This goes pretty beyond the usual choice of games coding but more on writing in general. Thought I could ask here since writing is pretty talked about here.
where the hell do you guys write your stories? Not exactly like writing a game but what apps/where do you guys put your writing? Like how do you organize that? Along with character sheets about the characters you write too.
I’m sorry if it all sounds too nooby/too begginner of a question but I want to get started on writing in general(not exactly writing IF’s im sorry, but maybe ill get to those too.) , and it’s kinda overwhelming.
For the games, I write them in CSIDE. For organisation and planning, I use Notion. It’s a free app that allows you to make different pages and display information in different ways. Each character has a page that I can click on that I add to and develop as I write.
I even use it to keep track of my word count of each chapter and allow readers of my WIP to check it at any time to see how much writing I’ve done and what stage each chapter is at.
Long answer: if there is information I need to organize, I have some apps in reserve (SheetYourself for character sheets - it’s great if you need to come up with stats -, Story Planner for plot points but I only use it if I’m having way too much trouble in figuring out the plot, I think I have something installed on my computer too but I haven’t used it because doing that on my computer instead of tablet is bad for my workflow) but I still mostly just utilize whatever spreadsheet software and text editor I happen to have handy (Notepad is great for random notes! It’s right in the name.)
Just in the last post there, I shared a newly discovered app that I found super versatile and complete to organize, not only IF but you can adapt it in many ways. It’s free besides the sync feature, but you can use dropbox or drive or another free cloud service anyway so it doesn’t hurt the functionality at all.
It’s called Obsidian.md. It uses markdown language so you can create links to connect everything you write in it. There are also plugins that add even more functions like “Excalidraw” that add the ability to create mindmaps (which I’ve found to be one of the most useful things to have when you’re plotting your IF story).
I stitched os not long ago, and I was using notepad++ and simplemind pretty much for everything, but now I’ll probably do the writing in vscode and the note taking and ploting in Obsidian.
Hold up! One can create MACROS in notepad? I wasn’t aware of that!
That is a honest to God good question. I often ask myself… I mean, Programming tutorials says you must use flowcharts, fiction writing tutorials says you must create sheets and break the story of the characters in arcs and relationships.
Interactive fiction is another beast altogether, I wonder if there is something I am missing in the between…
ZAMN thanks everyone for putting some resources, very helpful. I guess I just dont want to have some organizational mistakes with my ideas thats gonna bite back future me if that makes sense. I mega appreciate it!
In Notepad++, not standard MS Notepad. There’s a “Macros” tab on the menu bar, which lets you record and save any string of text as a macro.
I cannot even tell you how much time it has saved me in my current project to be able to hit alt-G and have @{gam ${gamgee}|Yed} pop up on the screen.
I’m usually pretty quick at typing, but pipes, brackets, or other atypical punctuation slow me way down. Maybe more experienced programmers fly through those, but I’m so glad to be able to roll them into macros.
When CSIDE lets me do that, I’ll do all my drafting in it.
Thanks! I used to write in Notepad++ eventually I switched to CSIDE (and then, pen & paper, lol).
Hmm. It may be late to say that, but I really enjoyed your game, Revolution Diabolique. I brought it on Google Play and play it made me feel like a Deviant Allan Cardec! ^^
I like the intuitive way you modeled the stats. And often let myself get loose searching for new interesting combinations of power, skill and resources! I just wish the game had more interaction with the Royal Family (Gagné, Jean Amilcar, Antoinette) and the geniuses and personalities of the time like Lavoisier, Lafayette, Ben Franklin, Thomas paine and Young Napoleon!
Thanks, but post in the release thread! Conversation’s gone quiet there lately.
Yes, I’ve been using the clipboard for that for the same purpose. I should look into macros; being able to change between formatting on the fly would be nice.
