yWriter 5 5.1.1.1

CNET editors' review

Reviewed by: CNET staff on September 01, 2009

yWriter 5 is an unusual but interesting bit of freeware that takes a coder's approach to writing a novel. Simon Haynes, a bestselling novelist and programmer, developed it to help the aspiring author by automating many of the tasks common to fiction writing. It's basically a specialized word processor that breaks down the elements of a writing project into discrete pieces that can be refined individually and then strung together, much the way a coder approaches a large programming job. Chapters, scenes, characters, and plot elements can be defined, developed, edited, and automatically integrated into the project. You can even drag and drop elements such as new or altered characters or locations into the narrative. It won't suggest plot twists or offer creative suggestions, but it does help the writer focus on the creative process by looking after the housekeeping.

The program downloads and installs easily and free of adware and other malicious software (as is all software on Download.com). It also uses local config files, not the Windows Registry, so it's completely portable. The clean, businesslike interface resembles a spreadsheet more than a word processor, but you don't have to write in it--you can create content in your favorite program and use yWriter 5 to keep track of it. A PDF Quickstart Guide illustrated with many screen shots makes it easy to set up your first project. A sample project shows what yWriter 5 can do in the hands of an experienced writer.

Not only does yWriter5 do something no other software does that we're aware of, but it also does it well. It's completely free to download and use.

Publisher's description

From Spacejock Software :

When designing a software program you break big problems (tasks) into little ones. Then you break those down into smaller and smaller problems until each can be tackled easily. Of course, you don't want to lose sight of the overall project, so you give yourself explicit outlines for each piece of code. Then it's just a case of coding each of the little pieces and hooking them together into the finished application.

Despite the mystical arty aura surrounding the process of fiction writing, at the end of the day most books can be written in a similar fashion: Break each novel into chapters, break each chapter into one or more scenes, and give each scene a goal, some conflict and an outcome. A scene is a pleasant chunk to work on - small and well-defined, you can slot them into your novel, dragging and dropping them from one chapter to another as you interleave strands from different viewpoint characters and work out the overall flow of your book. You can also drop a scene completely if you've written yourself into a dead end, without feeling you've ground to a complete halt.

New in this version: Fixed the spelling dictionary download & install

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