Power Writer or Power Structure?

Yzabel / January 11, 2006

It’s a new year, it demands a new, good start in writing, and since I’ve discovered two months ago that planning is a good thing for me when it comes to novels, I’ve decided to invest money into one of these “planning” software for writers. A few demo and trial versions later, after having get out of the way the programs that more or less help in coming up with ideas and not found any free software that would strike my fancy, I’ve come to the conclusion that Power Writer may be my thing. It’s the only one I’ve tested so far that is complete enough, while not leaving me much room to get side-tracked (read: some products leave room to note files, but if I write down ideas this way, I forget half of them along the way, when I don’t forget where I’ve left the note files themselves).

However, I’ve run into a bit of a tricky choice: shall I settle down for Power Writer, or for Power Structure? Power Writer has interesting functions as a word processor; Power Structure feels more complete. I already have a word processor which I’m satisfied with, and I’ll leave the price aside on this–if I can come up with $100, I can wait a little more to add the remaining $50, I’m not that in a hurry. I also don’t mind using two programs instead of one, nor jumping from one to the other. As it is now, I’m leaning toward Power Structure, since I’m afraid I’d “miss out” on a few things if going for Power Writer. What I wonder about, though, is how these two fare on the long run.

If any of you has used one or the other, or even the both of them, what would you find the most useful in that regard? Do you feel like it’s more interesting to have your planning notes in windows under your writing area? Does it feel too restricted, or too distracting this way? Do you prefer keep planning and writing in separated documents? Do you forget about some ideas or plans if they’re in another file than the actual novel?

Of course, I know we all have our own ways of working, and I know one’s method isn’t necessarily the good one for another. I’m just looking for opinions and personal experience here. It never harms!

FILED UNDER : Planning , Writing & Stories

TAG : , , , , ,

Comments

  • Fredcq

    I have also tried a number of these products. What I found is that while I was wasting time learning these products, I was getting no writing done. For me, these products were just another way (very subtle way) for me to procrastinate.I am in no way saying that these products are not helpful. It sounds to me like they may be a good fit for you. I, on the otherhand, know my procrastination patterns. There programs are one of them. I fool myself into thinking that I am doing something writing related when all I am doing is killing time. Thank god I didn’t drop the money for Dramitica. It would be wasting away on my hard drive.

  • Yzabel

    Ah, when I want to procrastinate, I have other, more efficient ways than these 😉 My problem is that I seem to work better and faster once I have a plan, but my ways of planning are, simply put, awful, and if I don’t have a good “support”, I end up with scattered papers and/or files, which doesn’t help.I don’t know what Dramatica with, but I can guess that it’s somehow the same thing?

  • fredcq

    Dramatica is an all in one program for writing a novel. It is very involved. I think that it even has character sheets and stuff like that. They have a demo that you can check out.Here is a direct link to the features section of the site:http://www.screenplay.com/products/dpro/features.htm

  • fredcq

    I just took a quick look at Power Structure and the new version of Dramatica. Power Structure seems to be much more user friendly. Dramatica is very involved but it still has a clunky user interface.

  • Deborah

    I have both Dramatica and Power Structure. The former is very involved and useful for novice writers, while the latter will help you determine if your plot is where it should be.

  • Yzabel

    I’ll check it when I’m back home then, although it seems to be perhaps a little too complex compared to my needs. After all, I need some place to organize the ideas that I already have 😉 Dramatica sounds… well, yet, ‘too much’. I’ll know better once I’ve checked the demo, though.In any case, thanks for your feedback!

Comments are closed.