Maps e.g., etc.

Posted by Amontillado
Jul 19, 2022 at 11:58 AM

Well, respectfully, the difference between a mind map and an outline is generally depiction. MindNode offers two views, for example, your outline or your mind map.

My current favorite planning tool for story planning, Curio, supports mind maps and lists (outlines). Right click either type and you have an option to convert maps to outlines and back.

There are three shortcomings to most mind map tools for me.

Most mind maps won’t let you rotate the map to a new root node.

Most mind maps don’t support reference links and don’t allow the same node to appear in multiple places in the map.

Ad hoc connections are generally just lines that clutter the map display. You can’t click on a node and then jump to a connected node, you have to visually follow a connection line.

TheBrain solves all those. It supports any kind of links you want. I ran into problems with its bundled Java, TheBrain is expensive, and some aspects of the UI were clunky for me.

There’s no perfect planning tool out there. Fortunately, many times a thoughtful work flow can press an otherwise imperfect tool into doing the job.