Office software vs. writing software
If you want to write a novel on your PC, you generally
have the choice between
an office word processor or special writing software
(plain text editors are neglected at this point).
Office software is readily available, widely used, efficient and proven.
There are textbooks and courses and people you can ask.
Many people come into contact with it professionally,
as I did, for example, with Word™ and Excel™.
At home, I initially used StarOffice™, which was very similar
in terms of operation, but seemed more sophisticated to me in some details.
StarOffice became the free OpenOffice, and finally LibreOffice,
which is included in many Linux distributions.
One sign of the high quality of this software is that I am still using
Apache OpenOffice 3.4.1 from 2012, which works reliably and without surprises.
Note
LibreOffice, on the other hand, is available as a 64-bit program;
it has been improved in some respects and, above all, can read and write documents
in Microsoft Office file formats. For this purpose, and to test my extensions,
I have also installed it.
However, since LibreOffice is continuously being developed, undergoing changes
to the user interface, and the latest version (which the publishers themselves
only recommend for testing purposes) may contain bugs, I stick with OpenOffice
for serious work.
The help function in OpenOffice is still unmatched.
Some features of LibreOffice/OpenOffice that benefit authors and self-publishers
The spell checker supports foreign languages in the text:
Dictionaries are available for many different languages.
For spell checking, you can set the language for individual paragraphs
or text passages.
You can also exclude text passages from the spell check.
The spell checker supports project-specific vocabulary:
Multiple different user dictionaries can be created and selected,
which facilitates the use of names and self-invented terms,
e.g., for different fantasy and science fiction projects.
High-quality document layout:
The document template system is well designed and allows for consistent, clean layout.
This allows you to quickly and easily reformat the text for screen work,
economical printing, or standard pages.
Even a book layout for personal use is possible.
There is a neat system for comments in the text.
EPUB export is available so you can conveniently read through
your own manuscript using an e-reader.
The Writer word processor has a navigation area that allows you
to jump to headings, including invisible ones.
You can customize the user interface to suit your own needs,
right down to “distraction-free writing.”
You can automate processes using macros.
If you don’t feel confident doing this yourself, there is a wide range
of extensions available that include such macros.
Examples for this would be changing quotation marks or switching document templates.
The application saves documents in an open, standardized file format
that remains accessible in the long term.
The application is available for free and for multiple operating systems,
making it easy to switch from Windows to Linux, for example.
This applies not only to documents, but also to the working environment
with user dictionaries, document templates, and function extensions.
However, anyone writing a large novel will sooner or later reach a point
where the story threatens to become overwhelming.
You may already have outlines, notes, planning documents, synopsis drafts,
chapter overviews and so on, but as the manuscript grows,
it becomes increasingly difficult to keep these documents up to date.
Rearranging sections and chapters, introducing additional storylines,
maintaining chronological coherence—all this can become a serious challenge
at the latest during revision.
This is where specialized writing software comes in.
It generally offers better tools than office software to break
down a novel into small pieces and to provide these pieces with all the
additional information which would otherwise consist of notebooks, spreadsheets,
supplementary documents and sticky notes.
The main purpose of this software is therefore to keep the big picture
of the story in view, even if the story is constantly being expanded,
shortened or restructured.
If you move a part of the text, the summaries, notes, word count information,
and everything that falls under the term “metadata” move with it,
so that everything always fits together.
Many writing programs also offer access to the collected digital research
material so that
everything is in one place and users only need one program for all their work.
Of course, this requires a certain willingness to learn.
Some writing programs have an operating concept that deviates from the standards
of office software.
In addition, the word processing function of free writing software
in particular is not always as mature as we are used to with office software.
Why novelibre?
You can see novelibre as a supplement to LibreOffice or OpenOffice.
It manages the structure and metadata of the novel and, in addition to the
actual manuscript, generates a selection of Office text and spreadsheet documents
that can be worked on.
novelibre is primarily designed for authors who are familiar with LibreOffice
or OpenOffice and who are missing the additional administration functions
of specialized writing software.
As a special feature, you can use novelibre in combination with
dedicated timeline software such as the free
Timeline
which opens up completely new possibilities for planning
of the narrative plot.
As a computer program, novelibre has to
save its data.
To do this, it uses an open and well-documented file format,
so that nobody has to worry that his novel will at some point
“be stuck in the program and no longer wants to come out”.
Last but not least, this online manual provides a comprehensive documentation
of the novelibre features.
However you may have found your way here, I wish you much joy and success
in writing your novel with novelibre!
