I was asked by John to post this, because he believes in me and I appreciate it.

One day, a wolf was wandering in the midst of his troubles, sobering from a love that was lost, that he thought was supposed to be his life and future. The spirits spoke and said,"This was not to be, our brother wolf. The love you sought, was hidden, waiting for you in the background. You just needed to find her. Go, she is there, waiting for you. You will be guided to the right path. Once you feel that energy, you will be pulled along the way, to a long and fruitful journey. One that will be a lasting, forever journey, once you meet her. You will know when you come to your destination. The signs are there for you to read."
With that being told, the wolf plodded on his journey, sniffing the ground for his tracks of his love. Sniffing the air for her scent and stopping to howl to the moon, his message of love that was strong in his heart, hoping she would hear. He would come to a place of rest and lay down to go to sleep. He would dream and see the signs he was to look for. He saw a beautiful rainbow in the sky, glistening with it's seven brilliant colors. Sparkling, as if it were made of glass. Then he heard thunder rumbling in the sky, in his sleep, listening to the tears it had let fall to the earth. He sought for cover as quickly as possible, underneath a ledged rock, where he would take refuge from the storm, until it passed. He drifted off to sleep once again until morning.
He woke, to the sound of dripping drops off of the ledge rock, where he lay. He stood and shook, stretched and yawned. He stepped out from underneath the rock, looked to the sky and saw the clouds separating. The skies were clearing, the sun shining bright and lo and behold, he saw the most wondrous sight he had ever seen. The glassy, sparkling rainbow in the sky, he had seen in his dream. It's awesome arch and its magnificent colors. 'The sign' he thought.
He quickly started running towards the rainbow. Now and then, he would get atop of a hill or rock, just to see how much further he would have to go before he reached it. Running with the speed of an arrow, he dodged tree roots, bushes, darting about here and there, just to make sure he would make it in time before that majestic beauty would disappear.
Exhausted, beat and in despair, his head hanging low in defeat, looked up and saw that his destination was complete. The rainbow was still there. And there standing guard at the bottom of the rainbow, was a Sprite. The guardian of things of the earth. He saw her beauty and all exhaustion faded away. His heart started skipping beat and he knew this was his love. He felt the spirits rubbing his coat, letting him know his journey and search was over. "It is done and this will be." As both heard the words from the spirits.
Now, before the two go off and share their love of eternity, she must find someone to be the keeper of all things earthly. Any volunteers???

that is beautiful wolf.

im glad you shared it.

Thanks Blue...glad you liked it. There are others in my link.

sand

to find your home, do you drag your heart thru dust. do you lose your way. forget where you are. ive waited so long for you to find me here, your heart. your home. did you get lost on your way. did you change your direction. swimming admist sharks. will you ever drift home to my shore? im going to sit amongst my palm tree hurricanes and sand in my toes with the lights on...

2-11-06

i really need to learn to use proper grammer and stuff..one day.

Very nice and sounds like home to me since I live in Miami. lol

thank you
i must have lived in miami in a previous life, i write of palm trees and hurricanes often. it is a theme i use.

your welcome, i read all that you post. they are all very good.

Robert(wolf) is a brilliant writer. He will have many of his works published one day. It will be exciting to buy his book in a bookstore thinking that we once spoke to him here on justsayhi (mingle2).

i completely agree

A interesting author to look up on if you desire.

http://www.susanpiver.com/wordpress/

This is a great website to ask questions about writing and get answers from a published author.

http://julieluongo.wordpress.com/2007/07/29/julie-luongo-answers-your-questions-about-writing-and-whatever-else-i-guess-within-reason/

John, I looked at the links you provied for the top reviews of writing software.

I noticed that most of these software packages offer the following features:

1. Brainstorming
2. Conflict Development
3. Character Development
4. Setting Development
5. Plot Development

I'm just wondering if there is anything to them. I just use Microsoft Word. It already contains everthing need to actually write, including a pretty good thesaurus.

How would writing software help with the things listed above? Other then maybe providing question templates, etc.

But if it's just a matter of question templates it seems to me that such things could be found and just pasted into a normal word processor and used that way.

For example, I've created a basic outine form for the characters. It's generic and so I just copy and paste it a bunch of times thus creating mulitple forms for creating characters.

In addition to that I have used styles for the character names at the top of each form. This way I can easily create a table of contents (a list of characters) that I can just click on and go directly to that characters profile sheet.

So, I'm wondering what, if anything, those sofware packages offer that ultimately can't be done in a word processor?

How does their "Setting Development" feature work, for example. Or the Conflict and Plot development features work?

Does anyone have any of these programs with these features.

Are these features actually useful?

Thanks.

Hi James,

I posted this because I see that some of the writers experience writer's block. With that in mind I went to find programs that can help eliminate this problem. You see such a program can be seen as a writing companion. It offers ways to help create your characters, find different alternative ways to resolve side topics or plots, or even give you brainstorming suggestions. I see it more of a help program to make sure your novel will get completed. I know some of the things these programs offer are already in word document like a theseraus or a dictionary, but perhaps some programs have a more extensive vocabulary list and definition then what our words documents offer.

Here is for example this particular products advertisement:

When starting a story Dramatica Pro asks a series of fill–in–the–blank questions about the plot and characters. If you aren't sure about some of the answers, you can always go back and add or even change information. These questions help you to organize character traits and structure the plot.

The software also allows you to switch between different storyguide paths. You can decide which storyguide path works best in your story without completely rewriting your plot.

Another unique feature of Dramatica Pro is the ability to illustrate different aspects of your story. For example, you can choose a visual representation for each of your characters from a number of graphics. This way, you can visually represent each character’s personality.


Ease of Use:

When beginning a new story the program asks approximately 385 questions; if you're not familiar with writing terms and techniques it can get quite complicated. However, once you’ve answered all of the questions, Dramatica will be map out your entire story to the smallest detail, which makes the writing process a snap.

Another promising feature is the ability to move around within the program without much problem. You can change from characters, to plot progression and to story points with the click of a button.

It does take some time to become acquainted with Dramatica Pro, so expect a learning curve. If you are attempting to write your first creative story, play or screenplay, we would probably recommend something a bit more simplified, and leave this one for the pros.


Of course there are authors who don't suffer writer's block or aren't that critical about their writing and don't need such a program and then there are some who really find such a program useful.

I figure many authors don't use such programs, but I think it is great to have to enhance ideas or even different aspects of writing a novel.

Some are writers on impulse as others like to be well organized when writing. I know it isn't everybodies cup of tea!

I thought it would be interesting to post out to look at.

This is also interesting.

Writing Enhancement Software programs top 10 reviews

http://writing-enhancement-software-review.toptenreviews.com/

Dramatica Pro 4.1 seems to be very interesting program also.

Structure Your Plot – Answer Dramatica's thought provoking questions about your characters and plot. This narrows down the possible ways of telling your story to the one that best expresses your personal vision-and prompts Dramatica to supply some answers of its own. Amazingly, it can show you which parts of your story are strong, and which need punching up!

Illustrate Your Story – Write specific examples of how each of your story decisions about character arc, theme, conflict, tension, story goal, plot points, etc. will play out in your story's scenes. At the click of a button, see how the great writers illustrated the same story points in their classic stories.

Create Scenes – Now you weave together all the parts of the story you've developed so far. Determine how elements of character, plot, and theme will be revealed to your audience over time, and place your written examples directly into specific Acts, Scenes, or Chapters. Your step outline or plot synopsis is complete, ready to be honed into a killer first draft!

StoryGuide – There's only one way to write your story -- your way. StoryGuide leads you step-by-step through the ideal path to creating your unique story. Quick Start gives you instant feedback, Advanced guide takes you from beginning to end.
Character Casting – Visualize your characters by casting them from your choice of over 500 icons. Name them from a database of over 5,000 unique names.

Build Characters – Interesting. Deep. Real. Memorable. Dramatica helps you craft characters that leap off the page and into the hearts and minds of your audience. Define the relationships between your characters by assigning thematic elements to character icons. Explore character relationships and see how they help or hinder each other. Decide what's motivating your characters and how they'll express the central themes of your story.

Story Engine – Dramatica's Story Engine takes you to the heart of your story, graphically showing you how the changing of one dramatic element ripples throughout your story and influences its structure. Explore your creative choices here as Dramatica interacts with you, intuitively changing the impact of your story on an audience.

Story Status – Responding to your choices, Dramatica shows you what other character, plot, and themes issues you need to address, and in what order, to come out with a perfectly structured story. As each stage of Story development is completed, Dramatica gives you visual feedback on your progress, staying with you until your story is fully realized.

Tutorial & Help – A complete online Tutorial nurtures you through the story creation process. Dramatica's searchable, indexed Help System provides accessible guidance instantly, while the entire Dramatica Theory Book online provides helpful background.

Theme Browser – In one place, see how all your story's thematic elements interconnect. Zoom in to focus on one area of your story, or zoom out to get a bird's eye view of the big picture.
Plot Progression – Dramatica shows you the linear act structure of your story's 4 throughlines from beginning to middle to end. Each throughline has 4 plot points-signposts indicating how the story will spin from act to act-and 3 acts-your characters' emotional journeys from one plot point to the next.

Scene Creation – Here's where you weave together all the parts of the story you've developed. Determine how elements of character, plot, and theme will be revealed to your audience over time. Illustrate how they'll show up in the story by assigning them to the specific Scenes, Acts, or Chapters that combine to make up your story's outline, treatment, or plot synopsis.

Amazing Export for Screenwriter 3.0 Users – Users of Movie Magic Screenwriter can import their Dramatica story treatment directly into a formatted script. All character names and descriptions, scene headings, and scene descriptions are formatted automatically-you're up and running on your first draft!

The End Result – Gain deeper insight into your story with Dramatica's detailed reports. Export your story treatment-containing the scene-by-scene narrative plot synopsis (novelists) or treatment (scriptwriters) - into your favorite word processor for further rewriting.

I would love to go through that process with my story just for kicks.

But isn’t that program something like $300?

I’m not paying that.

But I would like to see what it does, and what the 385 questions are.

Yes I think that is something for those who really plan to write more then just one novel. I may just buy this program and see if I can burn a copy for you if possible. I am just not sure if it will be that one. There are a few that seem good. Then again I hate to buy a program and never use it as I am such a person who does this frequently. One of my goals is to not waste money this year on things I really don't use later on.

Still contemplating on this. It would be nice if there was someone who has had some experience with such programs and to hear his or her thoughts on using them.

It's not only that, but I'm not even sure if I would benefit from it.

Mayby I can download a trial version and go through that questionaire sequence just to see if it even helps.

I'm not even sure if it would help. That's the whole thing.

Also, I wonder if there isn't some similar questionaire thing already available online. I just joined a writers forum tonight and I'm going to paste what I've written thus far on my novel for critique.

I have currently run into a problem with my own copy of Microsoft word. It's acting strangely. Maybe the program just needs to be reloaded. I'm not sure. For some reason there a place in the document where the paragraphs are formated differently. But I can't fix it. When I select the entire text and ajust the paragraph parameters. They don't take. I can't figure out what's going on and it's frustrating.

I've been using Microsoft word for years without a problem. This is the first time I've encountered a problem with it. It might just need reinstalled. I can try that.

Please go to the technical forum for assistance! just joking

What year is your word document? I have learned that one can actually update their word document with microsoft for free. I think one had a 2003 word document and then updated it to 2007 for free. How he did it I don't know and if I see him will ask.

Yes no word document would be horrible! Fix that or the book will have to be hand written and then typed on a old typewriter. I love those things don't you!

I used to have a couple really old antique typewriters. I wish I would have never gotten rid of those now.

It's not that my software needs updated. It never used to do this. It must just need to be reinstalled. I was deleting a lot of files on this computer to make room on the hard drive. I might have deleted something I shouldn't have.

Owl just reinstall it.