How To Dabble

 

Dabble is a basic word processing app for fiction writing. To start, either go to the website https://www.dabblewriter.com/ or download it from the app store.

Once loaded, log in with a simple email and password. You’re ready to go.

The Home screen is a simple splash screen with all your projects listed. Since we’re just starting, this is blank. Click plus sign to create a new novel. The screen opens to the word processing page. On the left is a list of menus. The middle has the document for typing. On the right is more workspace for things like comments. More on that later.

Let’s start on the left. Skip down a few options to MANUSCRIPT. The app starts users off with a title page, chapter one, and the first scene. This section is the actual text of the novel that will be compiled when you finish. Click on the file labeled Untitled Book to give your story a title and add your author name. I’m stressing to do this first, as the app will file your story under this name. If you forget to title it, you might end up with numerous untitled books. Not great for organization.

Now click on the Once Upon A Time icon or the Chapter icon. Here you can begin crafting your novel. You will notice that there aren’t any ribbons, menus, or toolbars with formatting options on this screen. These are located on the left menu. Click Project Setting. This menu will let you set the name, subtitle, and author. If you’ve chosen a subscription level with co-authors, enter that information here. Scroll down to set Font and Size. Literary, Romance, Thriller, and Screenplay set both fonts and paragraph styles in one step. Preview the changes below the options. Be sure to hit Save Formatting when finished.

Back on the middle page section, type away at your will. As you type, the side panels disappear, leaving only the text page. This is Focused Mode. Click the mouse or hit the Esc key to exit. You can immediately enter this mode by clicking the eye icon at the bottom of the screen.

What about other formatting options? Highlight the text you want to change, and a pop-up menu will appear over the text. The options include bold, italic, strike-through, and highlight. It also allows you to make a comment which will appear on the right side. The middle double quote will automatically put your text into an indented quote-style paragraph. Handy for song lyrics, research papers, and the like. The last option that looks like a dog-eared square will place a sticky note over the text. Type in it to give yourself a comment that way. You can drag the colored square anywhere on the MANUSCRIPT page.

Yes, there are fewer options than other writing apps, but Dabble focuses on writing.

At the start of the last paragraph, you may notice a faded plus sign in a circle. This handy option will let you split a scene or a chapter right there. No need to add more text on the left menu.

If you need to add more text, click on the three dots next to each manuscript piece. MANUSCRIPT will allow you to create a new book. The title page will add another part or chapter. The chapter page will add a new scene. Most options will allow the user to rename or export the file.

Next on the left-side menu is the PLOT section. Here you can use index-sized cards to outline the novel. If you’re a pantser, you can synthesize your novel into chunks to use for a synopsis or scan for story holes. Dabble uses the terms plot point and plot grid for organizing your information. You can make a specific grid for your current novel or a generic to use with all your novels.

Click on PLOT for your title on the left menu. You will see a series of boxes. If you have already written some text, it will appear condensed in these boxes. Click on a card to add a summary of a scene or a plot point. Missed a scene? Easily fixed. Hover at the bottom of the list to see a large plus sign to add another scene. Click on the icon between cards that looks like a film strip. This will add a line to your book, and you can add a new scene.

Things out of order? No problem. Rearranging scenes is simple with drop and drag. Click on the scene or plot point (in either the MANUSCRIPT or PLOT section) and drag the piece where you need it to be, even if it’s the trash.

Last on the left is STORY NOTES. Here are places to create the novel’s bible. These text sections are not included in the larger manuscript. But you can add character sketches, setting descriptions, and other world-building.

Phew… on to the right side.

There are a few interesting features on the right side of the Dabble screen. Click on the MANUSCRIPT section on the left first to see the right-side menu. The first is Goals and Stats. Immediately clicking on this shows how many times in the last thirty days you’ve typed with Dabble. Hovering your mouse over the blue ticks will show how many words you wrote that day. Click on the gear to customize your goal. Set a place where new words will be counted from, choose a word count number, and a deadline. You can also click on the second tab to give yourself days off.

Next on the right is Notes. Click here to add text notes for your scenes or novels. After that is Comment History. This will show all comments and the date entered. (Remember, you can add comments after highlighting text.) The next icon allows you to hide comments. The eye icon here will turn on and off spelling, grammar, and sticky notes.

There are more options around the page. On the bottom, you can zoom, turn on Focus Mode, and hide the side panels. There’s a small cloud at the top to show your data is syncing if you are online with the app.

The person icon at the top will allow you to sign in and out, change your profile, and billing. It also has a NaNoWriMo sync option. This feature will allow writers to sync their word count with the NaNoWriMo website and update as they go. You must be registered for NaNo and link the two websites through your logins. The option works for Camp, not just November.

And that’s how you Dabble.

Next week, we will see how authors can use this app to their best advantage.