Author’s Toolbox: I Write Backwards
Welcome, fellow writers, editors, and language enthusiasts! This week I want to introduce a couple of writing programs that have stolen my heart.
You’re probably familiar with services like Word and Google Docs, but what if I told you that you could write your novel in non-chronological chunks and have all of your research and background in one place?
Let’s talk about it, shall we?
FORENOTE:
I am not sponsored by, or affiliated with, any of the tools mentioned in this blog post. They are simply the tools that help me the most and I wish to share them with you, too. Links to each resource are attached to each heading, and at the end of the blog post.
IT’S HARD TO WRITE LINEARLY
Ah, so you’re a puzzle-piecer too?
The reason I’ve always struggled to write creatively is that the ideas that come to me occur slap-bang in the middle of a plot. I see a scene play out before me that could only fit into a story with an established setting, well-developed characters, and a rich plot in motion.
So, I go ahead and write out that scene—albeit not very well—and then comes the task of trying to fill in the gaping chasm of nothingness that comes before it. On a classic Word or Google Docs page, the scene I’ve written stares directly through me, and I have no idea how I’m supposed to approach the prior events. Do I write the story backwards, starting from the scene and putting the writing process in reverse?
It’s daunting, and usually, I come up blank. The pressure of the empty page and the need to write everything linearly becomes too much, and I toss it aside. How am I supposed to compose a whole story when I only get inspiration to write random scenes?
Scrivener has my back on this one.
This program treats your manuscript as a ‘project,’ rather than just one big, uninterrupted text file. You can add text files to your project and keep them separate, writing random scenes in new files until you have a revelation on how they should tie together.
You can drag and drop text files into any orientation. Do you want your final text file to be the first scene in your manuscript? Pulling a little, ‘This is me. You might be wondering how I got into this situation,’ moment. You can do that!
You can add files that won’t show up in your exported manuscript for easy access to research, character sheets, reference images, and anything your heart desires!
While I’m still new to this program myself, it’s already proven to be a fantastic tool to help me get my ideas onto the page, without the pressure of starting from the beginning. This time a month ago, I was convinced that if I ever wrote something worth publishing, it would’ve been created as a mosaic of scenes, all puzzle-pieced together in the end; thanks to Scrivener.
Now, this tool, unlike services like Google Docs, is not free—their free trial is extra user-friendly though; the trial time counts down for every new day that you open the programme, not in calendar days. Start your free trial, write for a day, and have no motivation for the next 29 days? Doesn’t matter! You still have 29 days to use up. And what’s more is that it’s a flat price, with no subscriptions or recurring bills. Once you own Scrivener it’s all yours.
Gosh, maybe I should save these zingers in case I ever do get sponsored… Unlikely!
YOU EXPECT ME TO PAY?
Alright, alright. You want a free option? I got you.
You may have heard of Reedsy before. It’s a fantastic resource for writers who are looking for professional services like editing, translation, and even marketing! But did you know it has a writing function as well?
Reedsy is completely free to use and completely online, much like your Google Docs, and is accessible from anywhere – no USB required – making it a fantastic tool for writers who float between devices.
Similarly to Scrivener, the writing function on Reedsy allows for puzzle-piecing, as you create new ‘chapter’ files to compile together under the body of your manuscript.
Additionally, you can add new tabs separately to your manuscript, and you’re limited only by your own creativity on what to use them for. I personally have a tab dedicated to character sheets, locations, overall outlining, and my glossary.
Like Scrivener, any tabs created outside of your ‘manuscript’ tab will not be included in your export, so you don’t have to worry about scruffy notes finding their way into your beta copies or prints.
Unlike Scrivener, however, Reedsy does not have presets for each of these features; but it’s not too difficult to compile your own folders if you’re willing to put in a little time to organise them.
I’ve been using Reedsy a lot lately because I discovered that I write better away from home, and I only have Scrivener on my PC. I also didn’t really feel like keeping my precious manuscript on a USB stick that I am so likely to end up losing. So, I copied all my progress across to Reedsy and voila! Now I can write anytime, anywhere.
I would highly recommend this service to anybody who, like me, can’t write linearly, but also doesn’t really wanna fork out for a whole programme.
It’s worth noting that using Reedsy to write also comes with the benefit that you can hire any of the services available on Reedsy and as far as I understand they can work directly from your online project as opposed to having to print or export your file to send to an unaffiliated professional!
I hope that those of you who didn’t know of these programmes before can go forward and write with confidence! Whether you write linearly or puzzle-piece your plot like me, you deserve a service that accommodates your specific style. The world needs your story.
I’ll see you next week in my 3rd monthly review! I’m super excited to get into everything that this month has brought me. Until then:
Keep practising, keep learning, and most importantly, keep writing!
