Clare and Chrissy - There's An App for That!

Chrissy: Hello, and welcome to the June edition of The Clare and Chrissy Show. A big thank you to everyone who came out to cheer us on during both our recent Pride Month Chat over at the Beth Wylde Yahoo Group, and during Clare's recent forays into the Dreamspinner Blog and Facebook chat.

Clare: No matter where we are on the 'net, we always appreciate your support!

Chrissy: Have you had a good time trying out the variety of promo platforms in your web travels?

Clare: It's been interesting. Just when I think I'm on top of things there's a whole new platform to try out or panic over how to use. Not that I panic, of course. *cough*

Chrissy: Of course. Now, if you're a discerning reader of our monthly blog, you might think we are going to smoothly segue into a discussion on online promotion...

Clare: ...which isn't a bad idea. But this month we decided to turn our gaze to an even more interesting aspect of our writing life.

Chrissy: The technology involved in the writing process itself.

Clare: Because just like everything else in life now,

Clare: and Chrissy: There's an App for that! Writing that is. Seems like everywhere we look someone wants to tell us there's a better, smarter way to write. Forget the mousetrap, today it's all about building the better novel.


Chrissy: Some of us may have started our careers with nothing more than good old pen and paper as our tool of choice. Remember the smudges? Especially if we were left-handers. There was no way to hide the tell-tale smears of graphite or ink smeared along our hand, and then everything else we touched by default.

Clare: As we progressed we discovered the joys of typewriters and white-out. Correction tape and carbon paper *surreptitiously wipes hand on jeans*.

Chrissy: You need strong fingers to build up any speed on a manual typewriter. It's a workout in itself. Hmmmm…. I wonder if there's one still in the basement?

Clare: You can have at it. I prefer to get my calorie burn in other ways. *lifts frosty margarita glass* Thankfully, manual gave way to electric, electric gave way to word processors, word processors gave way to computers and the joys of writing software began.

Chrissy: Some of us may prefer the simplicity of a basic word processing program. Cut and paste, drag and drop. With easier ways to create headers and footers, change fonts and margins, and our friend "find and replace", a good word processor is a wonderful tool and one it would be hard to do without.

Clare: *rubbing accountant's hands together in glee* Don't forget a spreadsheet program for plotting, scene outlines, and character detail. Instead of hunting through multiple notebooks studded with sticky notes and a never-ending supply of lists, worksheets are easily searchable, printable, and most importantly, changeable. So much less fumbling than plotting with index cards. And the joy of watching word count grow!! (hopefully)

Chrissy: Like all good technology, writing software has continued to evolve and become more specific. The choices available to an author are pretty impressive, everything from basic text editors to story development tools and combinations of the two.

Clare: Just do a basic Google search and prepare to be amazed. All kinds of options will come up including Scrivener for both Mac and Windows, Liquid Story Binder, WriteItNow, NewNovelist, and MyNovel to name just a few.

Chrissy: They all look so tempting. It's almost as bad as the latest office supply or gardening catalog. How are we supposed to choose?

Clare: Most programs offer a demo version to try out, and there are plenty of review sites out there with a wide range of opinions. But in the end, it seems to come back to personal preference.

Chrissy: *gasp* You mean ...

Clare: Yes, dear. You are going to have to make a decision.

Chrissy: The horror. But before we even get to that dreaded point there are other considerations to be made. Do we want software that's hard drive based or Web? Does everyone tease you your head is always in the clouds? Now your writing can be too, with Google Docs, LitLift, Yarny, and online storage/access programs such as Dropbox. Don't worry if you are away from your office when the muse attacks, just whip out your favorite device and keep typing with the iPad, iPhone, or Android versions of MyWritingSpot. The wealth of options is enough to make me dizzy.

Clare: *coughs*

Chrissy: I am so ignoring you right now. Many programs have free versions, such as ywriter5, Storybook, or Storybox which gives you the choice of using the program for a free, never-ending trial or paying for it if you love it. (pssst. Self-pubbers – check out their TrackerBox software to track sales and import reports from major resellers).

Clare: Now I'm getting dizzy.

Chrissy: Heh. Of course, we can also just keep using Word, but take advantage of add-ins such as Writing Outliner and their corkboard features, or sit back and wait to see what the next advance will be.

Clare: I'm waiting for the brain-to-hard-drive-interface. No more struggling to get the words out, I'm just going to think my next novel.

Chrissy: Suuuuure you are.

Clare: Well, a gal can dream, can't she? :)

Chrissy: After buying software licenses for an entire office, the prices on most of these seem quite reasonable. And I'm more than tempted by a couple of the free versions. The question is, which one?

Clare: Yet another author distracted by the shiny.

Chrissy: I can't help it. I like this bit of one, and that bit of another. I guess I'm waiting for the build-my-own option.

Clare: Just keep on waiting, sweetie.

Clare: and Chrissy: Of course, it doesn't matter how much a program may cost, or the number of bells and whistles it may offer, it won't do any good if we don't sit down and use it.

We want to know what you think (and help us make up our minds). Do you have a favorite writing software? Have you tried any of the software listed, but decided against using them? Is there one you love that isn't listed? Are you excited to do your writing in the cloud, prefer to keep your office supply store in business with your pen and paper purchases, or a combination of all options?

Everyone who comments to this month's post will be entered into our random drawing for free download from either of our backlists. Winner to be announced at our next monthly blog post.

SPECIAL NOTE: We're gearing up for a special "open forum" episode of The Clare and Chrissy Show later this year. Do you have a question about one of our posts? One of our stories? Love or Hate our characters? Interested in our favorite music? Reader's choice! All Clare, all Chrissy, all questions will be answered. But fear not shy soul, no names will be used, only questions.

You have between now and September 2012 to think of a question you'd like answered and email it to chrissymunder@yahoo.com. Be sure to mark which one of us the question is for, and then sit back and get ready to learn all.

Keep Calm picture credit to keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

May Winner: samikitty- Congratulations! Please email your mailing address to Chrissy at chrissymunder@yahoo.com for your festive Clare and Chrissy Swag.

Missed a month? Follow the sticky post for these rambles of ours HERE

Be sure to catch the latest from Clare London. 3 Sexy Shorts featuring the men of True Colors.



And to learn more about us:


Here's Chrissy! website // blog.

Clare and Chrissy - There's An App for That!

Chrissy: Hello, and welcome to the June edition of The Clare and Chrissy Show. A big thank you to everyone who came out to cheer us on during both our recent Pride Month Chat over at the Beth Wylde Yahoo Group, and during Clare's recent forays into the Dreamspinner Blog and Facebook chat.

Clare: No matter where we are on the 'net, we always appreciate your support!

Chrissy: Have you had a good time trying out the variety of promo platforms in your web travels?

Clare: It's been interesting. Just when I think I'm on top of things there's a whole new platform to try out or panic over how to use. Not that I panic, of course. *cough*

Chrissy: Of course. Now, if you're a discerning reader of our monthly blog, you might think we are going to smoothly segue into a discussion on online promotion...

Clare: ...which isn't a bad idea. But this month we decided to turn our gaze to an even more interesting aspect of our writing life.

Chrissy: The technology involved in the writing process itself.

Clare: Because just like everything else in life now,

Clare: and Chrissy: There's an App for that! Writing that is. Seems like everywhere we look someone wants to tell us there's a better, smarter way to write. Forget the mousetrap, today it's all about building the better novel.


Chrissy: Some of us may have started our careers with nothing more than good old pen and paper as our tool of choice. Remember the smudges? Especially if we were left-handers. There was no way to hide the tell-tale smears of graphite or ink smeared along our hand, and then everything else we touched by default.

Clare: As we progressed we discovered the joys of typewriters and white-out. Correction tape and carbon paper *surreptitiously wipes hand on jeans*.

Chrissy: You need strong fingers to build up any speed on a manual typewriter. It's a workout in itself. Hmmmm…. I wonder if there's one still in the basement?

Clare: You can have at it. I prefer to get my calorie burn in other ways. *lifts frosty margarita glass* Thankfully, manual gave way to electric, electric gave way to word processors, word processors gave way to computers and the joys of writing software began.

Chrissy: Some of us may prefer the simplicity of a basic word processing program. Cut and paste, drag and drop. With easier ways to create headers and footers, change fonts and margins, and our friend "find and replace", a good word processor is a wonderful tool and one it would be hard to do without.

Clare: *rubbing accountant's hands together in glee* Don't forget a spreadsheet program for plotting, scene outlines, and character detail. Instead of hunting through multiple notebooks studded with sticky notes and a never-ending supply of lists, worksheets are easily searchable, printable, and most importantly, changeable. So much less fumbling than plotting with index cards. And the joy of watching word count grow!! (hopefully)

Chrissy: Like all good technology, writing software has continued to evolve and become more specific. The choices available to an author are pretty impressive, everything from basic text editors to story development tools and combinations of the two.

Clare: Just do a basic Google search and prepare to be amazed. All kinds of options will come up including Scrivener for both Mac and Windows, Liquid Story Binder, WriteItNow, NewNovelist, and MyNovel to name just a few.

Chrissy: They all look so tempting. It's almost as bad as the latest office supply or gardening catalog. How are we supposed to choose?

Clare: Most programs offer a demo version to try out, and there are plenty of review sites out there with a wide range of opinions. But in the end, it seems to come back to personal preference.

Chrissy: *gasp* You mean ...

Clare: Yes, dear. You are going to have to make a decision.

Chrissy: The horror. But before we even get to that dreaded point there are other considerations to be made. Do we want software that's hard drive based or Web? Does everyone tease you your head is always in the clouds? Now your writing can be too, with Google Docs, LitLift, Yarny, and online storage/access programs such as Dropbox. Don't worry if you are away from your office when the muse attacks, just whip out your favorite device and keep typing with the iPad, iPhone, or Android versions of MyWritingSpot. The wealth of options is enough to make me dizzy.

Clare: *coughs*

Chrissy: I am so ignoring you right now. Many programs have free versions, such as ywriter5, Storybook, or Storybox which gives you the choice of using the program for a free, never-ending trial or paying for it if you love it. (pssst. Self-pubbers – check out their TrackerBox software to track sales and import reports from major resellers).

Clare: Now I'm getting dizzy.

Chrissy: Heh. Of course, we can also just keep using Word, but take advantage of add-ins such as Writing Outliner and their corkboard features, or sit back and wait to see what the next advance will be.

Clare: I'm waiting for the brain-to-hard-drive-interface. No more struggling to get the words out, I'm just going to think my next novel.

Chrissy: Suuuuure you are.

Clare: Well, a gal can dream, can't she? :)

Chrissy: After buying software licenses for an entire office, the prices on most of these seem quite reasonable. And I'm more than tempted by a couple of the free versions. The question is, which one?

Clare: Yet another author distracted by the shiny.

Chrissy: I can't help it. I like this bit of one, and that bit of another. I guess I'm waiting for the build-my-own option.

Clare: Just keep on waiting, sweetie.

Clare: and Chrissy: Of course, it doesn't matter how much a program may cost, or the number of bells and whistles it may offer, it won't do any good if we don't sit down and use it.

We want to know what you think (and help us make up our minds). Do you have a favorite writing software? Have you tried any of the software listed, but decided against using them? Is there one you love that isn't listed? Are you excited to do your writing in the cloud, prefer to keep your office supply store in business with your pen and paper purchases, or a combination of all options?

Everyone who comments to this month's post will be entered into our random drawing for free download from either of our backlists. Winner to be announced at our next monthly blog post.

SPECIAL NOTE: We're gearing up for a special "open forum" episode of The Clare and Chrissy Show later this year. Do you have a question about one of our posts? One of our stories? Love or Hate our characters? Interested in our favorite music? Reader's choice! All Clare, all Chrissy, all questions will be answered. But fear not shy soul, no names will be used, only questions.

You have between now and September 2012 to think of a question you'd like answered and email it to chrissymunder@yahoo.com. Be sure to mark which one of us the question is for, and then sit back and get ready to learn all.

Keep Calm picture credit to keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

May Winner: samikitty- Congratulations! Please email your mailing address to Chrissy at chrissymunder@yahoo.com for your festive Clare and Chrissy Swag.

Missed a month? Follow the sticky post for these rambles of ours HERE

Be sure to catch the latest from Clare London. 3 Sexy Shorts featuring the men of True Colors.



And to learn more about us:


Here's Chrissy! website // blog.


Here's Clare! website // blog.