Macintosh OSX Creative Writing Software and Writing Tools

 

Creative writing is fun, a good hobby, and for many a good way to relieve stress. (There are even said to be some who are actually good at it.) Anyway, since many creative writers have macs, they want software that is easy and fun to use, that does not feel like a "word processor."

In general, the main point of these programs is to create a good draft of your story, then export it to a word processor for final touch-ups. One of the most useful things, for me at least, is that the best of these let me see all the scenes lined up at once so that I can easily get a feel for the flow and rhythm of my fiction, then if needed, return to polish up this section or that section.

I have evaluated the following programs based on the assumption that they would be used in writing a fiction project, in most cases a novel or a novella. Granted, there may be some that were not exactly intended for that purpose, but I have chosen to judge their usefulness in that way. My comments are, of course, my own opinion.

 

Z-write

This used to be one of my favorite programs, and it still is in many ways, though it has not been updated in a few years. It is easy to learn and easy to use. I think it was one of the first programs to combine the listing of sections on the left, with a view of a section on the right. (See below.)

The thing that makes Z-write so good is that it gives the writer the ability to move sections around in a document. This is useful for long documents, and especially so when you have a lot of scenes you are working with.

Here is a screen shot:

The top is your usual row of buttons to for example, save, print, manage fonts, etc.

The left window contains the sections in the document. I almost always use this to put my scenes in. As you can see, in this one, we are looking at scene 4.

The window on the right (the big one) shows the actual text of section highlighted in blue on the left.

You can move the sections around and organize them. Again, this type of program is ideal for organizing long stories and novels.

The bad points of Z-write is it has not been updated for a long time, and other programs that cost less are now doing more.

 

Scrivener

This shareware program is one of the leading ones here. It basically is made for large writing projects, managing lots of text and keeping it all organized. It has taken the good points of Z-write, and it has improved tremendously on them. It is a great program that is well worth the money.

To put it simply, the layout is similar to Z-write, with an organizing/navigation section on the left, and the main text on the right. The control buttons are on the top.

However, there are several very cool, very helpful, extra features. First, you can go into "outline" mode, where you can view and organize your sections in a way similar to moving files around in the list view of the OS X finder.

Second, and even better, you can view your sections as index cards on a cork board. This gives a good overall view of your work.

Third, there are lots of places to keep and organize notes, pictures, even sound files that you require for your project or document (see the screen shot). You can also organize your sections into folders, like files in the mac finder, while keeping them in order. There is also a labeling function, so you might label your sections according to story thread, for example.

Here is a screen shot of the basic work mode.

Fourth, my favorite feature here, though it is not original nor unique to Scrivener, is that you can put Scrivener into full-screen mode. This basically means that you can set the text processing to take up your whole screen, and it is usually in an easy-to-see color. I set mine to white on blue (which is easy on the eyes like this web page).

There are several other good features. The program is also very good about allowing your to change things to your tastes and the preferences menu is a decent balance of being intuitive while offering a good deal of choice.

Like some other programs here, you can save your work and go back to a previous version, or just view a previous version for comparison purposes, with little effort. There is a keyword search and registration feature. Lastly, you can export your text to Rich Text (RTF), which is compatible with Word, Apple works, and even Windows machines.

While this is an excellent program, there are two bad points to Scrivener. First, it is a little complicated. Though a veteran mac user can figure most of it out by using it, reading and doing the tutorial saves lots of time. Second, it is a little more expensive than other programs that do similar things here.

Having said that, however, bear in mind that you get what you pay for. Scrivener is cool. It has a nice attractive interface and lots of features. It actually makes one want to use it. Is it worth the $39.95? It depends on you. Try it, but try Copywrite, and some of the others too.

 

Writeroom This program's main functions is to give you the full screen no-distraction experience. It does not have the bells and whistles (the large number of features) of Scrivener or CopyWrite. If you do not need an organization program, but like the full screen feature of Scrivener and others, in easy-on-the-eyes colors, this is for you. Take a look. It costs $24.95.

 

CopyWrite
This program, like Scrivener, focuses on managing and organizing the clippings and documents related to one project, while letting you have an easy-to-use space to work on your text. The basic layout idea is the same as Z-write: have one area for the main text, with other windows used for notes, or information about the project, or chapter data.

The interesting thing about Copywrite is the way it organizes data (see the screen shot below). There are buttons across the top for example, chapters, characters, places, elements, ideas, and so on. When you click on these, you can see a list of all of the sections in that category. If you click on characters, you would see a list of all of your characters. You could then pick one and read his character sketch. Very nice.

 

Copywrite also has a full screen editor, a backup feature, and can export work as RTF files for final editing in your favorite word processor.

I found it a little flaky on my machine the first few runs, but fine afterward. All in all, it is does not reach the level of Scrivener, nor have as attractive in interface (though it is nice). However, it is only 25$, and may be well worth the money for many writers.

 

Boswell

This is basically a program that lets you organize all of the text and text files on your mac.This appears to be a cross between a huge database, an organizer, and a very basic word processor. The focus here is very heavily on organization and tracking text. Very good, especially if you do a lot of writing.

The idea is great, but at 99$, a little expensive for me. Also, I know it is shareware, but look at some of the other (shareware) programs here . . . I mean, it is black and white, like something from OS 7! Couldn't it be a little more attractive? (Come on folks, these are mac programs, right? You have seen the adverts haven't you?)

 

Ulysses

If we are talking about appearance, Ulysses is the tops here.

Ulysses is similar to the CopyWrite, Scrivener, and Z-write. It divides your work space into, you guessed it, three or more windows. The left is for organizing the text sections (chapters or scenes probably), the middle is for typing, the left for notes, and the top for tools. It is good. It is well-built.

One good idea included here is tabbed browsing (like a web browser) to jump between files. Exports final project to most normal file formats. Good program, but at 79 Euros, about 120$ or 60$ for the academic version, this is pricey.

 

 

Other writing tools

Nisus Thesaurus

Here at last. It is here at last.

I was wondering when a company would think of making one of these. And it is free. This is a thesaurus that runs independently of a word processor. It is bigger, better, and much easier to use than the poor ones that usually come with word processors. It also lets you search for words that are similar, opposite, more general, more specific, has parts, and is part of. Good work Nisus!

 

Hyperspell
This is a shareware program that can check the spelling of any word you click on in any program using the OSX built-in dictionary. The cost for this convenience is 10$.

MacDICT
This is a very basic web-based dictionary. Good for most uses. It is free.

Power Structure
A very powerful organizer/word processor for the creative writer. Full of more features than I possibly can list here, but at 179$, seems a bit lacking for the price. The same company also makes The Writer's Dreamkit and Dramatica, which while amusing, is very expensive and basically is meant to help you plot your story. If you need help plotting, you'd be better off with a book, a writers' workshop (Critters is the best), or going to a basic writing class.

My advice to the writer using os x

There are other tools out there. (See my reviews on the Scriptorium Page) I would recommend test-driving Z-Write, CopyWrite, Scrivener, Boswell, and maybe Ulysses. All of these are basically meant to organize your writing--They do make it easier to write. They do make organizing long works easier. Try them out and see which one is the best for your needs and style.

 

 

 

Word Processors

Since OSX came out, there seem to be even more good word processing programs than there ever were for the Mac. This not only gives the writer with a Mac more choices than ever before but also allows him or her to easily exchange files with PC users.

Microsoft Word and Office
The new Microsoft Word X,Office X, and new Office 2004 versions are good and have gotten slightly cheaper. They are easy to use and have become very mac-like.

Open Office
Free MS Office clone that runs on mac OSX. It is ugly. It is clunky. It is free. Opens and writes all MS Office files. Did I mention that it is free?

Mariner Write
This is a good an easy-to-use word processor. It may be a bit simple for those used to Word's boggling complexity and bugginess, but recommendable to most writers.

Nisus Express
Nisus Writer has been renamed Nisus Express for OS X. This is a great word processor with one of the best interfaces I've seen. Important functions, such as font, size, and paragraph spacing, are in a drawer to the right of the document. Very easy to use.

Appleworks
The office suite that ships with all macs (What, PC users have to pay for MS Office?), also has a very good word processor. The interface could be better (maybe they should take hints from Nisus and Mariner) but very good for most writers. Writes Word files.