I recently discovered a novel planner/writing program that doesn’t seem to have a whole lot of publicity behind it yet. It has a lot of good, useful features, so I wanted to do a quick review of it.

Quoll Writer is a free, open-source program with a minimalist feel. Unfortunately, it is currently only available for Windows, but it looks like they are trying to feel out if people are interested in a Mac/Linux version.

You can create scenes, chapters, character bios, locations, and items. This is the main screen:

At the bottom of the main screen’s navigation pane, there are options to save chapter text, add new items (like plot outline, scenes, characters, etc.), edit chapter information, view wordcounts (I’ll come back to this), toggle the spellcheck, delete items, and other tools. 

Character Bios:

You can link characters to other characters, as well as tag them to specific chapters. As you can see at the bottom of the Character screen, clicking on any specific page (Character 1, Chapter 1, etc) will open up a new tab rather than a new window. I particularly like this because it cuts down on distraction and makes it much easier to switch between different items.

If you click the fourth symbol on the bottom of the main chapter screen, it will bring up wordcount and other information, including words typed in this session, and words per chapter:

If you click the ‘View Detail’ link, it will bring up a handy chart showing your progress:

You may have noticed by now several icons in the upper right-hand corner. The first of these will take you to an Idea Board, where you can add ideas for chapters, scenes, characters, locations, and items. You also have the ability to create your own Idea categories, which I think is a nice touch.

The symbol on the farthest right will bring up a menu where you can open different projects, save snapshots of your projects, and import and export. It also gives you access to the Warm-Up exercices, which is one of my favorite features of Quoll Writer. It gives you a writing prompt, and you can set a time or wordcount goal. You can even add your own writing prompts.

Another fun feature is the Achievement board. As you use Quoll Writer, you can earn achievements. You can even set Quoll Writer to play a small sound to alert you to a new achievement. 

There is also a full-screen, distraction-free mode:

Quoll Writer seems like a great program. So far, I have only found two downsides to this program. The first is that it may be difficult to organize worldbuilding notes. The second is that you cannot import pictures, which is a major drawback for me because I love to include character inspiration pictures. However, I contacted the creators and they said that is a feature they plan on including in one of the future updates.

If you’re interested in learning more about Quoll Writer, you can find a full list of features here, and download it here!

eugenefeed:

Character Chart
Character’s full name:
Reason or meaning of name:
Character’s nickname:
Reason for nickname:
Birth date:

Physical Appearance
Age:
How old does he/she appear:
Weight:
Height:
Body build:
Shape of face:
Eye color:
Glasses or contacts:
Skin tone:
Distinguishing marks:
Predominant features:
Hair color:
Type of hair:
Hairstyle:
Voice:
Overall attractiveness:
Physical disabilities:
Usual fashion of dress:
Favorite outfit:
Jewelry or accessories:

Personality
Good personality traits:
Bad personality traits:
Mood character is most often in:
Sense of humor:
Character’s greatest joy in life:
Character’s greatest fear:
Why?
What single event would most throw this character’s life into complete turmoil?
Character is most at ease when:
Most ill at ease when:
Enraged when:
Depressed or sad when:
Priorities:
Life philosophy:
If granted one wish, it would be:
Why?
Character’s soft spot:
Is this soft spot obvious to others?
Greatest strength:
Greatest vulnerability or weakness:
Biggest regret:
Minor regret:
Biggest accomplishment:
Minor accomplishment:
Past failures he/she would be embarrassed to have people know about:
Why?
Character’s darkest secret:
Does anyone else know?

Goals
Drives and motivations:
Immediate goals:
Long term goals:
How the character plans to accomplish these goals:
How other characters will be affected:

Past
Hometown:
Type of childhood:
Pets:
First memory:
Most important childhood memory:
Why:
Childhood hero:
Dream job:
Education:
Religion:
Finances:

Present
Current location:
Currently living with:
Pets:
Religion:
Occupation:
Finances:

Family
Mother:
Relationship with her:
Father:
Relationship with him:
Siblings:
Relationship with them:
Spouse:
Relationship with him/her:
Children:
Relationship with them:
Other important family members:

Favorites
Color:
Least favorite color:
Music:
Food:
Literature:
Form of entertainment:
Expressions:
Mode of transportation:
Most prized possession:

Habits
Hobbies:
Plays a musical instrument?
Plays a sport?
How he/she would spend a rainy day:
Spending habits:
Smokes:
Drinks:
Other drugs:
What does he/she do too much of?
What does he/she do too little of?
Extremely skilled at:
Extremely unskilled at:
Nervous tics:
Usual body posture:
Mannerisms:
Peculiarities:

Traits
Optimist or pessimist?
Introvert or extrovert?
Daredevil or cautious?
Logical or emotional?
Disorderly and messy or methodical and neat?
Prefers working or relaxing?
Confident or unsure of himself/herself?
Animal lover?

Self-Perception
How he/she feels about himself/herself:
One word the character would use to describe self:
One paragraph description of how the character would describe self:
What does the character consider his/her best personality trait?
What does the character consider his/her worst personality trait?
What does the character consider his/her best physical characteristic?
What does the character consider his/her worst physical characteristic?
How does the character think others perceive him/her:
What would the character most like to change about himself/herself:

Relationships With Others
Opinion of other people in general:
Does the character hide his/her true opinions and emotions from others?
Person character most hates:
Best friend(s):
Love interest(s):
Person character goes to for advice:
Person character feels responsible for or takes care of:
Person character feels shy or awkward around:
Person character openly admires:
Person character secretly admires:
Most important person in character’s life before story starts:
After story starts:

Found Here

@vcook10 Another character sheet you might like <3

@percychekov