Free Novel Writing Software - Plan Your Book's Scenes with yWriter5

As stated previously, you don't need to buy novel writing software if you are just a beginner and can plan/plot the novel with free software available. But feel free to investigate the other paid versions like Novel Writing Made Easy, Storycraft and NewNovellest.

Now, we have created our characters and feel that we know them. Planning the novel can take the form of a step-sheet or scene by scene creation. I use the step-sheet as chapter summaries to ensure I stay on track while writing the chapter, while the more detailed scene summaries prevents me from getting stuck at any time during the writing process. If you know what you are supposed to write, it is just so much easier to find the words, but everyone must find the method that works best for them.

Each scene must have a purpose, otherwise why write the scene in the first place. Defining the goal of the scene before the time, helps you write scenes that advance the plot in some way, whether it is setting a scene for something else to happen or introducing a character to a reader by their actions or moving the story forward.

Every scene should have conflict to be engaging to the reader. Conflict can be inner conflict of the character, conflict with the environment or with another character.

yWriter5 has a space for defining the goal of each scene. Below the short scene summaries, a tab labeled "Goals" provides you with the space to enter the goals of the scene.

In the same row of tabs as the "Goals" tab, select "Description" and enter a short description of the scene you have planned. Remember to save the description after you are done.

We know what we want to convey with the scene and can now proceed to write short scene descriptions. This sounds like a lot of work while you probably only want to get started and write the book to tell your story to the world. But, be patient. If you want to someday attempt to have the book published, you will need a summary of the book. Writing short scene descriptions from the start, provides your with a basic summary/synopsis on which you can expand after you have finished the book.

Select "Reports" from the top menu, then Synopsis and then full synopsis.

A report will open in a new browser window, providing you with a synopsis of your project to date and a summary of your book and will save you hours of time after you finished writing the novel.

Now we can start writing the novel using the free software provided by Spacejock - yWriter5.

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