WriteWay Pro (no Mac version available) is now completely FREE

[GlenBarrington]

I've not been a big fan of yWriter, not because it's ugly (Windows Scrivener is every bit as ugly), but I find the program a bit 'fiddly'. However, I DO like the idea that there is an Android version.

Maybe now that I'm a bit more comfortable in my writer-ish 'skin', I'll give it another go.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by GlenBarrington

I've not been a big fan of yWriter, not because it's ugly (Windows Scrivener is every bit as ugly), but I find the program a bit 'fiddly'. However, I DO like the idea that there is an Android version.

Maybe now that I'm a bit more comfortable in my writer-ish 'skin', I'll give it another go.

Y'know, compared to Scrivener, I don't find it fiddly at all. I guess what I like about it is that you can be as fiddly as you want. You can, for example, add information for your scenes list for each chapter, so you know what locations you use, what items (cars, wrenches, the candlestick!), along with notes, or not. You can track what viewpoint a particular scene is written from, if applicable--or not.

It allows you to use the Goal/Conflict/Outcome or Reaction/Dilemma/Choice tracking, to keep your plot moving along, if you're a fan of Dwight Swain. For Plotters, that can be invaluable. (Not so invaluable for Panters, too; I recommended it to one of my clients and he said that although he thought his book was finished, after he plunked it into YWriter and thought he'd use the Action/Reaction tracking--"just for fun"--he realized that he had TONS of dead-air scenes clogging up his thriller and learning that helped him pare it down and make it lean and mean. Says he never would have realized it without YWriter.)

To me, it just has everything--or not. That's the part I like. You can make use of every single function, or not. I've simply never found anything else that's quite as complete that doesn't make you leap through all sorts of BS to make it work. And, of course, the timeline, which I rave about all the time, if you're trying to track some massive number of characters in some massive saga.

And, lastly--it doesn't need a manual the size of the NYC phone directory, either. It's all pretty straightforward, which I also like. And Simon's added eBook export capabilities, too, which is pretty cool. (n.b.: I have NOT tested these, so I can't say how great, or not, they are.)

Hitch

[Lemurion]

I currently use Scrivener, but I have written a couple of books in yWriter and really liked it. The biggest advantage Scrivener has for me is that it's cross-platform, which matters a lot as I switch between Mac and PC dozens of times a day.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Lemurion

I currently use Scrivener, but I have written a couple of books in yWriter and really liked it. The biggest advantage Scrivener has for me is that it's cross-platform, which matters a lot as I switch between Mac and PC dozens of times a day.

THAT is the best reason I've ever heard for using Scrivener, truly. Or, for that matter, any other program/app that doesn't have cross-platform capability.

Yeah, y'know, as I said, I've tried pretty much everything and I am extremely fond of YWriter. Ain't purty, as I have mentioned, don't got no fancy corkboards, but it's hard to find anything else with that functionality across the board. (I confess that the Swain Action/reaction stuff has been great, apparently, for some of my clients whom I've turned on to both Swain and YWriter. I have to admit, I've seen their stuff get MUCH tighter, much more compelling. Can't swear, of course, that it's Swain+YWriter, but it's some remarkable coincidences if it's not.)

Hitch

[Lemurion]

Originally Posted by Hitch

THAT is the best reason I've ever heard for using Scrivener, truly. Or, for that matter, any other program/app that doesn't have cross-platform capability.

Yeah, y'know, as I said, I've tried pretty much everything and I am extremely fond of YWriter. Ain't purty, as I have mentioned, don't got no fancy corkboards, but it's hard to find anything else with that functionality across the board. (I confess that the Swain Action/reaction stuff has been great, apparently, for some of my clients whom I've turned on to both Swain and YWriter. I have to admit, I've seen their stuff get MUCH tighter, much more compelling. Can't swear, of course, that it's Swain+YWriter, but it's some remarkable coincidences if it's not.)

Hitch

Oddly enough, I have a copy of Swain's Techniques of the $elling Writer sitting on the shelf above my monitor.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Lemurion

Oddly enough, I have a copy of Swain's Techniques of the $elling Writer sitting on the shelf above my monitor.

Should I ask if you've read it, or is it just decorative?

Hitch

[Lemurion]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Should I ask if you've read it, or is it just decorative?

Hitch

I've actually read it-- the spine isn't that decorative.

It's funny; it originally captured my attention because I'd read a pulp SF novella of his, Crusade Across the Void, in a reprint SF magazine as a teen in the 70s. I enjoyed the story so I figured I'd give his advice a try.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Lemurion

I've actually read it-- the spine isn't that decorative.

It's funny; it originally captured my attention because I'd read a pulp SF novella of his, Crusade Across the Void, in a reprint SF magazine as a teen in the 70s. I enjoyed the story so I figured I'd give his advice a try.

Lem:

I was teasing. I've seen a bit of your stuff, so I was reasonably sure you had.

Hitch

[Lemurion]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Lem:

I was teasing. I've seen a bit of your stuff, so I was reasonably sure you had.

Hitch

I figured you were... hence my smiley face.

Sadly that doesn't always come across well in text.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Lemurion

I figured you were... hence my smiley face.

Sadly that doesn't always come across well in text.

I know. Fortunately, we've crossed paths here for a long time now. :-) Thus, I was never concerned. I wish I could get MORE of my clients to read Swain, but alas, Mine is not to reason why...

Hitch