Why another app for authors
Authors have to choose between depth and simplicity. We want to make that choice unnecessary.
Professional writing tools have been around for a long time. Some are powerful but take weeks to learn. Others are beautiful and calm, but can’t carry a book from idea to edition. Others still produce lovely layouts but know nothing about how a story is built.
As a result, a big book lives in three or four apps: the draft in one, characters in a spreadsheet, the chronology on a board, the layout somewhere else. Every switch costs context and risks things drifting apart.
One book, four modes
Norwid is built around a single idea: a book has one source of data and several modes of work.
- Writing — what am I writing right now?
- Planning — how is the story built?
- Editing — what needs work, and what changed?
- Publishing — how will the book look?
A scene in the editor, a card on the board and a point on the timeline are one object. Rename a chapter and it changes in the navigator, the table of contents and the edition preview.
Calm doesn’t mean simple
Norwid’s minimalism is not an empty screen or hidden features. You see the tools for the task at hand, keep your bearings, and can predictably open up the next level.
What’s next
A Mac prototype is working today. On this blog we’ll talk about how decisions are made, what worked and what hasn’t yet.