Power Writer

Based on Power Structure's award-winning development tools, Power Writer focuses more heavily on the actual manuscript, allowing you to write anything from a short story all the way up to a full novel in one powerful, easy-to-use program. And its integrated Story Development & Outline Tools finally lets your writing proceed as one continuous act of creation from first idea through to final manuscript.

Outlines, notes, ideas, character arcs, and much more are always in synch with the actual text regardless as to how much you edit or rewrite . . . and they're right at your fingertips with a simple click of the mouse, or can just as easily be hidden so you can focus purely on your prose. . . . (from the write-brain web site)

Power Writer is the word processor I've searched over a decade to find. Word processors have always fallen into one of two categories: too general and skimpy or too bloated and business oriented. In both cases, the focus has never been on the creative writing process. Power Writer changes all that.

You won't find tables or spreadsheets in Power Writer. Forget about mail merge capabilities. Those useless features have been replaced with a sturdy word processor and an array of powerful writing tools for developing character, plot, and story. In short, stuff a writer can use.

Let me clarify something. Power Writer is not a slight remake of traditional word processing software. Power Writer is a complete overhaul—a new breed of animal. This is a writer's dream writing software.

If you're a writer who structures before you write, you no longer need separate software for each process. Power Writer lets you design and write your story the way you like to do it. Structure first and then write, structure as you write, or just jump right in and start writing. The choice is yours. With complete integration of story design and word processing features, it's never been this easy and seamless to create.

Power Writer has three windows. The outline window displays acts, chapters, and plot points. You can navigate your document from here or move entire sections by dragging and dropping. The second window, the story tools window, is where you develop the story's acts, chapters, and plot points in as much or as little detail as you like. This is also where you develop characters. The third window is the composition window, which acts as a standard word processor. The windows can be turned on or off as you see fit, displaying only the information you need at any given time during the writing process. However you choose to work, your notes and story structure are always at your fingertips, accessible through a power panel that keeps a complete outline of where you are.

Each of the story tool panels in Power Writer accepts detailed information about your novel or short story. You can develop backstory, pitch, premise, and theme. You can also create, develop, and keep opening hooks, ticking clocks, and must-happen events at your fingertips. The character panel lets you define the physical details of your characters, along with their goals, strengths, weaknesses, roles in the story, attitudes, character arcs, etc. The story panels can be used as is, or you can add and delete elements to suit your needs.

Power Writer has three types of notes (global, embedded, and referenced), each of which offers individual and useful functionality. Printing functions include the ability to print only the manuscript, or you can print chapters, plot points, or an outline. Power Writer also comes equipped with an extensive name database.

While Power Writer is designed for novelists and short story writers, one of its unique features is its ability to import scripts from major screenplay formatting software, including Movie Magic Screenwriter and Final Draft, which allows screenwriters to take advantage of the story design tools in Power Writer.

Power Writer is the only logical choice for creative writers. Make the change and you will never write with a traditional word processor again. This is the way creative writing software is supposed to be. Hands down, Power Writer is my word processor of choice.

Power Writer is available for Windows only. You can download a trial copy at the Write-Brain web site. This is my baby. I use it and love it. If you want a completely new writing experience, Power Writer is it.