When it comes to going off the laptop and onto mobile devices, writing and putting together a novel can be a little tricky when it comes time to synchronise the content. The ability to export all your stuff back to laptop mode is the functionality you want.
Note-taking and writing platforms have been already covered here:
Below are the most useful apps available for Android and Apple for structuring and planning out your story.
Pluot
Pluot is purely a character and story planning app for writers.
It allows you to build plot scenes which you can reorder through drag-and-drop, develop characters with profiles and attributes, create locations, construct plotlines and link them up, and add images.
And once you’re ready to write you can export your outlines to text files.
Novelist
Novelist is a writing assistant that will help plan out your novel from a nascent stage into a published book. I give you the ability to brainstorm, add research, develop characters, and outline every aspect of the story.
It’s even got a web interface application that can help you stay on the platform and continue writing multiple drafts till the finished book.
Most important of all, you can export to epub, odt, and HTML.
Wavemaker
Web-browser based Wavemaker runs on virtually anything. It works offline or it can be installed and run on any device, allowing you to sync your devices up using google drive.
You can plan and structure your book into chapters, scenes, and make notes.
Export as Word (DocX)
There a planning board and data base function as well as a snowflake tool.
Export as HTM (.html) for sharing to the web, creating e-book or for openning with Word.
Export is also avdilable for Markdown (.md), Word (.docx), ePub (.epub) and Rich Text Format (.rtf)
All three are practical enough to get your project fleshed out from idea to complete novel, and if you want to move to a fifteenth platform they each have yhst all important export facility.
If you’re like me, you probably have hundreds of story ideas floating around inside your head. The good ones, as Stephan King once said, are the ones that you can’t shake from your memory. I found this to be true, but having access to a pool of ideas, concepts and research is still a valuable tool for any author looking to create content using free tools for writers.
Google Keep
Keep is a tag (label) only system, so if folders are your thing Keep doesn’t make it easy. But tags are folders anyway. There is no text editing, just input. There are no categories in Keep. Instead, you can group notes into a small selection of colours. What makes Keep useful is that it’s fast and simple, you can add images or drawings, and it has the ability to convert a note into a Google Doc when an idea is ready to be expanded. The mobile app integrates well, ideas can be written, voiced, and pictured straight to keep, as well as webpage links.
Onenote
Part of the outlook and Onedrive ecosystem, Onenote is crammed with features. Just one notebook can cater to your whole library. Each notebook has a section, and in each section, you can create pages. The desktop version has subsections and subpages, but this causes a problem as the two are somewhat incompatible. The text edit box is as Microsoft as one can get. This has everything one would ever need. Major downsides; slowness, like all Microsoft online products, the lag between opening up a basic note is a big drawback. Plus there’s no exporting to anything else. The phone apps are okay, but the desktop app is a little convoluted in regards to how the files are stored.
Simplenote
Simplenote is just simple. It’s a tag only system, so no folders, but that’s the same thing really and Simplenote makes this look and feel the same anyway. There is no text edit box, just text input, but it supports Markdown extensions. There is a version roll-back capability. You can back up by downloading a zip file. It’s as basic as you can get.
Box Notes
Box is well integrated with Google Drive and Onedrive, but with a 50 gig storage, it’s not really relevant, unless your exporting notes to another platform. Still handy though, because you can use the full functionality of the Microsoft Word and Google Doc create your notes. There’s also Box Notes which has a good but basic edit box with version history. With no tagging system, folders are the way to go. Both apps are available on iOS and Android devices.
Dropbox Paper
With Dropbox, you can create folders and word documents using your own Microsoft online account, but with Paper, you can do this natively. Paper has numerous features to take advantage off. It is folder based, and it has a basic and easy to use pop-up text edit box. You can export to PDF, Word or Markdown. Its small storage is its downside, but even a gigs worth of notes is still a lot of notes. Available on iOS and Android devices.
Evernote
Apart from creating a library of notes, Evernote has the added feature of behaving as a research tool via is clipping app extension. You can create notes, organise them into notebooks, and organise those into stacks. The editing interface is not bad, although there is no undo function. The free service is not that limiting, you get 60 MB upload per month. As for backup, you need to use the Evernote desktop app, and there’s no ability to export to a different format. There is functionality to revert to a previous version.
Gnote
With Gnote you can create folders and then add notes or checklists. You can sort via tags as well. Extremely simple, fast and basic and there are few add-ons but there’s no exporting of notes. Even though a premium service gives you expanded usability, the free version doesn’t impede much in your note-taking. It is alsosupported by Chrome, Android and iOS app.
Supernotecard
Supernotecard is designed for writers. You can organise notes under projects and type (fiction, non-fiction, scriptwriting, flashcards) it allows one to export notes to a good selection of formats. You can send a project to other writers. The platform is easy to use. Downside; there are limits on the number of projects, notecards, categories, and references that you are allowed to create. Also, over the long term, if supernotecard disappears, you may have to migrate your notes.
All of the above are decent for building an Idea Library. So it depends on how simple or complex one needs. This also should take into account what drafting platform you decide to use and how you want to integrate the process going from conceptualisation to writing that novel or screenplay.
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