Writing Programs

It looks like I get a lot of hits on the webpage about Liquid Story Binder, so it’s probably wise to include a page regarding the program, just so no one has to hunt around to find out my thoughts on it.  (If you’re here for my thoughts – just as likely you’ve clicked some random button sequence, have found yourself inexplicably here, and wondered what’s the fastest way out.)

Liquid Story Binder is the holy grail of writing programs for any Window’s user.  It has so much to offer, so many ways to customize it, that one is literally spoilt for choice, if I may indulge in a cliche.

The beauty of the program is that it is as detailed, or as minimalistic, as you wish it to be.  Do you just want something where you can hammer away at your story in a full-screen, distraction-less environment?  Liquid Story Binder can do it for you.  Do you want to have your story mapped out more exactly than the Toronto Subway system, with time lines and picture galleries and outliner aids?  Liquid Story Binder has that, too.  It also has a neat feature called a Builder, where you can create your story scene-by-scene and let the Builder sew it together for you once you’ve finished moving around the pieces.  If you want to have a separate color scheme, background image and playlist for every piece your working on, you can do that, too.  I would recommend no other writing program for the PC, save for one (the reasons of which will become apparent soon).

My problem with it?  I’m a fiddler.  Give me a toy, especially one as constantly updated by user-feedback that Liquid Story Binder is, and I play with it.  Play with it to the point that I’ll stop using it for what it’s really intended – writing.  I would always think, “is there another way to do this?  How does this feature work?”  In a way, there are too many options to choose from.

So I switched to PageFour, a streamlined, simplified writing program (often described as the Window’s version of Scrivener).  And streamlined it is.  If you need a no distraction, mostly toy-free writing environment that lets you organize files in nested folders, this is the program for you.

I’d even put it this way:

Computer savy, with hardcore nerdiness and a customization streak?  Go Liquid Story Binder.

Slightly less tech-literate, but find Word and it’s competitors too bulky to handle big fiction?  Go PageFour.

Nothing wrong with either approach – I used and enjoyed both.  I did sometimes get glitches trying to move between programs, but they were few and far between.  Liquid Story Binder goes through regular updates, so make sure to back up your files just as regularly if you want the latest toys that get added without the risk of Something Going Wrong (TM).  And I have to plug the designer, who has done a terrific job of interacting with his customers when it comes to adding new features and fixing bugs.

In the end, though, I cheated.  I switched to a Mac and bought Scrivener.  In my experience, it’s the middle child, offering the simple interface of PageFour coupled with many of the more robust features of Liquid Story Binder.  Honestly, if you have a Mac, ignore any of the other competitors – Scrivener does it better for less.  Although, I guess you can say I spent $1400 to buy a $40 program.

Worth every penny though.

Especially when you factor in a host of other excellent Mac programs I can’t live without now, like Journler, Books, FreeMind, Quicksilver — Uh, am I going on?  Yeah, I thought so.  *grin*