Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Wednesday Blog Post: Computer Programs

Stopping into Apple to see my boyfriend last night, I once again found myself looking over their giant wall of computer programs for sale. They have one called the Writer's Dream Kit, and I was very excited to learn that it also works on a Windows computer.

I almost bought it on sight, but I stopped myself, for two reasons. One was the price - I'm not made of money, so $60 on an impulse buy is a lot for me. The second reason was that I wasn't sure if it would be helpful for my writing.

I know myself: I can easily get caught up in the planning process. I bought a huge pack of fine-tip Sharpie markers so I could work on the massive scene-by-scene outline for And You Tell Me I Am Home. I forced myself to stop plotting once I got to the big fight between Emma and Zeke, so I could still have some surprises when I got to the ending. It's so easy to get lost in character profiles and outlines and plot arcs that you don't get to the actual writing. That's exactly what I don't want to happen.

Still, I wonder how the program works. Does anyone use it, or something similar? This may require some Internet research. I think I'll probably break down and buy it anyway, just like how I buy more writing books when I haven't finished the ones I've started. If it helps with the writing, great! If not, we'll try something knew. Maybe a new program is just what I need.

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