Forum Posts Feed
Storybook Pro 4.0 is out
< Next Topic | Back to topic list | Previous Topic >
Posted by Dr Andus
Oct 19, 2012 at 09:22 PM
Dr Andus wrote:
>I’ve been looking for a solution for plotting multiple story lines in a top-down manner, possibly with a single-screen overview (yes, still for my dissertation…). I had high hopes for Storybook Pro v.4, as I was particularly impressed with v. 3. However, after having spent some time with v. 4, I’m disappointed.
>It still has some interesting features, and the chronological view with the multiple strands is really what I’m looking for (except I don’t need it to be chronological), as well as the ability to shuffle scenes and chapters around, like index cards. So it’s some kind of an intelligent corkboard I’m looking for.
As I found my “intelligent cork board for index cards” in Outline 4D/StoryView 2.0, I’m no longer looking, but just for the record, here is another (new) offering in this area:
Story Lite and Story Turbo
Posted by Alexander Deliyannis
Oct 22, 2012 at 04:04 PM
Dr Andus wrote:
>Story Lite and Story Turbo
>
>http://www.storylite.com/
Thanks for this great find. Leaving out the ‘Story’ component, this software is much closer to the huge virtual corkboards we talked about here http://www.outlinersoftware.com/topics/viewt/3934/
Story Turbo costs 0,99 USD (yes, 99 cents) for 1 PC and, for what it does, it is for me more useful than OneNote. Its concept is something long available in desktop publishing programs: there is the page where you lay out what is going to be published, but around it is a much greater area where you can place all the collected material that you may possibly use, including drafts, images, notes, placeholders etc.
Story Turbo advances this concept quite a bit, and I am impressed. There are still rough edges and unfinished features but the developer is clearly on to something.
Equally impressive is the library of examples and guides to use Story Turbo for specific applications. I wish all developers would provide this kind of kick-starting material for their products.
Posted by WSP
Oct 22, 2012 at 07:40 PM
Thanks for this suggestion. I downloaded Story Lite and played around with it a little. I’m still not clear whether the individual notes can be imported from external rtf and text files, or whether perhaps the notes can only be created within the program.
I’d love to be able to save my notes in individual rtf/text files, bring them into something like RightNote for basic organization, and then manipulate them further at the writing stage with something like Story.
Bill
Posted by Dr Andus
Oct 23, 2012 at 12:59 AM
Alexander Deliyannis wrote:
>this software is
>much closer to the huge virtual corkboards we talked about here
>http://www.outlinersoftware.com/topics/viewt/3934/
>for what it does, it is for me more useful than OneNote.
Yes, good to see such a thing actually exists for the PC (I’ve never warmed to OneNote as a corkboard). I’m particularly impressed by Story Turbo’s export features (HTML, RTF, PNG, blog etc.).
For now TreeSheets will remain my ‘corkboard’ of choice for planning plotlines and brainstorming, as I just find it a lot faster to use. But I could see Story Turbo emerging as a strong alternative for certain jobs that would benefit from those export options.
As for Outline 4D, I’m loving it as an outliner for transitioning from bare-bones Bonsai topic outline to final outline with inline notes and initial draft. I’ve got almost 7000 words in it and it’s still easy to work with. However, its ‘corkboard’ is a different animal altogether from the above.
Posted by MadaboutDana
Oct 24, 2012 at 09:46 AM
Thanks for the tip about Story Turbo. I’m a regular TreeSheets user, but the sheer flexibility of Story Turbo is exhilarating! And the output options are, quite simply, amazing! I’ve bought two licences at the equally amazing sale price of $0.99. Ah, I’ve just noticed… rats, CRIMPed again!