If
you’ve ever had writer’s block you’ll probably
read this review with scepticism. NewNovelist claims to take
the pain out of creativity – a possible solution to
looking out of the window while staring at a blank piece of
paper and drinking endless cups of tea. NewNovelist breaks
down the process of writing a book into five stages. It’s
still a blank piece of paper, but it’s made less daunting
by the helpful instructions.
Once you have chosen a title for your novel,
you’re guided through the first three stages: story
concept, story category and story type – which are set
up using a Story Wizard. Initially I sniggered at the thought
of writing an entire novel using a wizard tool, but within
a few minutes my cynicism had vanished when I considered which
category of epic I would choose – a love story, chase
or revenge. There are then 14 story types to select from.
The fourth stage, World creation, has seven
components that allow you to create environments and characters.
You can describe physical and emotional traits using the tools
and prompts. All this is preparation for the fifth stage.
Story creation is made up of 12 steps that
break the text into manageable chunks. This is where you finally
turn your concepts into a story. For each step there is an
editing screen and tutorials to guide you through. You can
also keep notes and store references which are easy to retrieve.
NewNovelist is clearly structured with easy-to-follow
instructions. You can work through the program one stage at
a time or use the navigation tree to skip from one section
to another. But I’m not too sure what Charles Dickens
would think.
|
