Okay, so I spoke too soon. Web Pen is NOT ready for prime time. Which really blows.
So I’ve found that PM wiki is actually kind of nice…as soon as I decide how to set it up.
So there there is this software called Storyright. It’s web-based like Web Pen. Besides a few pretty themes…it allows you to outline your story and keep track of characters. It doesn’t have Web Pen’s proposed area for world building. Which is too bad. I use yWriter to keep track of my story and write it…what I need something that can help me keep track of my world which is portable.
I hope to be getting an iphone next year…it’s internet capabilities are wonderful…allowing me to use the internet tools to write and track. Can you see where I’m going with this?
However that’s just Storyrights free plan. It’s lifetime membership is $42.00. However I’m not sure what you get for this. I’ve sent an email to them. For an outliner that exports to word…it’s very good. The first 14 days are free according to other websites.
Sigh.
Chapter five is coming along. I have one scene left….maybe. This is my longest chapter to date. I might have to add another scene…there is so much going on now that I’m past introductions.
I like outlining. I use an expansion method similar to First Draft in 30 Days (a book on outlining). There is a misconception that this is not a creative process compared to seat of your pants writing.
I disagree.
When you outline you are creating a world and story in the bare bones way. Later you fill that in with dialog, action and extrapolation. Your outline changes and grows with your story and characters.
The problem is that there are folks who think that this chains them to what they wrote in the outline.
How can I stress that this isn’t true? You create characters, plot out what happens to those characters scene by scene. Then you write each scene…but suddenly you realize that you need to have a scene where the protag goes to the grocery store so she can meet the antag and get the lettuce that comes in the next chapter. Fine…then you add it. The glorious part about the outline is you quickly add in a section for that scene. There…it’s in your plan. With yWriter I can have the outline and the scene on the same page for reference.
The non-outliners love to argue that this is not creative. Why? I created the outline…I didn’t get it from somewhere else.
To get published you’re going to need to outline/synopsis sooner or later. Why not keep a running total?
But problem with fantasy writing is world tracking. Notebooks and index cards quickly became non-portable. I’ve given my concern about Keynote…no support makes me nervous. Webpen would have been excellent…so now I’m going to try a wiki.
I loved Stonenotes…but I want something that I can access from anywhere….none of the wiki’s seem to have that functionality of automatic page creation. Grr.
I’ll figure this out…really I will.
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