Writing project software compared

In order to write a long complex document such as a novel it can be a good idea to write the chapters as separate files. In addition you find you often need to make notes or write up bits of research, character sketches, etc, which are not going to be part of the finished work but which are relevant. You could just keep them all in one folder on your hard disk but it is nice to be able to see what you have to hand and have some kind of structure to refer to.
And that is the point of these three pieces of software: Ulysses, Scrivener, and Writers Cafe. Not word processors as such (though two include text editors and the third has a link to WP as well as allowing note-making), they are somewhere between text editors and project management software, allowing the writer to bundle texts together in a project, categorise them and swap between them easily. These are feature-rich environments which make the creation process easier, while also allowing the writer to go into undisturbed writing mode.

Scrivener by Literature and Latte
Scrivener works on an outline model – pieces are created in the Draft folder and then assembled on the fly in what is called Scrivenings mode. The outline can also be viewed in what is called, and looks like, Corkboard. This is useful for those of us who like a visual representation of structure. It also has a Research folder into which you can put non-Scrivener documents such as PDFs, JPGs and even web links that are useful.

It has a text editing function and in Scrivener the Full Screen mode is truly full screen, and enables you to emulate an old fashioned green-on-black or white-on-blue (a la Wordperfect) screen if you so wish. There is also a Scratchpad that can be brought up with a key sequence even when Scrivener is in the background. Scrivener allows ‘snapshots’ – version control by saving a version of the project before changes are made.
The interface is modern and clear, probably the best of the three.
Scrivener 2.0 was released in November 2010 and costs £30.94. There are OS X (10.4 on) and Windows versions.

Ulysses by The Soulmen
Ulysses was produced by a German company called Blue-Tec who have since renamed themselves The Soulmen.

Ulysses is aimed at the fiction writer with a wide range of categories for pieces including Characters and Plot and Background; these are also colour coded so you can see what you have to hand.
It includes a text editing mode (i.e. A basic word processor) – Full Screen mode simply does away with the top menus rather than anything more advanced; there is also a Console Mode which is white text on blue without distractions.
The interface seems unintuitive by comparison with Scrivener. I am using version 1.6 and apparently this is remedied in version 2.0 where the interface is much improved and more functions have been added. I say ‘apparently’ because 2.0 requires OS 10.5 to operate and I only have 10.4.
Ulysses 2.0 costs EUR22.49 (£19.24) and is OS X only (10.5 onwards).

Writers Cafe by Anthemion Software
Writers Cafe isn’t quite the same sort of animal as the other two packages under discussion – it’s specifically described as ‘fiction writing software’ and is more of a writer’s resource than a compositional tool. Like Scrivener it includes a layout function in the form of a timeline (‘Storylines’). Writers Cafe also includes writing tools such as idea prompts and a timer for setting yourself a fixed period of time to write in, as well as a Scrapbook for ideas.

Writers Cafe does not however include a text editing mode beyond the Journal and Notebook, although the desktop does include a link to OpenOffice.org – you can change this link to whatever WP you have installed. The desktop itself is not the most user-friendly and looks rather like Windows 95.
Writers Cafe 2.2.6 costs £22. Writers Cafe itself is available for OS X, Windows, and Linux.

This article was written in Scrivener and exported to WordPress.