I was wondering does anyone use Plot Factory for their writing arsenal?

Game Development Writing and Content
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Hey there everyone,

I hope everyone is well this lovely first day of October. So this is my second time posting a topic so I apologize if it’s in the wrong category. But I was wondering if anyone uses Plot Factory for their story layouts?

Its a free tool to use and it really helps me write out my story. Their is a premium version I think you only have to pay for it once and it’s a lifetime subscription but I’m not certain on that. But the free version is very well developed.

I was just wondering if anyone else has used Plot Factory as a tool for creating their WIPs/IFs. And if so have you tried the premium version? I was wondering what if it was worth the upgrade. Just food for though!

(https://plotfactory.com/)

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I didn’t know of its existence, but this doesn’t appeal to me at all

image

I rather much prefer to have my files in my possession, in the format I want, independent of any private software and/or server, and without anyone restricting access to them despite any features or advantages they could offer.

Edit:
If you are interested I personally take notes in md format (the same you use to write these posts) you can format your text like you do here also.

There are tools you can use to view md format, and some of them have a lot of extra features to help you organize everything, create links between stuff, and a lot more.

Cons:

  • I don’t know, someone help me here.
  • Less features exclusively designed for writing?

Pros:

  • If the app goes boom you still have all your files with you, just look for another app and open the files (you can open them with virtually any text editor but not all will show you the format)
  • You can set your files to live in a sync folder so everything is backed up on the cloud of your choice.
  • No need to pay for anything.
  • No internet needed. (only for upload and download backups)
  • It has addons and features to create mindmaps and a bunch of organizational stuff.

If you’re still interested I use Obsidian.md

That’s for taking notes. For writing choicescript: Vscode, or VScodium with choicescript extension made and maintained by one of this forum users.

If you’re still interested just ask me more, I’ll gladly guide you or answer any doubt you have.

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Kind of reminds me of OneNote (is that still around?) or Evernote, but slightly more automated.

I use Evernote in my early, early planning stages to keep myself organized when I’m doing research but I’ve found that the fancier the program, the more easily distracted I am from actually writing. I could waste days organizing tabs and notebooks and sections and color coding and finding aesthetic images and categorizing lore and and and… And then I don’t write.

When the (traditional static) story is ready to be written, I use Libre/Google Docs/notebook paper. I outline. I write.

When the IF is ready to be written, I use CSIDE/Google Docs/notebook paper. I outline. I write.

All three have word count, spell check, and save my work and really that’s all I need.

Looks like its a monthly subscription with tiers at 9/14/19 $ with exports, unlimited audio narration (as opposed to 250 words/day), and collaborative writing (which is, interesting, listed in their “we’re looking into it but don’t have it yet” features) in the higher end. And if you cancel your subscription, they will block editing in stories 4+, which would be… frustrating. But even just only being able to have info for one story at a time (assuming you can delete one and replace it with a new one at all) would be very limiting for me.

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The way we register and retain information can be very different from person to person. Some people are very cerebral, others people prefer visual representations, etc.

I imagine the same is true for the writing process. Looking at the tool you mention I worry that, for me, the process of organizing my thoughts inside this would become such a thing that it’d get in the way of actually writing. On the other hand, I saw some things akin to writing prompts which I’m sure could be quite helpful.

Others have raised technical concerns and those are valid too. But in the end it’s about what works for you.

Since I wasn’t familiar with the tool, I can’t comment on the premium version. Thanks for sharing though, it’s always interesting to see how others approach their work. And if you do bite the bullet on the upgrade, let us know how that works out!

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