Tips and practices for efficient writing that don’t involve software:
- Naming & organizing documents and folders so you can find them: http://www.microsoft.com/atwork/productivity/files.aspx
- Organizing your novel using a print binder, sometimes called a story bible:
http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Write-a-Novel—Organizing-Before-You-Write&id=2073983
Technologies particularly helpful for writers:
Online cloud storage such as Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, etc.
Microsoft Word’s features for organizing a novel:
- Visualize the whole of the work and move the chapters/sections around with Microsoft Word’s Table of Contents (formerly called a Document Map) which also has the benefit of creating an accessible document
Writing software helps organize scenes, chapters, characters, outlines, timelines, etc. Read a great overview in PC Magazine: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2319437,00.asp
- Scrivener: http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.html
- Bibisco (free) https://bibisco.com/
- Page Four (free) http://www.softwareforwriting.com/pagefour.html
- Liquid Story Binder http://www.blackobelisksoftware.com/
Productivity:
- FreeWriter Free/pay what you can. A stripped down word processor that focuses on productivity– alarms, session word counts, productivity logs, etc.
Track submissions:
- Duotrope (free): http://www.duotrope.com/
- Sonar (free): http://www.spacejock.com/Sonar3.html
Track novel queries:
- QueryTracker.net (free): http://querytracker.net/
Take notes and clip web pages:
- Evernote
- OneNote
- Many other apps
Organize research materials:
- Zotero (free): http://www.zotero.org/
- Mendeley (free): http://www.mendeley.com/
Updated August 12, 2021
Photo: Ithaca, NY courtesy of the talented Paul Joran
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.