Author Topic: has anyone tried Storymill?  (Read 4025 times)

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Offline sbk(linda)

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has anyone tried Storymill?
« on: January 26, 2008, 08:19 AM »
My husband is pushing for me to try the Storymill software for the Mac. It looks like it might have some useful tools, but I'm just wondering if anyone has any first hand experience using it?

I don't want to end up  :bangcomputer or :mad4 when I should be doing  :typing.



Offline Avvy

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Re: has anyone tried Storymill?
« Reply #1 on: January 26, 2008, 03:59 PM »
I don't have any experience with StoryMill, but my husband has also been pushing me to try a new software. I guess the writerly types at his company (Sun Microsystems) all love Scrivener. Again, no experience but the link will show you want it's all about.

http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.html

Right now I'm content to keep hammering away on my own as my writing time is so limited I just want to use my few minutes a day to type.


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Offline SMozer

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Re: has anyone tried Storymill?
« Reply #2 on: January 26, 2008, 07:17 PM »
Thanks for the link Avvy.  You can very easily download a 30 day free trial so I'll let you know how it goes.  The only program I have used so far, SBK, is Inspiration.  The author, Rick Riordan, mentioned at a workshop I went to that he uses the software to plot out his ideas.  It's basically a webbing program that turns your ideas into an outline.  I used it for myself and was able to plot out a book that had been sitting jumbled in my head.  The only problem with Inspiration is that while it is easy to get a free trail, for some reason it is hard to find it to buy.

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Offline Alison A

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Re: has anyone tried Storymill?
« Reply #3 on: January 26, 2008, 07:21 PM »
My husband is pushing for me to try the Storymill software for the Mac.


It looks like a useful tool, but I couldn't locate many reviews. I'd like to hear some firsthand experiences, too.
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Offline sbk(linda)

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Re: has anyone tried Storymill?
« Reply #4 on: January 27, 2008, 11:15 AM »

Right now I'm content to keep hammering away on my own as my writing time is so limited I just want to use my few minutes a day to type.

That's it exactly. I can't bring myself to invest a lot of my time in figuring out a new program I might not like. I have the thirty day trial. Maybe I should just pick a day and try it. I don't know why I'm so stubborn sometimes. Fear of change, I guess.

Thanks guys. I'll let you know how it goes.


Offline Gretchen

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Re: has anyone tried Storymill?
« Reply #5 on: February 12, 2008, 12:55 PM »
I started using StoryMill recently, and I really like it.  I find it very easy to use so far.

richmond8

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Re: has anyone tried Storymill?
« Reply #6 on: February 12, 2008, 09:41 PM »
If you use a program like Storymill, can you easily send documents by email to people, like you can with Word?  Could someone without Storymill open the document?

Offline Gretchen

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Re: has anyone tried Storymill?
« Reply #7 on: February 12, 2008, 10:47 PM »
I haven't sent anything out using StoryMill yet, but you can export your work as a Word doc, or an RTF, or any number of other tyoes of docs.  I don't think there would be any problem opening something written with StoryMill.

Offline sbk(linda)

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Re: has anyone tried Storymill?
« Reply #8 on: April 04, 2008, 03:13 PM »
I've just spent the afternoon playing around with it for the first time.

Keep in mind, it's possible I just haven't figured things out properly yet, but the features I was most excited to see, were the biggest disappointments.

I love the organization aspect and once I got used to it, I'm sure it would be very helpful.

But the research section was a huge let down. I was so excited with the idea of being able to keep all my research notes and links and files in one spot, but it ended up being so clunky and awkward, I realized I'd never use the tool.

And the timeline! Oh dear. I thought it was great ... until I started to use it. I spent way too long working to get it set up and then my stuff just started disappearing, dates kept resetting themselves and I accidentally created an event that I can't get rid of.

Sigh.

I realize I need more time. But I'm not sure how much I'm willing to give it. Maybe one more afternoon and a better look at the tutorial will help.

Anyway, just thought I'd let you know how my first day went.

Offline Susan

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Re: has anyone tried Storymill?
« Reply #9 on: May 06, 2008, 07:34 AM »

and I accidentally created an event that I can't get rid of.



Ah, but that's the beauty of Storymill! You can't get rid of the event because, like it or not, it belongs in your story.

Storymill knows.

Storymill is always right.

Do not attempt to thwart Storymill. . . .


Offline sbk(linda)

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Re: has anyone tried Storymill?
« Reply #10 on: May 06, 2008, 11:03 AM »
 :lol -- sooo very true.  :mad4

I'll confess ... I gave up. I just haven't had the time to work on learning a new program. Maybe in a month or two I'll have time to try again.

LMiller32

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Re: has anyone tried Storymill?
« Reply #11 on: May 08, 2008, 06:59 PM »
I've just switched to Scrivener, and it's great!  Recommended. 

Offline Pam

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Re: has anyone tried Storymill?
« Reply #12 on: March 20, 2010, 04:03 PM »
I'm bumping this thread to see if anyone has more to share about StoryMill. I don't have problems creating plot/characters but now that I'm doing YA which is quite a bit longer, I'm having to look at my notes a lot to make sure all plot threads are being addressed and when I leave a character, I have to look to see what that character looks like. I do have a binder with pics to help, but minor characters don't get this treatment and I'd like more than a binder to wade through. I'd love to have a timeline at my fingertips, character charts, etc. that I can toggle through with a click.

Does anyone have knowledge of a similar program for Windows? I'm considering buying a Mac anyway, so if there are a lot of great testimonies, this would help in my decision of switching to a Mac. (I had one of the original mac's my dad brought home--a Macintosh 512K, if you can believe that. It cost $3000 at the time! LOL!)
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Offline elissacruz

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Re: has anyone tried Storymill?
« Reply #13 on: March 20, 2010, 04:16 PM »

Does anyone have knowledge of a similar program for Windows?

I've considered Liquid Story Binder.  I think it is the closest Windows equivalent to Scrivener.  http://www.blackobelisksoftware.com/

And the makers of Scrivener have compiled a list of other programs for PC users. http://www.literatureandlatte.com/links.html Scroll down until you come to the Writing Software for Windows section.

I haven't actually tried any of them yet, because I'd rather use my trusty old Word and just write.  But that Liquid Story Binder sure looks pretty.
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Offline aclaire1980

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Re: has anyone tried Storymill?
« Reply #14 on: March 20, 2010, 04:33 PM »
I read an interesting post on this board by Helene Boadreau. She uses the document map function on Word. Here is the thread with her post: http://www.verlakay.com/boards/index.php?topic=33231.msg408647#msg408647 She also talks about it on her website: http://www.heleneboudreau.com/?p=533

Offline Pam

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Re: has anyone tried Storymill?
« Reply #15 on: March 20, 2010, 05:33 PM »
Thanks! I really liked Helen's idea, but I think I'm looking for more.  :thankyou

That Liquid Story Binder looks interesting! And it's not a bad price, so, I'll have to check it out! Thanks so much, Elissa! :yourock
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