For many wannabe writers, the reasons for not putting pen to paper and at least starting the novel are legitimate. Time, inspiration, insufficient knowledge and lack of confidence are justifiable grounds for a lack of story – at least more often than not.

For the sizeable minority of less than exemplary reasons not to pen a new bestseller, I offer the following advice – don’t write.

That’s not the sort of advice you hear every day, but it’s quite legitimate. Writers tend to write because they either have a drive to get a story down on paper or for the love of the craft.

In any other aspect of life, people who make excuses don’t want to get their hands dirty. So why should writing be any different? Books on the subject come up with 1001 tips on how to overcome the inertia that so many would be authors suffer from. So let’s consider 1002 in some more detail.

Writing for the newcomer should be pleasurable. That’s regardless of how many pages have been committed to paper already. I expect there are a significant number of ‘started but discarded’ manuscripts out there to add to the ‘yet to be written’ stories. If you can’t find the time or the inclination to write, then my advice is – don’t. It’s quite simple really.

Consider the person who knows they should go to the gym, but has a list of excuses why they can’t go today. The simple truth is that they would prefer to watch TV or read the paper than to exercise. They know that they ought to work out, but the desire not to is stronger.

And so it is with the aspiring writer. They may have a great idea but something is stopping them from switching on the laptop and starting to type. Again it might be TV or reading, but the bottom line is that these pastimes are more engaging than writing.

I could give you 1001 tips on how to overcome the obstacles to writing, but the reticent writer could think of 1002 reasons why it won’t work for them.

What I’m not saying is that these unforthcoming authors ought not to write. Nor am I saying they will never write. What I am saying is that, at this moment in time, they should listen to what their inner voice that is trying to tell them, in so many ways, that now is not a good time.

And if now is not a good time, then that’s OK. If later turns out to be the right time, they can write then. And if later isn’t right, then writing a novel just wasn’t to be.

The entire writing process can be hard work – even for seasoned writers. Many find editing a chore but carry on for the love of the craft. They couldn’t imagine doing anything other than writing. Until you find that point in your life, don’t waste any more New Year’s resolutions.

How will you know when the moment is right? As they say on all the best martial arts movies – you’ll just know. In simple terms, the desire to write will outweigh the reasons not to.

There are several different software packages around that will enable your writing process and assist you in the mechanics of writing and make it all easier for you.

However, the ideas and how you work, will determine whether you make a successful novel or not. I do not know if these software packages will make you create the million dollar revenue bestselling novels out there. But, hey, it’s worth a try. When we look in the book store windows and see what type of stories makes the bestseller out there now these days. Then we see it is a matter of stories and concept. However the novelist has become more a marketing victim and we see that the marketing and sales machinery assists in a very good way to create the new bestseller.

Maybe these tools will have what it takes to create another one soon, or at least quicker than without the tools. I wish you the best of luck and with hopes that YOU will make the next bestseller, but best of all, that I will be one of your readers.

I have reviewed two software packages that can assist you in creating a novel, and also assist you in the recipe for your novel. Both software’s run on Mac OS, so if you have a PC, well, you are out of luck. The tools will not cut it for you my friend.

Mariner Storymill 3.0
Claimes it will aspire authors and assist them in multi-level writing methods of tracking characters, scenes, and locations. As the professional writers will appreciate StoryMill’s time-saving ability to oversee and manage the full creative process with Smart Views.
Jer’s Novel Writer
This program is made to fit a certain way to write. It is made to assist you overcome your shortcomings. So the software offer you to be a better writer, and hoping it will help you too.
This program is all about momentum, and reducing the number of things that break the flow when you write. Jer’s Novel Writer is designed to help you keep writing when the creative juices are flowing, and then find all the things you need to go over again when you are more in a nitty-gritty mood.
Both StoryMill and Jer’sNovel Writer have a solid set of word processing tools, including Spell checking and a full page view. Neither of them is as full-featured as Mellel or Word. But for the purposes of writing your Novel, they will get you out that starting gate.
StoryMill 3.0 starts from $49.95 and you have the opportunity to register for a try out period.
Jers Novel Writer is free. Both come with tutorials, and their special features can be learned in an hour.
Which is the better app for writing that novel? Its up to you and your story. Do you like to work from a recipe, with the ingredients all in a row? Then StoryMill is for you, letting you plan every chapter. Or do you like to throw in a dash of this, a dash of that, and write the recipe afterwards? Then Jer’s Novel Writer is for you.
My own preference is StoryMill since. I like to fire ahead and write, StoryMill lets you get on with it. The interface, with all the Database tabs, is like a comfy security blanket. Actors. Scenes. Action! If you are clear sighted enough to see beyond the novel to the movie adaptation, well, it is not a big leap from StoryMill’s structured approach to a movie script.
Both Novel Writer and StoryMill goes through the same elements and techniques in writing, though each does it in a different way.
StoryMill is for the writer who is less impulsive and more compulsive, who simply must have an outline and all the characters defined before putting down two words. Straight off, its Outline interface is there for you to create Actors, Scenes, and if you wish, other custom categories. This software is very handy for big stories with large casts. It even allows for start and end dates, for stories that may span years.
Jer’s Novel Writer is for the rocket launchers who just wants to burn rubber, and write the novel. There is a little work beforehand in the Project settings, where you structure your Novel into Books, Parts, or Chapters, or whatever hierarchy you wish, and set your Styles. Then you are off. Your database and outline are created on-the-go, with Control clicks, putting everything into a pop-out drawer to the right.
Ok, so I covered in detail two different types of noverl wrting software toolboxes. However there are others in the market and I give a brief overview of them below here.

There is a lot of good writing software out there for the Mac. Most of the programs linked to below are direct competition for Scrivener. I provide links because the writing process is different for everyone. Scrivener suits the way I write, and hopefully some others too, but if it doesn’t suit the way that you write, then you may want to check out some of the excellent software below to see if any of it fits the way you work.
WriteRoom is a dedicated full screen writing application for distraction-free writing. Imagine a better-looking TextEdit that can operate in a beautiful full screen mode. WriteRoom has deservedly caused quite a buzz among the Mac writing community for its simplicity, style and ability to help you concentrate on the text.

Ulysses, by Blue-Tec, was one of the first programs on the Mac to be aimed specifically at creative writers. It was also, to my knowledge, the first to offer a full-screen view for text-editing. It is a beautiful piece of software, though it only allows plain text editing and makes you use tags to define where you want italics to go, which never quite did it for me. The designers have a very strong design philosophy – if that philosophy matches the way you work, you will love this software; if not, you might find yourself frustrated at the lack of rich text and hierarchical organisation capabilities.

CopyWrite is perhaps the most popular creative writing software available for the Mac. As I understand it, CopyWrite has a similar gestation history to Scrivener: the author liked Ulysses but was frustrated by its limitations, so came up with his own writing management software. CopyWrite is rich-text and features full-screen editing and versioning. Personally, I find the the lack of hierarchical organisation limiting (there is only one level of categorisation), and I’ve always found it a little quirky in many ways, but plenty of people rave about it and it’s definitely worth checking out.

Storyist is the new kid on the block (along with Scrivener) of writing software. It’s a little like Jer’s (see above) but with a page layout view. It shows an outline on the left and your text on the right, and provides templates for character and location sheets. Specifically aimed at novel and story writing, as of 1.0 the import options are a little limited, but it looks like a promising application and is well worth a try.

PaperToolsPro has an interface that vaguely resembles that of Ulysses (see above), but it is mainly aimed at writers of research papers, dedicated to helping you assemble the paper whilst keeping track of references and avoiding plagiarism.

DevonThink is not so much writing software as a great database tool for your research, DevonThink is a very powerful organisational tool and does provide basic text-editing capabilities.

OmniOutliner is probably the most powerful – and certainly the most popular – outlining tool available for the Mac. It’s so good, that the basic version comes free with most new Macs these days. OmniOutliner provided inspiration for the outlining capabilities of Scrivener.

WriteItNow was originally designed for the PC, so the interface isn’t quite as pretty as the other writing software mentioned here because it isn’t written in Cocoa. Nonetheless, it provides hierarchical organisation of your work and some powerful research tools, and is worth a look.

MacJournal is blogging software rather than creative writing software, although you could bend it to creative writing if you really wanted to. It is very powerful, very easy to use, and has a lovely tabbed interface. It has also provided some inspiration for the new Scrivener interface. Recommended..

We were left with an emotional hangover after we finished directing “Touching Home,” a movie about us and our father. Less than a year earlier our father had passed away in jail. On that day, we had made a vow to him that we would make our movie — and we had just realized that commitment. We were supposed to be happy now. But we were miserable. For the last 350 days all our thoughts had been on the mission, the team of people we were working with. Now our thoughts were focused inward and it was a tough place to be. But the torment wasn’t enough . . .

So we decided to dive into another long-shot mission: Write a book about our movie making hell-ride.

Where would we find the time? After all, we were still making the movie — post-production, editing. We searched for days. And then found it in the sleeping patterns of our editor, Academy Award nominee Robert Dalva.

You see, Robert is a night man. Not a party man, just a guy that goes to bed late. We are morning men — we go to bed early and rise early, like man before electricity. Robert showed up at our house each day at 11am, where we were cutting picture downstairs. This gave us several hours to write each morning before he showed up.

And we write with four hands, which sometimes takes twice as long. One man types while the other writes freehand. Then we blend it. We only have one computer so space and time are limited. Logan is the typer and Noah is the hand writer. And it’s never pretty. One bro furiously smashing plastic squares, the other furiously carving ink onto paper. Later, the two are brought together in a clash of abusive language, each brother claiming the other is bipolar, illegitimate, the bastard son of an entire city. That their mother sang lullabies to one and terrible songs to the other. That his diaper was rarely changed and it ruined his brain. That he has written absolute tripe. That it belongs in the trash heap of failed street poets. We yell and scream. We throw chairs and hot cups of coffee. Punch holes in the sheet rock . . . And somehow, before Robert arrived, we had embedded words into the memory of our computer. Writing the book brought back the excitement, allowed us to relive the boom and noise, the chaos and uncertainty. It unleashed the dopamine gush, washed the drug over the brain, gave us another goal.

We started writing in mid-April 2007 and had an ugly draft by October. We cut through it with a chainsaw and by February 2008 it was prettier and ready to product test. We gave the draft to a few trusted friends, one of them being National Bestselling author, Tess Uriza Holthe. Tess and the crew liked the manuscript — and they are a very tough bunch. Tess gave the manuscript to her agent, Mary Ann Naples. It was an unpleasant week, the mental sauna — the self-inflicted victimization that all writers suffer when waiting to hear what an agent thinks of their work. It gives you the stomach jungle; hot rivers, chimps, and hairy insects howling in your gut. Then Mary Ann called and said that she really liked our manuscript and our temperature left the tropics. She gave us some notes, we went back into the manuscript, smoothed out some things, and then it was ready to send to publishers. Matthew Benjamin, an editor at Collins Publishing Group, read our manuscript the morning it was sent out and then tossed it up the ladder to the President of Collins, Steven Ross, who took it home that night. The following day they made us an offer — and we took it. They were extremely enthusiastic about our book and we were equally enthusiastic about being paid. It had taken us nearly ten years of writing diligently, working one mindless job after another, to finally get a paycheck for mental work. It was time to move on from Top Ramen. Of course, we’ll revisit the noodle delicacy, but out of choice, rather than necessity. So we signed the contract with Collins and began working with Matthew on turning the book into something the entire world would appreciate — another delusion. And now we’re done. We wrote the Acknowledgments last week.

It was our intention to make a movie, not write a book. By accident, we did both. And now we’re here. Wherever that is. Somewhere between obscurity and the rocket ride.

©2009 Logan and Noah Miller, authors of Either You’re in or You’re in the Way: Two Brothers, Twelve Months, and One Filmmaking Hell-Ride to Keep a Promise to Their Father

Author BioLogan and Noah Miller, identical twins, and authors of Either You’re in or You’re in the Way: Two Brothers, Twelve Months, and One Filmmaking Hell-Ride to Keep a Promise to Their Father, were raised as roofers in northern California, dreamt of being baseball stars. When that dream failed, they found professional success as bingo callers. Always staying together, the brothers were briefly suckered into the world of modeling, somehow avoided the circus, and finally, with 17 credit cards, pursued a career in filmmaking. In 2006, the brothers were awarded the Panavision New Filmmaker Grant, and their screenwriting, directorial, and acting debut Touching Home premiered at the San Francisco International Film Festival in April of 2008. They live in northern California and hold no degrees.

1. Every day is the Cuban Missile Crisis: Your world could blow up.

Shooting an independent film is a radioactive adventure more volatile than a drunken dictator scratching his back with the nuclear joystick. At any moment the entire project could get really TOASTY. Why? Because making a movie is an interdependent relationship in which everyone and everything depends on the other thing. If an actor has a nervous breakdown, the grip truck gets a blow out, the cops stumble upon your guerrilla flamethrower scene in downtown Los Angeles, the caterer leaves the mayonnaise sandwiches in the sun all afternoon, or your financier drops out a week from shooting because his wife catches him in the clubhouse sauna with Reggie the golf pro — if any of these realistic scenarios occur — you’ll be forced to reestablish peace in an apocalyptic wasteland. And, as every Sunday school student knows, an apocalypse is always bad.

2. Surround yourself with gray hair and listen.

Making movies is team art. So why not assemble the most experienced team possible? And those with gray hair tend to have more experience than those without. Sure, some people color their hair. And sure, not everybody goes gray. And sure, some rookies have gray hair. But the odds are that if they have gray hair and were working in the movie business prior to the Just For Men craze, then they have much wisdom to impart. You’ll do yourself and your audience a tremendous service if you’re open to gray-haired advice as you tackle the greatest headache of your life. If you choose not to listen to the sages, then by all means, reinvent the wheel and see if it rolls.

3. Never wait for a phone call.

Phones never ring when you stare at them. We’re not sure why, but we think it violates the second or third law of communication. In order to make your movie you’re going to have to make thousands of phone calls. And if you leave a message and wait for that person to call you back — you’re better off waiting for the cow to jump over the moon. At first, nobody is going to care about your dream but you. Nobody. Of course, you want to give people a reasonable amount of time to call you back, say, a half hour or so. Make the phone your friend and dial your future.

4. Stay relentless. Rely on no one.

Have you ever seen a sled dog mush? They run and run with no idea where they’re going or why their tongue is hanging out their mouth — just a destination somewhere on the other side of the blizzard. If you’re not relentless, you’ll never leave the blizzard and your movie will never get made. So be the sled dog — and MUSH ON!

5. There are only solutions.

This could easily be titled “there are only problems.” But where would that get us? Frustrated, hopeless, and drunk. So we need to find a way. No matter what. We’ve postponed our lives, our wives and husbands and children, our friends and family, ruined our credit and exhausted our savings in pursuit of our dream. So we must find the solution in every problem, and they are constant. If you focus on the difficulty instead of a way out, then you’ll fail to make your movie. There’s always a solution.

6. Spend the financier’s money as if it were your own: Don’t be a scumbag.

Karma comes to mind on this one. But let’s say you don’t believe in that spiritual quackery. Fine. You’ll still want to conserve your budget and spend it on the important stuff — what’s on screen, rather than sushi dinners and a drop-top with twenty inch rims. You’ve starved for years so the temptation to spend a little on yourself and your friends will be there. But don’t rationalize the wasting of some rich person’s money. This money is for you to make the best movie possible. Your movie will last forever; the sushi will last a couple hours, and the car, depending on your driving skills, will either be crashed, stolen, or repossessed. You want to establish trust with your financier. You may need to go back to them for more financing along the way. You also want to make another movie. And if you scrupulously spend your budget you’ll not only make a better movie but you’ll also show future investors your extraordinary ability to make a lot from a little. More importantly, you won’t be a scumbag. And if you’re lucky, you might get some good karma.

7. Either you’re in or you’re in the way.

Don’t waste time trying to convert everyone. You’re a filmmaker, not Jesus Christ. You don’t need to walk across water to get people on your team. There is no need to enter a lengthy debate with those who don’t believe in your objective. Thank them for their opinion and move on. Find the believers and spend your time with them. Your time is all you have and you’ll need all of it to make your movie.

©2009 Logan and Noah Miller, authors of Either You’re in or You’re in the Way: Two Brothers, Twelve Months, and One Filmmaking Hell-Ride to Keep a Promise to Their Father

Author BioLogan and Noah Miller, identical twins, and authors of Either You’re in or You’re in the Way: Two Brothers, Twelve Months, and One Filmmaking Hell-Ride to Keep a Promise to Their Father, were raised as roofers in northern California, dreamt of being baseball stars. When that dream failed, they found professional success as bingo callers. Always staying together, the brothers were briefly suckered into the world of modeling, somehow avoided the circus, and finally, with 17 credit cards, pursued a career in filmmaking. In 2006, the brothers were awarded the Panavision New Filmmaker Grant, and their screenwriting, directorial, and acting debut Touching Home premiered at the San Francisco International Film Festival in April of 2008. They live in northern California and hold no degrees.