Writing Apps ... Do You Need Them?

A recent post by The Writer's Circle  (Top 4 Free Writing Apps) informs followers about several FREE writing apps. Yes. Free. And that's something to check out. Always. The ones they list and describe are: 1)Draft; 2)Storehouse; 3)OmmWriter; and 4)Evernote. Here's a brief summary of each. 

1)Draft: collaborative word processing where you choose whether to accept or ignore feedback from editors, fellow writers, or whoever reviews your writing. Special feature is the Hemingway Mode which sets you in the write first, edit later mode. 

2)Storehouse: I should say upfront it's an iPad app. This one has the ability to visually enhance your writing with video and photography as they blend with your text. I can see this working well with children's picture books and adult books that may have photos. 

3)OmmWriter: This one is rather difficult to describe because it's more abstract than physical. However, the app's goal is to create an atmosphere conducive to getting your writing done in the most productive manner. It provides various backgrounds and audio tracks to match the mood of your writing. 

4)Evernote: a note-taking app that syncs and coordinates notes across all your devices. Completing a huge project that requires research and fact gathering? Use Evernote. Besides basic note-taking, you can place these notes alongside your articles and photos. A great organizational tool.

That said, I have to add my personal favorite, which I've found both practical and easy to use. yWriter is a writing app with so many goodies. I stumbled upon this when I was trying to find a free alternative to Schrivener (being the tight, frugal person that I am). I can create chapter summaries, character descriptions, plot summaries, and the list goes on. I print off the complete chapter summaries for my latest WIP and voila, I have a handy reference tool. Not to mention if an agent or publisher asks for an outline or chapter summaries, I've got it ready.  And ... did I mention it's free? The only $$$ that could come into the picture happens when you want to upgrade to a more extensive program, but I haven't found the need for that yet!

Whether any of these work for you depends on your writing process preferences, of course. But you never know if circumstances will change. So, why not check them out?

Happy Writing! And if you have any apps or programs you'd like to mention that are not listed here, please comment!

The True Power of the Pen

How descriptive do you think your writing is? Well, the more effective you are, using all those descriptive sensors to create colorful images, may give your writing more power than you think.

I was reading this article about the effect media has on increasing aggressive behavior. Though many have claimed violence in movies, music, and video games impacts human behavior in a negative way by increasing violent actions, one particular media has been left out. Reading. Yep. A research team from Brigham University has conducted a study with experiments to provide evidence that reading fiction causes certain psychological behaviors. Whether the reading describes physical or relational aggression, i.e. aggression that harms one's personal relationships, the more descriptive the scene is will create vivid images in a person's head. And if it's violent ... well, you get the "picture".

So remember this, authors, your words have power in ways you may never have considered!

If you want to read more ...

Reading Fiction Impacts Aggressive Behavior

Here We Go Again.

The thought must cross authors' minds when they write how their work will be received, especially if the books are for middle grade and high school students. After all, themes which appeal to this age group can be controversial. The question is how do adults decide? And what do they use as criteria? 

I taught at the high school level, teens with mild disabilities, with emotional problems, some who came from dysfunctional homes. I always felt certain themes should be embraced and taught in the classroom, those that many adults would rather choose to protect kids from. It's a fine line and not an easy decision -- to read or not to read. That is indeed the question. 

In recent news a story came out about a mother in a certain school district who objected strongly to John Green's Fault of Our Stars, about two teens who have cancer. Death is a theme, but there's love, acceptance, survival as well. Mom's reasoning is that middle schoolers have enough issues dealing with their own mortality let alone reading a book about it. Well, she convinced the school board and it's been pulled from district middle schools. 

As no surprise, authors usually have a defensive response to censorship. I know I do, both as an author and a teacher. However, John Green's reply was something special. Take a look and read what he had to say, then let me (us) know what you think. 

The Fault in Our Stars Has Been Banned in Schools 

by Joanna Robinson