How Using Novel and Fiction Writing Software Can Beat Writer's Block

I'd like to say that writing a novel is easy, but anyone who's attempted writing one, especially their first, will shoot me down in flames for that statement. And rightly so. There are a lot of elements to writing a novel that go beyond just putting words onto a page. There's the all important plot and characters; there's pacing and we won't even mention wordcount.

In fact, getting the first draft out can be one of the major stumbling blocks for most people, myself included. I have managed to get a first draft done, finally, and it's sitting waiting to be edited. I wanted to show you how I managed write my novel while maintaining my motivation. It took me six months to finish the first draft , and I used novel writing software to do it. The software didn't write the novel, of course, but what it did do was make it easier so I could concentrate on getting the words down, and for me that was the hardest part.

If you are struggling getting started, or finding yourself hesitating when opening your draft to write then NewNovelist may be just what you need to get motivated and keep motivated. I'll tell a bit more about the program and what it can do in this hub.

I had been struggling to get a first draft out for years. There was always something that stopped me from completing it, though. I have had a lot of excuses over the years. Two years ago I even did NaNoWriMo, thinking that would be the kick in the rear end that I needed. The draft was awful, and I ended up trashing it, and started again.

Eventually I went looking around for something else that could help me get going, and more importantly, keep going. It wasn't lack of ideas that was stopping me I realised. It was lack of organisation, and because of that I was becoming bogged down. Believe me, there's nothing like being 25,000 words into your brand-spanking new novel only to be struck with writer's block. If you've been there, then you understand exactly what I'm talking about.

I ended up buying NewNovelist because I saw some good reviews on it, and I was encouraged that Rowland White of the Sunday Times recommended it. I installed it and got down to business.

The first thing I will note is that this program works best if you are starting a new novel. Transferring over character and world building information if you are half-way through like I did is tedious and non-productive. If you are on a roll, and actually adding words in your current draft every day then I think this will slow you down. If, like me at the time, you are stuck in a rut anyway then it's worth transferring the information over. You may even find the inspiration to start working on your novel again by this process.

I found the program a little confusing at first because it has a lot of different areas to set up, but once I became more comfortable with it I couldn't imagine writing a novel any other way.

They say a picture tells a thousand words, so we'll get going with a few screencaps so that you can get the feel of the program.

The screencap above shows the character section of the program. Notice the prompt screen. This is here to give you hints on how to develop the characters. If you are new to the writing game like I am this can be invaluable.

Help such as this is repeated throughout the program in all aspects of writing a novel.

You can see here, on a split screen, a novel in progress. This is an example and not my novel of course. It still needs a few layers of polish and a couple of sessions with Strunk and White to clean it up.

For each chapter you are prompted with your outline. We all know outlines change, and characters have a habit of taking over the narrative, but with this prompt you can make sure you're not too far off track.

As the title suggests, nothing will take the place of self motivation. You can't continue to write a novel without it. The first thing you need to do is take action. I think that's the thing that NewNovelist helps with so well. At least it did for me.

Beating writer's block and getting a consistent wordcount is the name of the game, especially with the first draft. If you are having trouble then you can't go past NewNovelist. I can say from experience that I would never have got as far as I did without it.

I've provided a link to New Novelist just above this section. Click on it to find out more. Hopefully you, too, can finish that first draft. Believe me, there's nothing to compare to the feeling of actually getting there.

"How Using Novel and Fiction Writing Software Can Beat Writer's Block" by Hovalis Copyright 2007, all rights reserved.