Just Right – Story Planner for Writers Review

[I am revising my earlier review to reflect a feature I wanted, but had not found as of that writing. You can find very helpful explanations of the writing jargon by hitting the circled “i” in the top right corner. So, not only is it well-designed, it is a mini writing clinic, too. I can also add that the developer was prompt and helpful. Read on for why Story Planner was such an exciting find for me.] Writing is not my problem. I have two conventionally-published books in print. My problem is my habit of winging it. This is a very inefficient way to work. Story Planner demands that I put advance thought into characters, locations, plots (oh, especially those) and scenes before I begin writing. In other words, it helps me lay a solid foundation for my project. It is perfect for my iPad, and even works well on my iPhone. Everything remains synced on iCloud. It can handle multiple projects. (The Master Cat is included to illustrate the features.) It is always handy for when inspiration strikes, but is so much more than a writer’s notebook. The UI is simple and intuitive. It gives you just what you need to plan (not write) your novel. Frills are few, but welcome. For example you can add small pictures to characters and locations to help keep them vivid in your imagination. However, simple does not mean skimpy. Each major section has a few subsections designed to walk you through the basic elements of your project. The subsection windows are either multiple choice (for example, which already-created characters are in a scene) or open (such as physical description of characters). In either case, you have plenty of room to work. Story Planner lets you work your way. The way each section works with the others makes continuity errors hard to blunder into and helps you maintain a sense for your novel as a whole. A place for notes is provided in the sections, which is nice for leaving writing ideas, research or describing how a scene develops your themes. (I use Scrivener to write, and consider Story Planner as complimentary. It is not meant to do all the things Scrivener can do, but the things it does do - help you in different ways to plan your project - it does better, in my opinion.) Story Planner provides a good balance between simplicity and usefulness, Unless you are a muse-coddled writer from whose subconscious flow complete, intricately-plotted stories, it should be useful to you.
Review by StCorbiniansBear on Story Planner for Writers.