4TheWords is a novel writing, planning and social networking website geared towards gamifying the writing process. In order to gain new objects, dressup items and achievements you need to battle monsters, and to do this you need to write a certain amount of words within the listed timeframe.
Before delving into the rest of the review, I’d like to say that I haven’t be subsidised for this review nor have I been paid to do it. This review contains my own thoughts and feelings towards the product.
First Impressions
Gamifying the writing process yourself is difficult if you don’t have a lot of self-control, and 4TheWords takes the control away from those rewards. If you want to levelup, you have to write, there’s no way around it. When I first joined, I was sceptical; if a deadline isn’t going to motivate me, how are a handful of meaningless digital goods going to? The website isn’t entirely distraction-free, it integrates a social media aspect (well, community) that’s all too easy to click into while you’re writing, and I felt as though I was setting myself up to fail.
Truth is, I wrote more on this website than I have on any other word processor. You can see how your word count effects the battle as you’re writing, and each battle you complete drops loot; even if you don’t complete the mission, you’ve still ‘won’ something. It wasn’t until a month or so after joining that I decided to take a look at the community, and while it’s a lovely place full of supportive people, it’s not as tempting as I thought it would be. The urge to ‘complete’ the website’s missions and storylines motivated me to write more, and focusing on something other than my actual writing turned off my inner-critic long enough for me push through each session.
I was disappointed to find out that 4TheWords is a premium website, and that there isn’t a free tier available. However, they do have a community donation pool for users who can’t afford the subscription. A lot of love has clearly been put into it.
We have a community funded pool those in need can anonymously access once your trial is over. If you need further assistance please contact us, we don’t want money to get in the way of you not being a part of the community.
Digging Deeper
There are some features I never got around to using, like the multiplayer mode, but if you have friends on the website or feel like you need a little extra accountability, I can see something like that coming in handy. The ability to archive your projects when they no longer serve their purpose, instead of deleting them or letting them hog space, is incredibly helpful and I’ve used it once or twice. It helps keep the focus on only the projects you’re actively writing.
Customisation is broad, even without purchasing additional clothing items and hairstyles using the in-game currency. They’ve recently updated the website to allow you to change the theme from dark to light, to a cream/parchment toned background. Customising your writing is limited to basic formatting and doesn’t include changing the font family.
The interface is limited after your subscription runs out. It goes into read-only mode, which means you only have access to your writing and your dashboard. The community, adventure, hero and journal tabs are all locked until you resume your subscription. You can’t continue writing on the platform until you resume your subscription, but you can copy the writing you’ve already done to move it elsewhere.
Another neat feature which I feel is sometimes lost to writing websites targeted at all ages is the parental controls. 4TheWords actively encourages writing in young people and have announced a Parent Protected dashboard for parents of children with accounts. This is what they have to say about it on their pricing page:
Are you a parent or guardian who has a kid that loves to write and create new worlds? Unleash their writing potential in a safe way with parental controls that don’t get in the way of their creative potential.
They also have accounts for teachers and educators. To see a website openly encourage creative expression in young people and implementing ways to include the adults in their life with that encouragement is wonderful.
Are you a teacher or educator who wants to encourage groups of students to develop their writing habits. All while having fun defeating monsters and earning rewards? You’ve come to the right place.
Improvements
They’ve thought of everything, so I’m not sure if there are any improvements I’d be able to suggest. The ability to upload to a cloud drive or an app (program or mobile app) would be helpful as the website lacks both. The option to download files as .docx or .pdf instead of having to copy and paste everything to another word processor for compiling/editing would be great too, if cloud drive integration isn’t possible.
Conclusion
4TheWords is perfect if you need that little extra motivation to write, or if you find yourself reading your writing back instead of pushing onwards until the session is over. The art is cute too, and the developers seem to genuinely care about their users. If you’re interested in joining, you can use my referral code when you sign up for your free trial! It’s not an affiliate code, every user has a referral code they can give to their friends, and all I get is crystals if you decide to subscribe to the website (and you’ll also get free crystals!).
YSXQY49684This reminds me, I should renew my subscription.
Rating Breakdown
Ease of Use: ★★★★☆
Features: ★★★★☆
Customer Support/Communication: ★★★☆☆
Price: ★★★☆☆