Rating: 
Summary: Will this software tool help your fiction writing?
Review: I write plenty of non-fiction such as memoirs, real-humor stories and technical articles. I even get them published. But when it comes to pure creative writing, I can't muster more than a page or two. Plot? Character motivation? Storytelling? Plot-theme? Well, I am completely at sea when it comes to the great task of organizing my creative powers into a coherent work.Being the kind of person who does like software and computers to assist my writing, I was drawn to this product. Would such an affordably-priced piece of software offer me any help for fiction writing? Well, the answer is ultimately pending as I have NOT completed any work of fiction, but I now have a useful tool for organizing a foray into that genre. What's here:
A storyline "wizard" that takes you by the hand to create a story throughline, main character throughline, impact character (I presume they mean antagonist), the interaction of pro and antagonist (as they put it, main vs. impact.) The wizard asks you to create scenes based on the throughline. A character matrix-- you get 16 attributes to assign to your character and they are:
1.consider
2. logic
3. pursuit
4. control
5. reconsider
7.uncontrolled
8. avoidance
9. faith
10. conscience
11.support
12. help
13. temptation
14. disbelief
15. hinder
16. oppose Too many, not enough? Well, the pro version of the software reportedly has 256 of these matrix cells. Frankly, I think 16 is plenty, because I believe that the unconscious controls a lot of the character creation process; for example, I wrote a small piece with one theme and one main character. He was, when I finished, a pastiche of several people including myself, where I had simply taken the necessary attributes from life and combined them logically in a whole. I did not need to agonize over a matrix of cells. But...were I to motivate this main character through a plot-theme, I would need to track these characteristics that I imbued him with. Hence, the need for a database tracking software such as Writer's Dreamkit. Unless you are writing a highly complex work, such as a screenplay or novel of mammoth proportions and need to track the consistency of many character attributes, my opinion is that this is sufficient to at least get started and organize good character development. And this is a small investment to make to see if your writing style is amenable to adding a software tool because, for some people, such a logical device could possibly hinder the creative process, not enhance it. Conclusion: The Writer's Dreamkit (tm) V. 4.0 is a good basic tool. It is not comprehensive, but has enough features and is inexpensive enough to test whether or not you would use such a technical tool to assist your writing.
Rating: 
Summary: I tried this software
Review: I'm used to doing my writing the old fashioned way and tried this software the first time today. It's great. I ironed out the kinks in my plot in no time. ...
Rating:
Summary: If you're serious about writing then this is for you!
Review: I've been writing for a while now, and am enrolled in a correspondence course, and although I am learning a lot, this Dreamkit helped me so much more than I could have imagined! It is easy to use, and helps you see where your story is going, and where it needs work. It takes the guess work out of your story. I highly recommend this to anyone who is serious about their writing! The templates are easy to use and understand. The Query system takes you through some questions about your plot, characters and scene structure and helps you consider things you may not have thought of. It shows you your beginning, middle, and end, so that you can get to writing your story faster. It even has a character builder, so you can visualize your characters. The Dreamkit will not write your story for you, but it is of imense help. Move over Writer's Block! The users manual is a bit vague, but half the fun of this was in finding all the goodies on my own! It is fun and easy to use. It is money well spent!!
Rating: 
Summary: Expected a lot more
Review: I've written one book without the use of such software and I thought that it would be great to try this for a second book. I tried and only get words to come up and can never get it to form any type of story. I'm like another reviewer, "Maybe I'm green to this." I think I'll stick to the old fashion way. At least I can see something "create" before my eyes instead of wondering how to do it. Myhappiness goes out to those who can master this program.
Rating:
Summary: Misleading
Review: Perhaps I'm green to all of this, but in the description of Dreamkit 4.0 it states that there are templates for novels, screenplays etc. I thought a template was a formatted blank form to start on my screenplay with all the correct margins, formatted tabs et al. Well, once I called technical support, they admitted that "the wording should have been clearer" about the templates. There are no formatted forms. Also, for those who are not computer elitists, this program is confusing and frustrating. I ended up using the trial software (included) and found Screenwriter 2000 perfect, easy to understand and well organized. I learned the hard way, and ordered Sreenwriter 2000.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Tool
Review: Right out of the box, I was impressed with this program. I thought about getting the somewhat pricier Dramatica Pro, but I think I got a good bargain for my money here. One quick read of the manual and I was using the program right away to flesh out characters, themes and storylines. The query process helped me focus on areas of my story in a way I hadn't before, and to consider options that Imight not have considered otherwise. If you're a beginning or intermediate writer, or just suffering from writer's block, this could be a helpful tool.
Rating:
Summary: Restrictive and time-consuming
Review: The problem with most novel-writing software I've been testing is that they involve a lot of "writing before the writing." While some planning is good, the amount of data entry these programs require detract from getting actual pages written, and the reality is that all those plans will likely change as you write anyway.
This program is no exception. I find all the initial set-up to be cumbersome without yielding benefits that might ultimately actually streamline my process in the weeks or months ahead. (By contrast, for example, Final Draft - a screenwriting program - stores your characters' names so that you only need to type the first few letters and press Enter. You can also toggle your scenes from script to outline and back again without re-entering the information.)
As for the more theoretic stuff, the story prompts are clearly taken from screenwriting which is formulaic due to the time contraints of a film. (For example, the lengths of scenes, act breaks, and total number of pages are far more restrictive to fit a 120-minute film than the scenes, chapters, and total pages of a novel.)
Because a novel can be far longer than a 120-page screenplay, there's little here for creating stories with complex plots, for tracking subplots, or for creating backstory for characters. Instead you get a generic list of 'themes,' some of which are surprising vague.
If you have little or no idea where your story is going yet, or if you're a writer whose work evolves, this program will be more hindrance than help. If you're the meticulous type who likes details of the minutae and rarely deviate from your outline once it's set, this may help you.
Rating: 
Summary: Horrible and hard to get to work on my computer
Review: There are books that are far more creative and interesting and more likely to help a writer get it out and on to the paper. I bought this thinking it would do just that. However it was problematic from the beginning just to get it to work on my com-puter and when it did smooth out a bit I realized why I do not like Hollywood and american movies as a rule: They are canned products. I do not know what the alternative is but this product is a waste of time and money.
Rating:
Summary: Nice and basic
Review: This is a great choice for those who haven't quite mastered the nuances of plot, and characterization, and conflict. Like myself. As can be expected, very few stories fit neatly into all of the visual formulas of the program. But, it gets your mind thinking, and tightens the ideas floating around your head into a cohesive story. Its fun too, lots of good examples.
Rating:
Summary: Need Help to Focus?
Review: This software actually motivated me to jumpstart my writing. It is designed to help you focus and build the bones of your story. But you have to have an idea of what you are going to write about. Better if you have characters. Using the Dramatica method helps in correlating the characters and plot. So far it has taken me to the point of having an outline of my story and working on my scenes. Take note, you will not write your entire story with this software. You will have to import your scene summaries into a word processing program. This software will not format your manuscript. I recommend the book "Guide to Manuscript Formats" for that. I like this software and the only thing I wasn't happy with are the images available to represent characters. Most of them look so silly that they're annoying. Overall, a good buy - just don't expect miracles. You are still responsible for your own story.
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