Comments on: Beginning Your Mystery Novel

By: Maeve

Maeve — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:30:20 +0000

Monevator,
I’ve actually downloaded the Scrivener trial, but have never tried to use it. I’m afraid it will take too long to learn. Is there much of a learning curve? Mind you, I’m not very good at figuring out anything too technical.

By: Monevator

Monevator — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 22:18:15 +0000

If you’re using a Mac, you could do a lot worse than Scrivener, which comes with all kinds of handy tools for novel writers, from virtual sticky boards and character threading to a full-screen, distraction hiding typewriter mode.

Google Scrivener and Literature and Latte (the developer).

No connection – just like the product.

By: MR

MR — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 21:14:51 +0000

It’s hard to find a good writing application. I actually discovered yWriter quite by accident, while I was planning my NaNoWriMo novel. It fit right in with my mentality towards writing.

Since I work a lot with video, I tend to view a novel like a movie: a collection of settings and scenes filled with characters, all designed to advance the story. Obviously, a novel spends far more time describing its world than a screenplay does.

***************
EXT. CENTRAL PARK – NIGHT

A woman runs through the trees in a panic. She is dressed in an evening gown and clutches a purse in her arms. A large man chases her through the shadows. We do not see his face. She trips over a rock, rolls on her back, and looks back. The man’s shadow covers her.

CUT TO:

INT. HOSPITAL – NIGHT

MARY SMITH is leaning on the nurse’s station in the emergency room, dressed in DOCTOR’S WHITES and clearly exhausted. The room is filled with sickly people coughing and moaning. A tired NURSE walks over and hands Mary a steaming cup of coffee.

NURSE
Though you could use it, doctor.

MARY
(dejectedly)
Thanks

The doors of the emergency room SLAM open loudly. Two PARAMEDICS wheel in a GURNEY. There is a person on the gurney, covered in a white sheet. We do not see their face.

PARAMEDIC 1
(shouting)
Doctor, we need you!

PARAMEDIC 2
(screaming)
She’s been shot. We’re losing her.

Mary moves quickly to the side of the gurney, along with the nurse. She leans over and looks at the . Her calm, professional demeanor is suddenly replaced by obvious shock. She backs away violently.

NURSE
(confused)
What is it?

MARY
(frightened)
That’s my sister.

CUT TO: (et cetera)

***

By: Mihla

Mihla — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 20:37:46 +0000

If you’re a Mac user, try Storymill (http://www.marinersoftware.com.....?page=127). It has sections for chapters, scenes (timeline), characters (bios), and locations. What I love is the research section, which I used extensively when writing a novel set in 1961. There is also a section to record tasks and one to keep track of submissions. Wish Mariner Software had an affiliate program!

By: Maeve

Maeve — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 19:45:30 +0000

I guess my third suggestion reveals that I’m not very tech savvy.
It stems from my experience using an ordinary word processing program. I was constantly going in and out of chapter files to find what I needed and to make changes.

I once tried a writer’s tool called CopyWrite, but found it too complicated.

With one big file the Search feature lets me find the passage I want instantly. It works for me.