A new version of bibisco is here. So, let’s take a look at what’s new in bibisco 2.3!

Before diving into the new features of our favorite novel writing software, I would like to point out two things that are particularly important to me:

• All the new features come from suggestions and ideas from users. So if you have new ideas for features you would like to see implemented write to info@bibisco.com. I will certainly evaluate them!
• When the new version was announced, I received many messages of congratulations and affection. This is the greatest satisfaction for me.

OK, let’s get started!

Profile image management

In this version of bibisco (Supporters Edition only), it’s possible to associate a profile picture to characters, places and objects.

The profile picture will always be visible when working on a character, location or object.

Events

I think this new feature (Supporters Edition only) is particularly interesting. It allows us to associate events with characters, locations, objects or the setting.

We can trace the important events in a character‘s life; his birth, the beginning of high school, the move to another city. For a location, we can instead trace the events that are important for our novel; the construction of a skyscraper, an earthquake, a riot. The same thing can be done for an object: the date of its invention, the first time it was used. Of course, this feature is very useful when applied to the setting, especially if we are writing a historical novel.

All created events are integrated into the timeline. In this way, it’s possible to have a global vision of all the important events of the novel; both those described in the scenes and those not.

Prologue, epilogue and parts of the project

It’s now possible (Supporters Edition only) to manage prologue and epilogue.

And we can divide our novel in parts.

Unlimited notes

This is certainly the most requested feature by users!

From this version of bibisco (Supporters Edition only), you can add unlimited notes in the new Notes section.

For each note it is possible to associate, in addition to the text, unlimited notes.

Export selection

Sometimes we want to export just a chapter or a character sheet instead of the whole novel. With version 2.3 (Supporters Edition only) of bibisco it’s now possible.

You can export:

• Novel and project
• Only novel
• Only project
• Chapter
• Character
• Location
• Object
• Note
• Architecture
• Narrative strands
• Timeline

Objects’ analysis

The analysis section has been expanded (Supporters Edition only) with the objects‘ analysis as well.

Timeline: export and day of week

Version 2.3 of bibisco also presents interesting new features for the Timeline.

It’s now possible to export the Timeline to PDF, DOCX and TXT.

In addition, the day of the week is also shown in the timeline.

Automatic backup

The new automatic backup function makes backups of the project you are working on at regular intervals and each time you exit the project.

By default, bibisco:

• makes an automatic backup each time you exit the project, both when you close bibisco and exit the project without closing bibisco.
• makes an automatic backup if there are any changes in the project and 2 hours have passed since the last backup.
• keeps a maximum of 10 backup files for a single project in the backup directory. When the maximum number of backups is exceeded, the oldest backup file is deleted.

You can always change these defaults from the settings:

The automatic backup feature increases safety in bibisco project management. To learn more about this topic take a look here.

Direct navigation between scenes and character interview’s sections

Some users have complained that it’s a bit cumbersome to switch from one scene to another. Or from one section of the character interview to another.

Starting from this version of bibisco, it’s possible the direct navigation between one scene and the next and between the various sections of the character’s interview.

Slovenian translation

Thanks to Tatjana Prelog, bibisco is now available also in Slovenian!

Minor changes

And finally, here are some minor changes in the new version:

• In English version introduced the singular they in place of the form he/she.
• Add words to the dictionary also for Windows and Linux.
• Increased the scenes’ area in the detail of the chapter

Conclusion

After a year of work, here is the new version of bibisco 2.3.

It has been a long journey but I’m really happy because I think bibisco can help writers even better to write their novel.

So what are you waiting for? Download and try the new version bibisco!

PS: If you need information about the update from a previous version read here.

Do you know how many times your characters meet each other? Do you know where the main character meets his lover for the first time?

This is the novel analysis and it’s really useful to have a clear vision of how our novel is structured.

So, does your novel writing software helps you to analyze your novel?

Novel analysis with bibisco

When I designed bibisco, I first wanted to include the features for the study of the character and the definition of their conflict.

But then I wanted to insert a feature that I have not found in other novel planning software: the tools to analyze the novel.

Let’s take a look at the analytics features offered by bibisco.

Chapters’ length

In this analysis, it’s possible to observe the length of each chapter and compare it with the others.

You can analyze if the length of the chapters is homogeneous in the novel and if there are chapters that are much longer or much shorter than the others.

Characters’ distribution

This analysis is particularly appreciated by users of bibisco, because it allows analyzing the presence of the characters within the novel.

It also allows observing the distribution of the presence of the characters between the chapters.

Some characters may be present only at the beginning of the novel, others only at the end. Generally, the protagonists have a constant presence throughout the novel. If a character doesn’t show up for half a novel, that becomes immediately apparent.

Furthermore, through this analysis, it is possible to find out at a glance when two characters are present in the same chapter.

Locations and Narrative Strands’ distribution

In addition to the distribution of the characters, bibisco also allows us to analyze the distribution of locations.

And the distribution of narrative strands.

Characters’ list of appearances

This analysis, for each character, provides the list of all their appearances in the novel in chronological order.

For each apparition you can find:

• date and time of the apparition
• location
• scene
• chapter

This is extremely useful for ensuring consistency (How can this character be in Dublin when he was in Sydney an hour earlier?), especially for very long novels with a lot of characters.

Use of points of view

In this analysis, the writer can study the use of points of view in the novel.

Was the use consistent? From the point of view of which characters was the story told?

This knowledge is particularly important because every story changes according to the point of view of the teller.

Tag your scene and bibisco do the magic

bibisco automatically generates the analyses illustrated in this article.

The writer simply has to tag each scene with the characters that appear, the location and time in which it takes place, the point of view used, the narrative strand to which it belongs.

Conclusion

A good novel writing software must help the writer not only to write the novel but also to analyze it.

bibisco offers deep analysis and at-a-glance infographics detail about chapters’ length and how characters, locations, points of view and narrative strands are distributed chronologically and across chapters.

This means you can easily see where things happen in your novel.

Such information could be invaluable for preventing inconsistencies and, ultimately, understand the structure of your novel.