Probably the main reason for a writer to own a computer is so they can use it for writing. That usually means you’re going to have to get yourself a word processor. But when it comes to writing your magnum opus, a word processor is but one choice.

Let me introduce you to Scrivener.

Scrivener is one of those bits of software that you never knew you needed until you tried it. It’s not so much a word processor as a writing tool. Sure you can use it for basic writing tasks, but that would miss the point entirely.

So what does it do that your usual word processor doesn’t?

Scrivener is intended for writing and organising long projects such as novels. But it can equally be used for essays, short stories or even screenplays if you like.

If you’re working on a novel you might have a host of files to go with your manuscript. There’s the text itself of course, but you might also have your basic synopsis, character sheets, location sheets and various bits of research.

The text itself might well be a continuous piece containing every chapter in the order you wanted it to appear in the book. I know mine is. Or rather, was.

You see, while that method of working is all well and good, it becomes much easier if you can have everything in one place. And that’s what Scrivener does. It’s like a cross between a word processor and Windows Explorer. What that means is, everything’s in one place and within easy reach.

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Your main text is split into chapters so you can see each one as a separate file or as index cards on a cork board. If you prefer, you can see them all at once as a continuous document with just a click, but having them separate makes it much easier to work with. It also allows you to move chapters/scenes around by simply dragging the relevant file or index card. Great if you like to weave various sub-plots through your tale as I do. You can write in one order and then arrange your story how you like.

And of course, all your research and character sheets are there too. All on the screen (which you can split to allow you to see two things at once) and within easy reach.

But what makes Scrivener really good is the ability to have multiple versions of each section on the go at once via the use of snapshots. You never have to delete anything during your re-writes. You can try something new and if it doesn’t work, a click of your mouse will revert the thing back to one of the other versions you might have saved.

And when you finish, you can compile the whole thing into a single document ready for printing or emailing to your agent/publisher. Scrivener will even take care of the correct formatting for you.

I absolutely love Scrivener. It’s been available for the Mac for a while now and I’ve been testing the Windows Beta since December 2010. The Windows version is just about ready, I believe, and I’ll be upgrading to the full version as soon as I can.

In the mean time, I urge you to have a look at the Scrivener website. Read it through and have a look at the videos. You really need to see it in action to appreciate exactly what it can do and decide whether it’s right for you.

It can look like a very complicated piece of software, but you need to think of it like a toolbox. Everything you need is included – hammers, saws, screwdrivers, chisels – but it’s up to you what you use and how you use it.

And a quick reminder to those of you who are planning to use the voucher you won for completing NaNoWriMo 2010: Due to the full release of Scrivener for Windows being put back, your original voucher has now expired. You need to log back into your NaNo page and go to your winners section to get the new voucher code.

So there you go, Scrivener; it’s not your usual word processor.

You might go for the old favourite, Blogger or the funky fresh new kid, Tumblr. Or how about something like Posterous, allowing you to blog entirely via email?

They each have something to offer and they’re by no means the only choices,although they are the most well known. We’ll look at them all over the coming weeks, but I’m going to kick things off with a look at my personal favourite, the mighty wordpress.

There are two different versions of wordpress. The first is wordpress.org and is known as a self-hosted blogging platform. That means you buy a domain and hosting space with a web company and you install and run wordpress yourself. See Will Write For Cake for an example of wordpress.org in action.

Doing this gives you many advantages, such as your own domain address (which can look more professional) or the ability to fully customise your blog. But it can be expensive and is certainly more complicated than any newcomer to blogging needs to worry about. We’ll save that for a more advanced look another time.

The second version is wordpress.com and you’re looking at that right now.

I specifically chose wordpress.com to run this blog so you can see what can be done. I’ve not paid for any premium features, everything on this site is straight out of the tin – so to speak. The most complicated thing I’ve done on here is to write a little HTML code to handle the links in the subscribe section at the top. And I mostly copied that from someone else

There is nothing on this site that you can’t do yourself simply by clicking a few options on the wordpress dashboard.

That’s what I love about wordpress, it gives you a lot of options. Some people find this overcomplicates things which is why Blogger still remains popular. Personally, I find it liberating. And let’s remember, you don’t have to learn everything all at once. It’ll all be there for you when you’re ready.

There are 136 themes to choose from (as of July 2011) as well as custom menu options like the one I have here. Integrated social sharing buttons are included and, thanks to a great team of programmers, the platform is improving all the time. It’s fast, stable and secure too and as the wordpress team are looking after all the complicated stuff, you can concentrate on the content.

Best of all, it’s free.

You only ever have to pay for premium products, which are entirely optional. You might want access to the CSS files, for example,  to allow you to fully customise your site. Or you could buy your own domain name right here in wordpress and have it attached to your free wordpress blog. So instead of having www.myblog.wordpress.com you could have www.myblog.com which looks better and you wouldn’t have to go to all the trouble of hosting the site yourself.

For now, I would recommend you get used to the platform before paying for things you might not use or need.

In conclusion then, the best things about wordpress.com are:

• It’s free
• It’s very functional
• It’s very customisable
• It’s very well supported
• It provides a good balance of ease of use to both the blogger and the reader

The bad things:

• It can be overwhelming
• It’s not always obvious how to do things
• It doesn’t handle picture layout very well (just try getting two pictures on the same line)
• There’s a lot to learn

What you need to do now is have a look around this site. It will show you exactly the kinds of things you can do with wordpress.com. Next, have a read of this handy guide to setting up a wordpress blog. It’s written by the wordpress team and tells you everything you need to get started.

After that, it’s up to you. As always though, if you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch.

I only did that once, I swear.

The fact is, there are a lot of celebrities on Twitter, if you’re into that sort of thing. Most of them are very nice and some are also quite chatty. Not that I advocate pestering them, it’s really not good form. And while much of what gets said on Twitter is very trivial, isn’t that just like when you’re chatting with your friends?

Think about the kind of conversations you have on a regular basis; that’s Twitter. Sometimes trivial, sometimes argumentative, sometimes hilarious and sometimes really interesting.

People complain about the trivial nature of Twitter all the time. Do you believe these people talk about nothing but important matters in real life, day in, day out? I sure as hell don’t.

I used to work in a call centre and it was exactly like Twitter. I worked at a pod in a room full of people all talking rubbish to get through the day. My pod consisted of a number of desks all pushed together and each one was occupied by a member of my team. We all got on really well and had a laugh as well as offering support to each other.

The rest of the room was made up of other teams. I knew these people, but not as well as my own team. But that didn’t stop me talking to them or helping them when they needed it and they would do the same for me.

One big team, made up of smaller teams with my desk and computer at the middle of it all. I could work quite happily on my own and at any point, if I felt the need, I could turn around or lift my head and chat with someone else.

For me, the people of Twitter haver become the other people in my office.

I follow, and am followed by, hundreds of people. I may not talk to them all but I recognise all their avatars. I know that some people are experts in some things that I might not be and should I need to, I can ask for their help or opinions. People provide me with different things throughout the day whether that’s a much needed laugh or an interesting link or the latest news. It’s all useful.

And I have a small group of friends who I chat with all the time, they are my team. The people I share my pod with. It’s really not that different from working in an office but it has one advantage; there’s an off switch.

When the chatter gets to be a bit much, you can easily escape and come back later.

As a writer I find Twitter very useful; it keeps me occupied and puts me in touch with lots of fellow writers. As well as a wealth of information from a variety of people I also get a very large and easily accessible support group. When the writing gets a bit much or I’m totally stuck on a plot point, there’s always someone around to help me through.

I accept it’s not for everyone, but if you want keep a group of like minded people just a click away, without all the messing about of Facebook, you can’t go far wrong with Twitter.

Well, it gives me a place to lay out my methods which I hope will be of use to other writers. I can rant about some of the crap advice I’ve been given. I can post samples of my fiction. I can ask the opinion of other writers before getting too bogged down in a new project. Or I can just show off to an audience, something I never had the chance to do before the internet.

Having a blog to help me with my writing is one of the best things I’ve ever done. What do you get out of your blog? Let us know in the comments.

Blogging is a great way to build a presence on the web, but only you can decide whether you actually need one. In trying to decide, you’ll probably ask yourself a number of questions and I’m going to guess that somewhere near the top of that list will be:

Who would want to read my rambling rubbish anyway?

The short answer is, probably nobody. But you never know until you try. What I can guarantee you is that nobody’s going to happen across your blog overnight and make it into the next web sensation. Blogging is a long-haul hobby, that’s for damn sure.

You’re going to have to do two things. First, write something that people will want to read. And second, tell people you’ve written someting they will want to read.

Writing something people will want to read is hard. Yes, I know you’re a writer and every word that drips from your pen is worthy of an audience. But trust me on this, writing for an audience (even a small one) can be nerve wracking.

Yes, you can write about anything, and people do. I’ve seen blog posts about haircuts, how awful the X-Factor is and daily diaries that cover all the minutiae of a persons life. And while I’d never tell someone what they should or shouldn’t write about, if you want readers, you’re going to have to think differently.

I suggest having a theme. All the best blogs have one. This one is about learning to get your head around the fast moving world of computers and the internet. Over at Will Write For Cake I write about writing. There are blogs about being a mum, training a puppy and juggling. There are blogs with nothing but photos of cats – FACT: The interwebs is made of cats. There are even blogs about blogging.

My advice is to pick a theme. And, as you’re a writer, don’t worry about blogging about writing, even if you’re not a published author. Let that fact be your theme. That’s what I do.  You can’t be imparting your wisdom on people without the knowledge or experience to back it up, but people love to read about how others are coping with the learning curve.

That goes for any hobby, not just writing; if you’re new to it, blog about being new to it. Document each new thing you learn for the benefit of others. You’ll be surprised how many readers will find it useful. And that’s the key to blogging:

Be useful, be entertaining, be honest.

In future articles I’ll look at the various free blogging platforms like WordPress, Blogger and Tumblr so you can see how easy it is to set up a blog. I’ll also be looking at things like Twitter and Facebook, which you’ll need if you’re going to find readers for your blog.

For now though, have a think about blogging and what it can do for you.

Oh and you might want to read my other article on this subject over at Will Write For Cake. There are some great links to other blogs over there too, so go click on them and see what’s out there.

(And why not click on the subscribe button at the top of the page and get my next article sent straight to your email inbox?)