If you’ve used the Writer’s
Knowledge Base (WKB) you’ve probably noticed that it’s “Powered by Hiveword.”
It’s true, too. The WKB has shared its existence with an unseen twin that has only been referenced in hushed tones. Sort of like Voldemort, I suppose. But not any more. I’m pleased to announce that Hiveword has finally busted free and is waiting to help you organize your novel in one place on the web.
Hiveword allows you to track multiple stories whether those stories are novels, short stories, or whatever. It’s geared toward tracking fiction so each story can have characters, settings, and scenes.
Screenshots: Story Detail, Story List
Characters
The data sheet for each character is very rich in detail with sections for Basic, Physical, Psychological, and Miscellaneous attributes. Each section has various fields for fleshing out the character. While I suppose the number of fields could be intimidating the reality is that the only field that has to be filled in is the name (and that’s filled in automatically for you with a placeholder name).
Screenshots: Character Detail, Character List
Settings
Settings don’t lend themselves to tons of fields like characters do so there are just fields for the name of the setting, aliases, and notes. Aliases, by the way, allow you to track multiple names for a setting. For example, the “New York”
setting might have an alias of “The Big Apple.” Characters can have aliases, too.
Screenshots: Setting Detail, Setting List
Scenes
Scenes, of course, are where everything comes together. You see this reflected in Hiveword with a big area for the scene summary along with the critical linkages to characters and setting. You can select a setting from the dropdown list of settings. You can can also indicate which characters are in the scene and which one has the point-of-view (POV).
There are also pages where you can list all of the characters, for example, where each one has important details right there in the list.
Screenshots: Scene Detail, Scene List
Hey, what about my data, Mr. Hiveword Man?
Excellent question! Thanks for asking.
Most sane people are concerned (and rightfully so!) about entering their data into a system and not being able to get it out. It’s called “lock in” and I don’t like it, either. Hiveword has you covered, though. Each story has an export link. Click it and you can instantly download all of the data for that story in one rich text (RTF) document. The RTF format is readable by just about all word processors so have no fear.
Exporting is also a great way for you to make your own periodic backups. Grabbing a backup every now and then will give you peace of mind but you can also rest assured that Hiveword is backed up daily.
Screenshot: Story exported as RTF
Future Plans
What you see in Hiveword today is just the beginning. I have BIG plans for it and can’t wait to get them done so that you can start benefiting from the new features as soon as possible.
Try it!
You can try Hiveword now to see how it can help you you get more organized with your stories. No more scraps of paper here and there. There will eventually be a small monthly fee but I’m not sure when that will actually happen. My intention is to keep Hiveword ad-free (which I do for the WKB as well) mainly because I find them annoying and I think you’d find them distracting while you’re trying to create.
Of course, the good news is that I haven’t written the billing code yet and don’t know when I will so Hiveword will be effectively free for who knows how long. So, there’s no risk in giving it a try; you can always export your data at your whim.
Thanks for reading. I truly hope you find Hiveword useful.
What are you looking for in a novel organizer?