Recently my son convinced me to get a new iPadPro. I went for the large 12-inch version and bought a Logitech cover/keyboard, which means I can use it as a substitute laptop if I want to. The graphics are amazing. The question then arose as to which writing Apps I should buy to help me with my writing.
First I need to explain that I am a relative novice when it comes to IOS devices. I have an iPhone 6 plus, but I use it primarily to make calls and check e-mail. I don’t use its apps other than the calendar, email and contacts. I don’t see the need to surf the web on a small screen when there are easier ways using larger screens. And when I am home my iPhone is normally switched off. I prefer it that way.
Most of my writing is done using using Scrivener on my MacBook Pro. It’s an incredibly powerful writing app. I have now published two novels in print and ebook format solely using Scrivener; and am close to finishing my third. Like many other writers who love this software, I would be lost without it.
If you’re a writer and haven’t tried Scrivener, I would suggest you do. It can at first seem complex, but you don’t need to use all it’s functionality to reap the benefits of using the program. It’s not just a word processor, it’s a project management system for writing and editing novels and scripts. There’s lots of useful guidance on YouTube and on the Literature Latte website. And there’s also a great little book on Kindle by Ed Ditto, “Format Your Novel For Kindle, Nook, the iBookstore, Smashwords, & CreateSpace”, which is a step by step guide to publishing your book in the different formats.
Fortunately for me, last week Litterature and Latte released an IOS version of Scrivener. Now I can work with my third novel on either of my MacBook Pro or my iPad Pro by using Dropbox. I can tell you it’s simple to set up and it works. If you want to synch in the cloud you’ll need a Dropbox account. But you can get a free account which gives up to 2GB of storage. This is more than enough to write your novel. If you have any difficulty there’s guidance on YouTube. Just search for ‘Scrivener and IOS’.
Srivener is great but it’s not the only writing app on my system. I also chose the Ulysses App. Why? I simply like the Ulysses for writing quick articles like this one. It’s simple to use and has some similar features to Scrivener without the same level of complexity. Unlike Scrivener, Ulysses uses iCloud rather than Dropbox to store files on-line, although neither app requires you to store files on-line if you don’t want to. I like the fact that Ulysses uses Markdown which can easily be exported easily to different formats such as text, HTML, ePub, and Docx.
What other Apps have I found useful for the iPad Pro? Duet is an interesting app that turns the iPad Pro into a second screen for my MacBook Pro. That is I can work from my MacBook Pro keyboard and move the curser from one screen to the other as though they were joined. For example, I can use the QuickRef function in Scrivener to float a text box from one screen to another. This is useful if you want to refer to research material on a separate screen while working on the other. Yes, I know that Scrivener can also give you a split screen, but two screens are much more fun that just using one.
Another useful and inexpensive app for writers that I found in the iPad App Store is Plotline. It’s a very simple but clever app that lets you set up different plot lines and scenes for your story. Each scene is associated with a plot line, has a title, details and an intensity score. Scenes can be moved around and between Acts very simply by dragging them. Plotline is a great little planning tool that gives you a visual overview of your story by each scene’s intensity, and you can print out a scene by scene outline.
These of course and not all the writing Apps I have on my iPad Pro, but the ones I think are worth drawing to your attention. As you might have guessed I am not a technophobe. Far from it. I am a relative novice in IOS terms, but I’m learning about what works for me. And I hope they will work for you.
