My Top Writing Apps and Tools

There are a lot of 'Best Apps' posts out there, and a lot of those posts are devoted to the best apps and digital tools for writers, specifically, but I thought I'd have a go at making one of my own anyway. Partly because a few of my best-loved apps never seem to feature on any of these other lists, partly because I get a silly giddy feeling when I download a cool new writing/bookish app and I want to share, share, share!

I won't make an exhaustive list here, because I'll just run on forever, but here are some of my favourite apps and tools for writing and/or bookish people.


1. iA Writer

App. I love, love, love this app. I wrote virtually the entire first draft of my most recent synopsis using this. This seems to be Apple/iOS only. Its beauty is in its simplicity. There's no messing about with fonts or settings or formatting. There are no options. You open it and you write. That's it. For someone as obsessive-compulsive about fonts and how things look as I am, it's remarkably restful to be forced to just get on with it.


2. Scrivener

Tool. There is, alas, no iOS or Android version of this yet. 

I tried this out for the first time only recently. And promptly wondered how I'd ever done without it. You can use this to write, but I use it to outline. Much as I love notebooks and pens, I'm also a sucker for Post Its, corkboards, pinning things to corkboards, and visual representations of my notes, and Scrivener gives me all those things (minus the tactile pleasure, of course, but honestly I hardly miss it!). I can make character sketches, create little corkboard notes for places and chapters, move things around and have my actual content move around too, and probably a whole host of other things that I haven't quite gotten to grips with yet! It's amazing. 

Note: you do have to pay for it, but you can try it out for free for 30 days and, if you don't like it, can export all your content before the trial expires.
 

3. Dropbox

App and tool. This is like having a suitcase hovering above you, weightless, unnoticeable and unobtrusive, but it's there when you need it and you can dip into anywhere. It's a handy-dandy way to store and back up all your important files and, most importantly, to be able to open them on any other device on which you've downloaded and installed the Dropbox app. You have an account, you can access it from virtually any computer as long as you're connected to the internet, and all the content stored in your account syncs across all your computers, phones, iPads, iBrains (I'm pretty sure we'll have those instead of real brains one day...)


4. Evernote

App and tool. It took me a while to get Evernote, mostly because I had a bunch of other apps and notepads that did separate, individual things like allow me to make voice notes, checklists, take photos and label them, etc. Evernote kind of makes those other apps redundant. It does it all. Record ideas like a voice memo, take photos, tag locations, make checklists, write notes, file everything in themed digital notebooks - it's all there. And, like Dropbox, you can use and sync your content across all kinds of platforms and devices. 


5. ColorNote
App. I don't use this anymore, because there doesn't seem to be an iOS version of this (at least not last I checked), but I loved this app when I had an Android phone. It's a little like Scrivener and, while it doesn't have most of the tool's cool features, you can use this app on your phone. If you love sticky notes, as I do, you'll love this. It arranges all your notes via color-coded Post Its. You can create notes with plain writing or have checklists. And - my favourite bit of all - you can add one of your notes or lists to your phone's home screen (I used to do this with my To Do list) and it looks just like a little sticky note stuck to a surface!


Do you use or love any of these tools? Do you have any favourites to share? Tell me about them!

Love

...because I've had far too little sleep to be able to think of a cleverer title!

Happy Valentine's Day, bloggers and readers! It's the official day of romance, and roses, and other things beginning with R (okay, so I couldn't think of a third. Did you not see the part about the lack of sleep?) and though I personally think every day should be about romance, roses and R-things, today seems a particularly good time to talk about love stories.

So here are a few of my favourite romantic/love-filled/similarly-themed books-

1. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Unadventurous Lou becomes crippled Will's carer and everything changes. This is lovely. And it's a bawl-fest.

2. Millie's Fling by Jill Mansell

A summer by the seaside. A girl who likes a boy. A boy who doesn't want to like the girl. Fun, funny and sweet.

3. Frenchman's Creek by Daphne du Maurier

Bored, beautiful Donna meets a French pirate on the shore of a lonely Cornwall creek. This is passionate and heartbreaking and beautifully written. Love, love, love this one.

4. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Boy meets girl. Except boy turns into a wolf when it gets too cold. Sweet, exciting, glorious. Many tears were shed. 

                   

5. Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma

Boy meets girl. Except they don't quite 'meet' because they've known each other all their lives. They also happen to be brother and sister. It's controversial. But so wonderfully written, so wrenching, so amazing.

What are your favourite love stories?

Page to Screen

Happy Friday, everyone! I cannot wait for the weekend. Sleeeeeep...

Is it just me or is every 'big' book becoming a movie? Books have always spawned adaptations - I'm not just realizing this or anything! - but it feels like everything is being optioned or adapted lately. And as many of us noted during Alex J. Cavanaugh's Worst Adaptations blogfest, so few movies actually live up to their original sources.

But sometimes they do. Here are a few of my favourites (not in order)-

1. Nanny McPhee and Nanny McPhee 2 (in fairness, these are very loose adaptations of the original books so maybe they don't count, but they're so good!)

2. The Godfather Part I 

3. War Horse (this is a bit of a cheat, actually, because it's really the West End play that I love - though the new movie is pretty great too. But an adaptation is an adaptation, right?)

4. The Reader

5. The Lord of the Rings trilogy (erm, better than the books, me thinks)

6. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows Part I, and Part II (okay, the books were better. But I think these three films were awesome)

What are your favourite adaptations?

Reader Request: Top Seven Adult Characters

Another Reader Request post! This time the reader is Alex, who wanted a post about characters. Here's what she said:

I'd really like to read some more of your in-depth thoughts on fictional characters/relationships. I loved the top 10 post the other day.  

And here's the post: my favourite adult characters in children's/YA fiction. I think adult characters often get a hard time in children's or YA novels (absent parents, irresponsible relatives, cruel stepmothers, and so forth) - but sometimes you get a truly fantastic, superb grown up, whether they're a parental influence or a friend or an antagonist. In this post, I'll list my top seven, in no particular order.

Note: I'm widening the definition of children's/YA fiction to novels that also happen to be primarily about a child/told from a child's point of view, even if the novel itself isn't necessarily a children's story. I've broadened the definition for one reason only: so I can include one of my favourite adult characters of all time.

1. Sirius Black in the Harry Potter novels (JK Rowling)
I loved Sirius from the moment he appeared and proved just how wrong we/Harry/the world had been about him right through Prisoner of Azkaban. I've always thought him reckless but loving, irresponsible but oddly kind. And sexy.

2. Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
Atticus is the reason I broadened my definition, because some would argue that TKAM isn't exactly a children's book - though I think it is.
Who doesn't love Atticus? He's good and clever and brave - incredibly brave. He's not without flaws. And he loves his kids so much.

3. Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter novels (JK Rowling)
It will come as no surprise to anyone who knows me that, given my way, most of the characters on this list would be from Harry Potter - I think there are some fantastic adult figures in the series. But I'm limiting myself to a few, lest I bore everyone. And Professor McGonagall had to make the cut. She's brilliant and hilarious and weirdly soft once you get past her sarcasm and prickly, stern exterior. And she totally won my heart when she went out of her way to defy Umbridge in Order of the Phoenix.

4. Luke Garroway in The Mortal Instruments trilogy/series (Cassandra Clare)
Clearly I like the cool, fatherly figure - though Luke is also fierce, totally not perfect, and is *ahem spoiler ahead* a werewolf. I like werewolves (except Jacob. Sorry, Jacob fans. Jacob annoyed the heck out of me.)

5. Topaz Mortmain in I Capture the Castle (Dodie Smith)
Again, not entirely sure this officially counts as YA, but if it doesn't, I think it should. 
Topaz is obviously a lunatic, and I mean that in the best possible way. She stands on the heath stark naked in an attempt to commune with nature. This makes her awesome to me. And hilarious. She's also rather sweet.

6. Lord Asriel in His Dark Materials (Philip Pullman)
Definitely not the loving father, him. He's ruthless and charismatic and often cruel, but he ultimately redeems himself. I just love that about him. And he's another sexy one, so I fancy him anyway.

7. Mags in Catching Fire (Suzanne Collins)
Any Hunger Games fans out there will probably think this an odd choice. After all, Mags is barely in the book - she hasn't got much page-time. But this is an old, old woman who volunteers to fight to the death just to save another girl from having to do it. And when a certain something happens to her, I bawled my eyes out, which just goes to show how quickly I grew to love her.

And there you have it: my top seven. Who are your favourite adult characters? And why do you love them so much?

Reader Request: Great old Britain

Ah, England. I live here now. I don't think I ever expected to. As a teenager, I always expected to move to the US instead. Funny, that. But living in England hasn't diminished my memory of first visiting, back when it was strange and new. Vix asked me to describe my first impressions. So here they are.

I was exactly fourteen days away from my twelfth birthday when I first arrived in the UK. On holiday, with my parents and my brother. We rented the most gorgeous flat in London for twelve days, went to the theatre, did some sightseeing, took a day trip to Stratford-upon-Avon.

But what did I think of England?

1. The milk was amazing. No, really. Milk in Bangalore did not taste like this. I was in awe.

2. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out what half the words meant. This was England, right? Home to English? So what the hell was a haggis and why didn't I know this word? What, for the love of Heathcliff, was a spotted dick? Let me tell you, my eight-year-old brother and I could not say those words without giggling.

3. Holy hell, it's light at ten o' clock! At night, I mean. It was May. It got light at about five in the morning and got dark after ten at night. I was bewildered. Flabbergasted. In India, whatever the season, it never stays dark later than about seven in the morning and never stays light later than about seven in the evening. With about a two hour window for sun-up and sundown. Light at 10 effing PM was a novelty.

4. Strangers called me 'love'. There you go, love or cheers for the seat, love or got any change for this, love? I thought it was sweet.

5. The weather didn't shock me. And that shocked me. Sure, it was a lot colder than it had been in Bangalore, but it wasn't colder than Bangalore winters. What was all the fuss about this bitter English cold, then? Reminder: it was May. Of course it wasn't that bloody cold. Boy, did I realize how naive I'd been when I turned up for my first year of university seven years later.

I'm sure there are other things that really struck me or stood out for me when I first arrived in England, but I can't think of them now. These are my highlights. And they continue to be highlights. I love being here. I'm always surprised.

Top 10 Fictional Relationships

Considering I frequently ramble on about how important to me characters and character relationships in books, movies, writing, etc are, I thought I might put together a list of my favourite fictional relationships of all time. And, of course, invite you to do the same - you can even make your own lists in the comments/your blogs if it takes your fancy!

Well, I say 'favourite fictional relationships of all time', but whenever I make these lists, I always forget something or someone I love. So let's call it my Top 10 Fictional Relationships That I Can Think of Right Now.

And so, in no particular order, my Top Ten...

1. Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, from Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories/novels

2. Harry and Hermione, from J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series

3. Emma and Mr. Knightley, from Jane Austen's Emma 

*I should probably add here that I've never actually read Emma - I don't particularly like Jane Austen. But for some reason, I love the adaptations of her novels, so when I talk about this relationship I mean the one portrayed on the film and TV adaptations

4. Phedre and Joscelin, from Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel novels

5. Henry and Clare, from Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife

6. Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker, from the original Star Wars trilogy

*Luke as an individual character doesn't do much for me, I must admit. But I love his relationship with Vader - especially watching the latter's complete that fallen-from-grace-but-ultimately-redeemed arc

7. Cristina Yang and Owen Hunt, from Grey's Anatomy

8. The Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler, from Doctor Who

*also the Human Doctor and Rose, though I'm not listing this separately as the Tenth Doctor and the Human Doctor are pretty much the same person - and both are a little bit swoon-worthy (thank you, David Tennant!)

9. Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, from Harry Potter

and

10. Anna and Rupert, from Eva Ibbotson's The Secret Countess

(which, by the way, is amazing and should be read by everyone in the whole world)

And that's my list. This post would turn into an absolute monster if I tried to explain just why each of those relationships appeals to me so much, but if you're interested I do have individual posts about Harry/Hermione, Holmes/Watson, Henry/Clare and Emma/Mr. Knightley. 

So whose relationships would be on your list? They don't have to be romantic - any kind of fictional relationship counts!