Free Novel Writing Software

Recently, I became aware of a free novel writing program called "Storybook". Storybook is billed as an "open source novel-writing tool for creative writers, novelists and authors which will help you to keep an overview of multiple plot-lines while writing books, novels or other written works." I am intrigued by the idea. Pictured above is a screen shot of the program. Once information such as characters, dates, locations, etc. are entered into the program, the information may be viewed in four different ways:

• Chronological View - shows the scenes sorted by date. Each strand has it's own column.
• Manage Chapters and Scenes View - shows all chapters and their assigned scenes.
• Book View - shows all chapters and their assigned scenes sorted by chapter and scene numbers, as you would read it in the final book. (Book View is show in the image above.)
• Reading View (a mode of the Book View) shows the text as in a final book. 

I think software like this would be very helpful for stories with complex plots and lots of characters. Once I am able to give the program a test run I will post a more detailed review. But great as the software sounds, there is a nagging thought in the back of my mind: "What would Stephen King think of this?" ^^

Update: Read a further review of this product here.

Early Spacemouse 9 Sketch

I thought it was about time I showed everyone what the protagonist of Spacemouse 9 looks like. This is a rough pencil sketch I did in 1997. Back then I referred to the little guy as just "Spacemouse", but as you can see, even then the Rothi symbol for the number nine was emblazoned on his chest. The truth of the matter is that in 1997 the circle and slash symbol wasn't meant to be a nine. It  was supposed to be some type of military insignia. In recent years when I decided to call the character "Spacemouse 9", I worked backwards to create a logical numbering system where the symbol would become the number nine. In coming months I hope to share more early Spacemouse 9 artwork as I get it scanned and cleaned up in Photoshop. My goal is to use my early  artwork as a starting point to create better, more refined art to include in the book.

Thoughts on the Monomyth

A while back I started reading The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell. I am not sure if I will finish the book or not. First off, it is a dry read (think college history textbook). Second, after reading Stephen King's opinion that good fiction almost never proceeds from theme to story, I have come to the conclusion that it would be a bad idea to write my story with Campbell's "monomyth" in mind. I like this quote by author Neil Gaimon on the subject:

"I think I got about half way through The Hero with a Thousand Faces and found myself thinking if this is true — I don’t want to know. I really would rather not know this stuff. I’d rather do it because it’s true and because I accidentally wind up creating something that falls into this pattern than be told what the pattern is."

So odds are I won't finish The Hero with a a Thousand Faces. The image above is a cartoon illustration by Austin Kleon of themes found in the writings of Joseph Campbell.