don't really have to be a screenwriter. You do know that it's not an actual competition, right? It's not like you're competing for a winning script or anything. It's NaNoWriMo for scripts.

I don't really know what else to tell you. It's 50% off. Get creative to get those 100 pages. It's not like your script needs to be good. It doesn't even need to be comprehensible. but If you're writing already, sticking words you already have into a script doesn't seem like it would take very long to hit 100 pages given that scripts have a lot more white than novels.

I don't know when the coupons expire. You'll just have to try them and see if they're still working. I know the scriptfrenzy 12 code for 20% is obviously still working.

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I know all of that. I've done NanoWrimo before; I actually did it last year, and I didn't reach 50 K, which is considered failing(I think). I don't know if I'll reach 100 pages. I mean I could but it would really just be a lot of nonsensical stuff. On top of that, I'm kind of busy with school along with some other stuff.

Don't get me wrong, it's an awesome deal. But I just don't know if I'll have time for it. That's my main issue; that was one of my problems with NanoWrimo.

I mentioned this earlier in the thread, but I've tried a few free/shareware programs that I found by googling, such as StoryBook and StoryBox. if all you need is a fairly user-friendly, basic software that allows you to view by chapter, synopsis, notes, etc., I've used StoryBox for a couple of outlines and first drafts because I like the cleanness of the interface.

I think StoryBook is free, but I don't think StoryBox is. I saw a cost/payment thing for that I think.

I'm afraid you are limited to one coupon for Scrivener purchases (last I knew). NaNoWriMo/Screnzy winners do get a 50% code to use after they're done. If you would rather use it now, are impatient, or not concerned with the ~$10 savings of the %50 vs. 20% here's a quick link to the 20% Scrivener Coupon Code.. It really is a amazing tool. Enjoy!

I use a generic program called Abiword that is basically just a free and somewhat junky version of word.

I tried yWriter, which was a free download, and I had a trial access to another one some time back. They looked cool, but I found I could acchieve the same thing with Word without experiencing some of the issues I had with the writing software. yWriter would conk out on me for no reason, which made me nervous. And the other one had cool features to organize with but was no more effective than my old system - writing on Word - so I went back to that.

I did, and do, find it helpful to write in short scenes, so I keep a sequence sheet in a Word table. I number each scene I write, track it on the table with a one sentence summary of what happened and, in the same document below the table, I keep a list of scenes or bits to write as I think of them - and I write from that list and whatever else comes into my head while writing.

Later I quilt it all together and make my revisions. For lots of characters, settings, etc. I found index cards more helpful than anything. And I always have cheap spiral notebooks for each book for notes and tidbits I experiment with before putting them on the list.

Silver-Midnight said:

I think StoryBook is free, but I don't think StoryBox is. I saw a cost/payment thing for that I think.

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Looks like you're right. That must be a fairly recent change. I downloaded it in October, and it was free then. They just requested a donation if you continue to use it, which I think is fair.

Hey Silver-Midnight,

I won Nanowrimo the past year and I intend to win again this year. I don't use Scrivener though, so if you want I can pm you my coupon code. It expires on October 1st 2012 and it's for 50% off.

I'm thinking of trying out the free trial for November this year. I emailed their support and I heard there's an ipad version in the works, so I'm waiting to see if there's link-up between mac and ipad before buying. And whether I have to pay two times.

MysticPunk said:

I use a generic program called Abiword that is basically just a free and somewhat junky version of word.

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Abiword's not bad - but I wouldn't use it for a novel again. I wrote about half my first novel in Abiword and it kept crashing on the file size.

I do like yWriter, which I've used on several novels so far - and am still getting used to Scrivener in fits and starts. (It feels like it should be good but I keep having problems figuring things out. I may have to watch the video tutorials - something I hate with a passion.)

Most of my paying work is done in Word - PC or Mac.

Solunar said:

Hey Silver-Midnight,

I won Nanowrimo the past year and I intend to win again this year. I don't use Scrivener though, so if you want I can pm you my coupon code. It expires on October 1st 2012 and it's for 50% off.

I'm thinking of trying out the free trial for November this year. I emailed their support and I heard there's an ipad version in the works, so I'm waiting to see if there's link-up between mac and ipad before buying. And whether I have to pay two times.

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It's likely you'll need to pay twice. These types of apps are hard to create, especially if you want it to be self-contained for those that only have iPads and still have it work with the desktop app. Storyist for iPad is $10 (separate from the desktop app) so I'm assuming that if they manage to get a Scrivener out, it'll be around that price. Possibly $20. Pure speculation, of course.

ETA: Nice of you to give away your coupon!

I just wanted to let you guys know that I was able to buy Scrivener, and so far, it's going good for me.

Oops, looks like I was too late.

Midian> No problem, I don't think I'll be wanting to buy it soon anyway. I'll extend the coupon code to anyone reading this thread then. Sad that it'll probably be sold separately though.

I like Scrivener, but I'm not as practiced on it yet, so I can't really elaborate further.

I just gave the code out to someone on the forums. Posting here to let people know it's taken.

vim, which is a bitch becuse it's harder to save in every five words. (No autosave.) It's simple and clean.

I have set Q10 up using Courier New as the font to mimic a terminal window's apperance, and thus vim. It works well enough.

Your two cents are well worth the read!
Initially had a similar reaction to Scivener until I discovered/realized/learned that you can pare it down quite a bit to see and use only what is needed at the moment. As for license, I believe Scrivener is user-licensed, not machine-licensed, and can also be installed on a flashdrive. Must agree that there is a bigger learning curve for Scrivener than for, say, yWriter. Scrivener helps me because historical-fiction and fiction set in the past requires research research research. But I also thought yWriter was very useful when I test-drove it.
John

jimbro said:

Here's my 2 cents:

For many years, I was using UltraEdit, a plain-text Notepad clone. Plain-text is extremely portable.

I'm using yWriter right now because it is lightweight, basically no-frills, so I can concentrate on just writing (typing). It works great on my little Netbook. ....
I test-drove Scrivener and liked it very much. The only disadvantage, IMHO, is that it requires a large monitor, the bigger the better if you want to get the full value, and because of this it isn't ideal for a netbook or small laptop. There is still a free trial, so take advantage of that and see for yourself.

These tools are more properly called book organization tools, since that is their strength.

After the second draft, I import the finished novel into MS Word and use the spelling and grammar checker to help produce a (final?) copy to share with my betas.

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I'm trying out yWriter right now. It looks and is a bit clunky in places but overall a pretty useful program.
The best part is organizing characters, locations, and things into a scene.
The editor is easy and usable but needs more work.
Outlining features need to be beefed up drastically, for example I couldn't outline a scene.
Exporting doesn't have any formatting option that I could find. So you are stuck with what they give you and have to edit further.

Overall a decent product but still needs much of work.

Ergodic Mage said:

I'm trying out yWriter right now. It looks and is a bit clunky in places but overall a pretty useful program.
...snip...
Overall a decent product but still needs much of work.

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Worth every penny you paid for it.

FalconMage said:

Worth every penny you paid for it.

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Everyone will be able to say that when they return my free short stories. ha

As a programmer and system analyst I'm a bit harsh when it comes to software. I can't look at other's free programs without some criticisms and suggestions for improving. Call it creative criticism, high standards, or even pride; my wife calls it jealousy.

I should have mentioned that I will be using it. Yes it's free and I can offer driveling advice on improvements, but the core portions did exactly as I expected.
From dling to mapping out my first (most will hope last) short story took 2 hours. It was real quick to discover how poor my story is structured. Now I'm using it to organize more ridiculous stories of - crap forgot what I was suppose to be writing about.