How to Write a Book Using Microsoft Word

How to Write a Book Using Microsoft Word

If you want to write a book, you'll need book writing software that's up to the task. Yes, you can invest in dedicated book writing programs. But you don't have to: a great writing tool is likely already at your fingertips, if you know how to write a book using...
Best Book Writing Software: How to Plan a Novel Using Excel

Best Book Writing Software: How to Plan a Novel Using Excel

While finding a word processing tool you are comfortable with is crucial to writing, there are other types of book writing software that are just as important. Before I wrote my first novel, if you’d told me that an important part of my book writing software arsenal would be a good spreadsheet, I would have said you were crazy.

Now that I’ve published three novels, I realize my plots and worlds would never make sense without them.

Best Book Writing Software: How to Organize Your Writing so You Never Lose It Again

Best Book Writing Software: How to Organize Your Writing so You Never Lose It Again

How organized are you? I realized last year that I had spread my writing over various notebooks and virtual programs and platforms to the point that it took me an hour to find a snippet I wanted to use. The best book writing software will help you get your words on the page, but it won’t organize them on your computer so you can find them again — as I experienced firsthand while hunting down that snippet.

By the time I finally found it, I was frustrated and worried that maybe I was losing more writing than I was saving. Not losing it in the sense that the writing was gone, but losing track of where and how I manage my writing process.

Where do you keep your writing?

Best Book Writing Software: How to Make a Beat Sheet in Google Sheets

Best Book Writing Software: How to Make a Beat Sheet in Google Sheets

Recently, I shared why Microsoft Excel and Google Docs are some of my favorite pieces of book writing software. Spreadsheets might seem like odd resources for a writer, but I’ve found them to be invaluable tools for planning my stories.

I use spreadsheets to plan my stories in several ways. Today, though, I’m going to focus on just one: creating a beat sheet to outline a story before I write.

Best Book Writing Software: The 6 Documents You Always Need Open as a Writer

Best Book Writing Software: The 6 Documents You Always Need Open as a Writer

If you’ve been around The Write Practice long, you’ll have noticed we’ve recently talked a lot about which book writing software you should use. While I’m a strong believer in “use whatever works for you,” I’m also a strong believer in Scrivener.

So today, instead of giving you more reasons why I think you should use Scrivener (because there have already been plenty…) I’m going to tell you which tabs/notes you’ll want to create and have open while you’re writing.

Even if you don’t use Scrivener, you’ll want to have these as separate documents or pages on Word or Google Docs (or whichever writing software you use).