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My Story Writer Software–The Organized Writer’s Dream

by Jennifer on December 24, 2009

By Jennifer Blanchard

As you already know, the grand-prize winner of the first “How I Overcame My Procrastination This Year” essay contest will receive a copy of My Story Writer software.

But did you know that you can download a free trial version of the software right now?

My Story Writer software is the organized writer’s dream. And for those of you who aren’t organized, using this software is a great way to GET organized!

I downloaded my free trial of it last week and I can’t stop using it.

My Story Writer allows you to:

  • Plan your stories
  • Brainstorm
  • Create character profiles from scratch
  • Write and store notes and information for each novel you’re working on
  • Schedule important writing dates and deadlines
  • Keep track of your writing schedule
  • Keep a detailed log of what you’ve submitted, where you submitted it and who you submitted it to
  • And SO MUCH MORE.

Honestly, I can’t say enough good things about this software.

One of my favorite parts of My Story Writer is the “character wizard” that allows you to create a character profile that includes the character’s motivations, beliefs, back story, looks, personality, strengths, weaknesses, ethics, morals, mannerisms and more.

I was having a really hard time making the main character of the novel I’m currently working on a three-dimensional character. She kept falling flat. But after using the My Story Writer character wizard, I now have a fully developed, three-dimensional main character who jumps off the page.

And since this blog is about writing procrastination, I have to mention all the great features of the “planning” section of the software. I was able to enter in my entire writing schedule for this week, and that really helped me to stay on track and do what I’m supposed to do (write).

I’m a to-do list junkie, so the fact that My Story Writer has an area for me to enter in my writing to-do list is awesome. I no longer need to have Post-It notes all over my desk and writing area. I can put all the information into the software and be done with it.

I, personally, do all my brainstorming on paper (it works best for me this way and I believe writers must do what works for them), but for those of you who like to brainstorm on your computer, My Story Writer has a cool brainstorming tool that allows you to build detailed mind-maps and add to them whenever you want to.

Another cool feature is the “research” section, which allows you to keep track of all the research you’re doing for your novel projects. What I like about it is it allows you to keep all your research in one place, instead of having papers all over. It’s a much more organized, efficient way of keeping track of things.

One last feature I just have to mention is the “differencing” feature, which allows you to compare your current story draft to a previous one and note all the changes you made. The software gives you a side-by-side view of your stories so you can make changes or revert to the original.

If you’re a writer who loves organization–or a writer who needs to be more organized–this is the software for you.

Download a free trial version of My Story Writer and give it a try. I’m sure you’ll love it as much as I do.

About the Author: Jennifer Blanchard is founder of Procrastinating Writers. Be sure to follow her on Twitter.

Ed. Note: NONE of the links to My Story Writer are affiliate links. I reviewed this software for two reasons: 1) Because I think it’s an awesome writing tool and 2) Because My Story Writer is one of the prizes in the Procrastinating Writers essay contest and I wanted readers to get a better idea of what it’s all about.


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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Scoke December 24, 2009 at 2:25 pm

I agree wholeheartedly about the My Story Writer software. Easily the best writing software I’ve used, as I said so in the review I wrote in my blog as well. But as my free trial ran out a while back, I haven’t been able to afford the full license, and a good portion of my character information is locked away inside the program… Hopefully I can afford the $90 (sheesh!) license soon. Was hoping there would be some holiday sales… Ah well.

2 Susan December 24, 2009 at 2:35 pm

I discovered your blog earlier this year, and Storyfix.com a couple weeks ago. Both are great with direct, supportive advice. I’m not a novelist. But, after a sliver of an idea for a novel came to me last month, I started searching the Internet for tools to plan and write (should I actually get that far).

Here are a few that your readers might like:
Outlining
1. FreeMind – Free. Mind mapping. (http://freemind.sourceforge.net)
2. LooseStitch – Free. (http://loosestitch.com/)

Novel planning/building
1. yWriter5 – Free. Organize and build your story, characters, locations, etc., AND write your scenes/chapters in this program. (http://www.spacejock.com/yWriter5.html) The blog has some good articles about novel writing.
2. StorYBook – Free (open source). Novel writing software with features similar to yWriter, except you cannot write your story in it. (http://storybook.intertec.ch/joomla/)

I’ve selected FreeMind and yWriter5 for myself, and once I stop procrastinating ….

3 Nancy December 24, 2009 at 4:47 pm

Is My Story Writer only for Windows or is there a Mac version available?

4 Dan December 25, 2009 at 10:14 pm

@Nancy
On a Mac, try Scrivener from literatureandlatte.com. Nothing else, Windows or Mac, compares. It’s the ultimate program for writers. Just google reviews for it. You’ll find thousands of professional writers use it, from fiction to nonfiction, journalists, bloggers, etc. I couldn’t write without it!

5 Dan December 25, 2009 at 10:16 pm

Oh, and I forgot to mention. The forum on literatureandlatte.com is a great place for writers to get support and advice on a variety of topics, whether you use Scrivener or not!

6 Crystal R. Martin December 27, 2009 at 5:22 pm

Hey I am just curious, did you compare My Story Writer to other comparable software? The reason I ask is because Liquid Story Binder XE by Black Obelisk Software sounds very similar. Personally, I learned about it mid 2008 and used the free-trial version. In January 2009 I finally decided I liked it enough to buy it. You should check it out and compare the two. Here is a link to their site.

http://www.blackobelisksoftware.com/

I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on the contrast between the two…

Crystal R. Martin

7 jblan December 29, 2009 at 10:52 am

@Susan Wow–thank you for taking the time to share those resources with us. I appreciate it!

@Crystal R. Martin No, I didn’t do any comparisons to any other software. The reason being is I only reviewed My Story Writer because it’s part of the grand-prize package for the winner of the “How I Overcame My Procrastination This Year” essay contest (http://procrastinatingwritersblog.com/2009/12/how-i-overcame-my-procrastination-this-year-essay-contest-details/) and I wanted readers to know more about it.

Thank you for sharing information about the Liquid Story Binder XE software. I’m sure readers love to learn about comparable products so they can find the best option for them.

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