Is this getting a little ridiculous? I’ve now got 30 writing apps I’ve either reviewed or mentioned in other blog posts. It’s getting to the point where I can no longer keep track of which images belong to which apps and which ones have what features. Currently, the features I’m focusing on are: Bulletinboard/Outlining, Codex (ability to keep track of characters, locations, etc), Templates (for said Codex), Right-hand column (which shows notes, outline, or codex), Time-line, Formatting, Price, File location (local on your computer or online), and Notes. Once I’ve gone through all the apps I know of, I’ll put it up on my website and blog about it. If there are any other features you feel should be of note, please comment and let me know so I can add it to my table.
So, for today I’ve two new writing apps: Deckle and EmberWrite.
I forget where I read this, but someone was talking about writing software online, so naturally my “ears” perked up. This person said that they used Deckle and would never go back to anything else. So, you know I had to check it out.
First off, there is no free trial period. You can download the software and get a tour, but if you want to actually try it out for yourself you have to buy it ($197, no subscription). There is a 30-day money back guarantee, however. The developers of the app were kind enough to give me a copy so that I could write a full review of the software.
Deckle is a Scrivener knock-off that is easier to use and seems to have more and easier to use features.
Like Scrivener, it has a “Binder” — the left-hand section — where your manuscript is separated into whatever sections you like: Parts, Chapters, Scenes… The center of your screen is where you see or write your manuscript. The right-hand “Inspector” (exactly as it is called in Scrivener) gives you additional information. It can be more info about the scene you’re writing: synopsis, word count, etc. Or it can show you how that scene would look when it’s formatted. Also like Scrivener, there is a bulletin board with “cards” for outlining your book.
But then Deckle starts to get more interesting. There is a Codex where you can input information about your characters, locations, items, and custom/lore. This information can also be shown to you in the right-hand “inspector” while you’re writing.
There is also a timeline, which looks really nice. I haven’t figured out if you can put in actual dates, or if you are forced to use “Day 1, Day 2” etc. At least it also allows for Day -1, Day -25, etc… In this timeline, you can separate out the different plotlines and filter by character or location. It’s a really nice way to see the whole book so you can check for continuity. And if you keep a detailed history of your world, as many fantasy authors do, hopefully you can do so in this timeline.
You can also format your book in Deckle. Technically, you can do so in Scrivener as well, but it’s extremely limited in how the book will look. Deckle allows you a lot more freedom of choice.
The developers pride themselves on Deckle being a combination of Scrivener and Vellum, which is nice as it’s priced right in between the two apps, but one thing they don’t tout very loudly—and I think they really should—is that Vellum is only available for Mac. Deckle can be used on Windows and Linux. That’s a huge advantage for those who don’t live in the Apple world.
Two last things that I really appreciate about Deckle: This
And finally, there is no subscription. You pay once and have the ability to install the software on two machines (your Mac laptop and your Windows desktop if you want, or any other combination you might have).
So, all-in-all, I’m quite impressed with Deckle. It is brand-new software and the developers seem to be interested in improving it and accepting suggestions on how to do so.
EmberWrite
This app, while somewhat basic, has everything an author could need. It has a place to plot your book—either in outline form or as “cards”, and a place to keep your world building and character information. It provides a clean canvas for writing and will export your work as an epub.
There are, of course, pluses and minuses for each of these features. Let’s take a look:
The plotting area is, as I say, basic. In the “card” view you can add tags, but you can’t color the cards themselves or add a pin or anything else to denote pov or which plotline the scene is a part of. Honestly, I found the outline view to be easier to see and to move scenes about.
In the writing area, as I say, it’s a very clean, open space. But that also means that there is no right-hand column where you can place notes or see character descriptions. You merely have your writing space and the list of scenes and chapters on the left.
The world area is very nice in that it comes with detailed templates where you can make note of everything you need to know about your characters, places, etc. As the app is, apparently, created by writers, these templates are nicely detailed. I couldn’t find anything they’d left out that I would have wanted to add. That being said, I couldn’t have added anything to their template anyway, unlike some writing apps which allow you to edit the templates.
And finally, you can export your work as an epub, which is very nice only… there are no ways of making your book anything other than the most basic thing. No adding of images, no ability to put in your own scene breaks, nothing except the ability to turn on dropcaps. It’s a little too basic for me, especially considering how many other apps there are which allow you to get really creative in your formatting.
So, on the whole, EmberWrite is a very easy-to-use writing app. It contains a lot of what an author would want in a very basic way.