Designed with your mind in mind
Writing is such a natural and fluid activity--although difficult at times--it seems as though software would certainly not make the process any less difficult. Fitting our thoughts into the pre-defined cubbyholes of a software program seems to go against the grain of how we think and write. And, the reality is, you don’t want software which forces you to change the way your brain would normally carry out these activities.
But the process we use to think, research, and write is a logical process, even though it may occur in stops and starts with seemingly no method. And, software designed right can, in fact, foster each activity.
When you think about the way you work you realize that you don't often just sit down to write. You jot down notes, collect information, talk to sources, read articles and books, do research on the web; you get a sudden inspiration from something you read, or discussion you had; you stand in the kitchen and hatch a brilliant concept or make a sudden connection between ideas that you hadn’t even realized existed. You come up with a new idea and realize that it is connected to another idea that, until now, seemed unrelated and even obscure.
These are not sequential steps. But it is a process of thinking that is natural to most of us. We all think in spurts – unrelated spurts, loosely related spurts, and sometimes entangled spurts. Therefore, software that claims to help you write must be capable of dealing effectively with both spurts of inspiration as well as those uninspired moments. It must tempt you to work and help you build on your ideas.
What makes IdeaMason different?
As writers ourselves and developers by trade, our goal was to find a balance between the database we needed and the creative platform we craved. That is why IdeaMason combines the data management aspects of an information manager with a virtual writing platform. These two distinctly different sides of the application are solid and strong in their own right with a seamless and fluid connection between them.
When we designed IdeaMason we wanted more from an application than simply an organizational database for our work. We wanted a structure that would not only help us organize our research but that would also help us break down the critical junctures in our thoughts. We didn't want just notes attached to a source. We wanted a place where we could write whether for a minute or an hour or two. We also needed an environment that let us use the materials we collected and created in the composition of written works. We needed a place where we could collect our ideas and build on them over time, linking them with related research and new ideas as we moved from activity to activity. This is also where the concept of the portfolio came to life.
It is this dynamic environment that has made IdeaMason the choice of not only researchers, students and academic professionals but also non-fiction and fiction writers as well. IdeaMason includes the critical elements and features to support even the most serious researcher. But beyond the collection and organization of materials, the essence of IdeaMason is the production of writen works.
Simply mirrors the way you work
Although any software called to the task to which IdeaMason is called cannot be considered simplistic, it can simply mirror the way you think, research and write. The important thing to remember is that IdeaMason’s features are not features in the traditional sense – think of them as activities in the intuitive, and always iterative, process of thinking and writing. Consider only what you want to do with the idea or source you just captured, and you will probably find IdeaMason can do it.