I have been fascinated with the tools that writers use for a long time. It seems like there are two camps. Those who use Microsoft Word, Apple’s Pages or Google docs, and those who use specifically designed tools such as Scrivener or my choice, Storyist.
Years ago, I tried out Scrivener when I was starting a business blog. It was ok, but I never really went deep into its abilities. So, I worked in Apple’s Pages for several years, until working with chapters made the work I was doing more difficult. At that point, I reviewed the available tools based on some specific criteria:
- Something that would work on all devices and my laptop.
- iPad
- iPhone
- Macbook Pro laptop
- Something that auto-syncs / uses Apple's iCloud for storage
- Exports to Microsoft Word / other formats
- Easy to use interface
While both Scrivener and Storyist offered, essentially the same capabilities, I opted for Storyist because the cost for all three versions of the software was less expensive than the cost of Scrivener. Ironically, it was reviewing some of Scrivener's how to videos that taught me quite a bit about the the outlining / notecard tool.
One of the big reasons I like Storyist or Scrivener is that notecard / outlining tool. When I have inspirations, I keep them in a ‘Story ideas’ file, or if I have enough inspirations, I will create a new project for it.
The biggest thing I learned Is that there is no one tool that everyone uses. The best you can do is pick the program that you thing will best meet your needs. Fortunately, most people have a wordpressor, so that can always be a good place to start. Both Scrivener and Storyist offer trials. So if you are interested, definitely check them out.
What do you use in your writing?
