In looking at tool to write the book I decided on Scrivener for Windows. I looked at quite a few other programs including MS Word, MS OneNote, Novel Factory, Power Writer, NewNovelist, yWriter, and many others. What I found was that there was a wide range of products and even wider range of features in those products. Some were homegrown kind of tools and others were feature rich.
First and foremost. I did not try many of these pieces of software that are listed above. Actually there are quite a few more that I looked at and considered that are not listed here. There was one major consideration that I had to keep in mind though and that was it needed to be Windows based. Yes, Mac this and Mac that, but I am a PC guy. I tried the Apple route and I just did not like it as much. I owned a iMac, a mini, and a MacBook and still own an ipad and iphone so it is not like I have not tried.
Writing, Organizational, or Story Development Software?
This is the key that you want to think about. MS Word is a word processor. There are a lot of tools to addon to it, but in the end, it is a word processor. Then there are tools to actually organize the story while you are trying to write it. Lastly, there are even more advanced tools for the development side of things and keeping them all together which looked to be the route of the new writer. I personally went the route of using the organizational software. That is what Scrivener does.
Features
This is also a key point of the software tools that I was looking at. Some were very simple and others were overbearing. Using MS Word as an example, you will notice that there is usually no need to link an Excel chart into the storyline (even though I might.) A very high percentage of the features in MS Word fall lifeless when it comes to writing a fictional novel. This is where the organization software tools really come into their own. Scrivener is purpose built for writers with tools to organize thoughts, ideas, characters, and the like and then are focused on building the story.
Scrivener
Taking all of the above into consideration, I chose Scrivener. I like price as $40 is a easy investment to make into making the novel writing process easier. It makes the development easier as I find the organization the hardest part. Even though it was originally made for the Mac, they have a Windows version now. Lastly, it has so many people that recommend it, that I could not dare not use it. After I have completely written this book I will do another review and let everyone know how it went.