The best "virtual index card" software for story planning?

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Lunatique

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I'm an outliner, and I have been looking for a better solution for my story planning needs. In the past, I have used Writer's Cafe's storyline tool, Scrivener's outline/index card tool, and recently have tested virtual index card applications like Writer's Blocks, Throughline, Text Block Writer, and SuperNotecard (which is the one I prefer so far, but it still is missing features I need).

Basically, what I'm looking for is a software that can do the following:

-Able to customize the GUI's color (can't stand bright/white backgrounds).

-Able to customize the cards' size, font size, background fill color, font color, etc.

-Able to do simple swapping action if I drag a card on top of another, instead of only inserting a card before or after another card.

-Able to customize layout so I can have columns or rows, each dedicated to a separate storyline or character arc.

-A split view mode or expanded view feature, so I can see all the content in the card at once instead of being forced to scroll inside the tiny box of the card in order to read all of its content.

-Freedom and flexibility in creating new columns and rows wherever I want to, such as in-between existing columns and rows.

-Able to quickly select an entire row or column of cards and then move them all to a new location (whether inside existing columns and rows, or in new blank columns and rows), or swap position with an existing column or row.

-Able to have titles for the columns/rows, so I can name them by character names, or subplot names, etc.

-Able to insert separators and name them, so I can visually organize the cards into acts or chapters.

-Have both auto-arrange modes and manual arrange modes, so I can leave spaces between cards if I want to, or have all spaces automatically filled in.

Are there any virtual index card software out there that matches my needs? And please don't suggest using real index cards on a cork-board--I much prefer the convenience, flexibility, and speed of software. Having to rearrange a bunch of cards in real life just isn't very efficient to me.
 

alleycat

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This is probably more of a Basic Writing Questions or even Tech Talk question.

I'll move it to Basic Writing Questions for you.
 

Neegh

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Ya know. A nice wide wall works pretty damn well. Slide some masking tape down to divide it up into 3 of 4 chapters and tape-up your scenes, plot-points and random ideas as you get them--closer to the top: more important, closer to the floor less important. Then when you got those pretty much nailed down, move them to folders or enter them into your computer (or as I do, both). Then tape-up the next few chapters.
 

Lunatique

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Ya know. A nice wide wall works pretty damn well. Slide some masking tape down to divide it up into 3 of 4 chapters and tape-up your scenes, plot-points and random ideas as you get them--closer to the top: more important, closer to the floor less important. Then when you got those pretty much nailed down, move them to folders or enter them into your computer (or as I do, both). Then tape-up the next few chapters.

I considered using a big white/cork board, but it's not ideal in terms of efficiency. Imagine if I had an epic fantasy series that spans multiple books, with various subplots, a large ensemble cast with individual character arcs. I would have to use up an entire large wall.

Then there's the issue with making changes--doing it with software is just much faster and more flexible. If I wanted to swap entire columns that have dozens of cards, doing it manually is just tedious and a waste of time. With software, I can select the entire column and just drag it to the position I want. Same with inserting new cards into already long columns with lots of cards.
 

Lunatique

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I'm trying Storybook now, but its overall design and UI is very unintuitive, and I'm still trying to figure it out. I have to spend more time with it to figure out if it indeed does everything I've listed in the first post.

MovieOutline's index cards look like any other standard index card in typical writing software--you can move scenes around and color-code, but it doesn't look like there are options for multiple simultaneously happening subplots and character arcs arranged in columns.


I've tried Liquid Story Binder a few times in the past, and it never did the things I needed it to do, such as the automatic swapping when drag/drop between cards, or moving entire columns easily, or automatic arrangement. It was always mainly manual moves and that's not much better than using real index cards.
 

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Ya know. A nice wide wall works pretty damn well.

It does: but it's not software, which is what the OP was asking for. It's not portable, it's slower, it's not easy to back up, and it's very prone to accidental damage.

I was going to suggest Scrivener, but I see you've already tried it, OP. When you find something good, do share it with us.
 

Neegh

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I considered using a big white/cork board, but it's not ideal in terms of efficiency. Imagine if I had an epic fantasy series that spans multiple books, with various subplots, a large ensemble cast with individual character arcs. I would have to use up an entire large wall.

Then there's the issue with making changes--doing it with software is just much faster and more flexible. If I wanted to swap entire columns that have dozens of cards, doing it manually is just tedious and a waste of time. With software, I can select the entire column and just drag it to the position I want. Same with inserting new cards into already long columns with lots of cards.

Actually, I use rolls of butcher paper.

But that's just for getting the scenes in order and working out the sun-plots and such. All the while I'm writing on my computer. This is the same method that I use to block-out my paintings. And I do use the entire wall.
 

Neegh

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It does: but it's not software, which is what the OP was asking for. It's not portable, it's slower, it's not easy to back up, and it's very prone to accidental damage.

It's just a cheeper alterative.

And you can see the narrative arc over a number of chapters in one view--besides, all the real work is still done on computer but, whatever works best.
 

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I prefer to work on paper, as I find the smaller screen of my laptop restricts me. As Neegh implied, it's good to be able to see the whole spread of cards rather than just the few which will fit onto that little screen. But I'm very lucky: I have plenty of room at home to do this, room where I know my work won't be disturbed. Not everyone has that luxury. And some people prefer to work on a computer, which is fine. We just have to find a way that works for us.
 

Lunatique

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Scapple?

It's not exactly an index card thing. More like a mind mapping thing that isn't quite as rigid in making associations? Hard to explain but loads of fun!
I have tested it before and it's more of a mind-mapping software, and cannot do the things I listed.

For its intended purpose, it is nice though, but it is sorely missing the ability to color-code the connecting lines (to denote the type of relationship) between each character or faction). For example, I use pink for romantic feelings, red for hostility, green for alliances. yellow for betrayals, gray for neutral, etc. Colored connecting lines might make it into a future update, but for now, I use Xmind, which is free.
 

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I write screenplays and novels, so I use a software called Movie Magic Screenwriter. It has templates for both screenplays and novels and also has an index card feature that can be pretty useful. It has different options for how many cards are displayed on screen at once, etc.
 

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I don't know what the best notecard software might be, but stumbling across TreeSheets made this thread worth while. What an 'outside the box' bit of software that is. I downloaded it from here: http://www.treesheets.com/ and it was clean. A lot of free SW comes with 'baggage', this arrived clean.

I learn all sorts of things on this forum I didn't know I didn't know (a huge feature). That this SW exists is one of the more pleasant surprises of the month so far. I think it might take some experimentation to understand how to use it to plan a novel, but I'm certainly going to have some fun playing with it.

Fitch
 

Lunatique

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Excel?

It's not cards per se, but it's good for organization. Sounds like it'd be able to do (most of) what you want.

I'm currently investigating into its ability to swap cells easily. Adjacent cell swapping is easy, but non-adjacent cells require using a script, which is a bit too much work.

Swapping columns/rows also seem to be a bit less intuitive--it's more like a two step manual process than actual swapping.

I'll have to do more research and see how close I can get it to behave like my ideal workspace.

I write screenplays and novels, so I use a software called Movie Magic Screenwriter. It has templates for both screenplays and novels and also has an index card feature that can be pretty useful. It has different options for how many cards are displayed on screen at once, etc.

I don't think it can be organized in columns, each dedicated to a single character or subplot. Screenwriting software typically only allow one linear arrangement.

I don't know what the best notecard software might be, but stumbling across TreeSheets made this thread worth while. What an 'outside the box' bit of software that is. I downloaded it from here: http://www.treesheets.com/ and it was clean. A lot of free SW comes with 'baggage', this arrived clean.

I learn all sorts of things on this forum I didn't know I didn't know (a huge feature). That this SW exists is one of the more pleasant surprises of the month so far. I think it might take some experimentation to understand how to use it to plan a novel, but I'm certainly going to have some fun playing with it.

Fitch

It seems a bit rigid in its arrangement. For example, it can't replace mindmapping because there doesn't seem to be a way to link across clusters? That would be important for things like mapping out relationships between characters across different factions (clusters).

It doesn't look like I can create a template with individual character arcs and subplots all arranged in columns, with fixed grid that can have cells easily swapped, or when new ones inserted, automatically move all other cells across all column/rows one space over to match?

I'll download it and give it a spin and see how far I can bend it to my needs.
 

Lunatique

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After doing more testing and research, it appears there's nothing on the market (or in the world of freeware) that matches my needs currently, so I'm going to stick to this general workflow for now:

Do all my main brainstorming and planning in Scrivener using the Binder and Outliner View, including all character profiles/arcs, factions, locations, act structure, scenes, thematic overview, etc. I won't bother with the index card view because it's basically useless for my needs.

If I need to do mindmapping to get an overview of the factions/characters relationships, I'll use Xmind, until Scapple finally implements color-coded linking lines.

Then if I need to map out all the subplots in sequential order as they would appear in the book, I'll use Writer's Cafe's Storyline tool to do it.

Until I can get all of that in one software, this workflow will ave to do. Writers before computers wrote great works without all this power and convenience and flexibility, so I certainly won't use it as an excuse to not write.
 

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After doing more testing and research, it appears there's nothing on the market (or in the world of freeware) that matches my needs currently, so I'm going to stick to this general workflow for now:

Do all my main brainstorming and planning in Scrivener using the Binder and Outliner View, including all character profiles/arcs, factions, locations, act structure, scenes, thematic overview, etc. I won't bother with the index card view because it's basically useless for my needs.

If I need to do mindmapping to get an overview of the factions/characters relationships, I'll use Xmind, until Scapple finally implements color-coded linking lines.

Then if I need to map out all the subplots in sequential order as they would appear in the book, I'll use Writer's Cafe's Storyline tool to do it.

Until I can get all of that in one software, this workflow will ave to do. Writers before computers wrote great works without all this power and convenience and flexibility, so I certainly won't use it as an excuse to not write.

You might take a look at Edraw Max. It does everything Scapple does and an order of magnitude more including colored connectors if you want them. The dialog boxes can be pushed around like notecards. They aren't handled like a database, but they will work as well as cards on a cork board. Then one can do a save as, and the text boxes/note cards can be rearranged as a flow chart so that sub plots are shown in parallel with the main plot. The boxes with the one or two line descriptions can be annotated with bubbles and arrows. I've done that. It works well.

Fitch
 
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Lunatique

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You might take a look at Edraw Max. It does everything Scapple does and an order of magnitude more including colored connectors if you want them. The dialog boxes can be pushed around like notecards. They aren't handled like a database, but they will work as well as cards on a cork board. Then one can do a save as, and the text boxes/note cards can be rearranged as a flow chart so that sub plots are shown in parallel with the main plot. The boxes with the one or two line descriptions can be annotated with bubbles and arrows. I've done that. It works well.

Fitch

Thanks for the suggestion!

I'm looking at it right now, and it looks like the "Comparison Chart" feature of it might be close to what I need in terms of a fixed grid for proper timing across all subplots. I'll have to download the trial version and give it a test run to see if I'm right.

Outside of its Comparison Chart Maker, is it possible to have Edraw Max arrange the "cards" in a neat grid format, so all subplots/character arcs can be aligned next to each other, and moving around the cards won't disrupt the grid arrangement (probably using some kind of auto-arrange setting)? That is the one main issue I had with Writer's Blocks. It does everything I want, except being able to keep a organize grid layout so I can align subplots/character arcs according to the structure of the story beats.
 

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Thanks for the suggestion!

I'm looking at it right now, and it looks like the "Comparison Chart" feature of it might be close to what I need in terms of a fixed grid for proper timing across all subplots. I'll have to download the trial version and give it a test run to see if I'm right.

Outside of its Comparison Chart Maker, is it possible to have Edraw Max arrange the "cards" in a neat grid format, so all subplots/character arcs can be aligned next to each other, and moving around the cards won't disrupt the grid arrangement (probably using some kind of auto-arrange setting)? That is the one main issue I had with Writer's Blocks. It does everything I want, except being able to keep a organize grid layout so I can align subplots/character arcs according to the structure of the story beats.

It has an alignment function that can be used to align selected objects in either vertical or horizontal axes. It won't maintain a grid. But you can select groups of boxes and move them as a unit if you want to insert another block ahead of them without screwing up their alignment/relationship. The blocks don't auto-arrange like they do in Writer's Blocks. If you leave room you can stick other blocks in.

I have time on the horizontal axis and put in events for each plot line. The main plot usually has the most boxes. Sub plot lines go parallel in synch with the plot boxes.

It's also possible to put a row of boxes related to what the 'bad guys' have going on that isn't discussed directly. It affords an opportunity to mine possible interactions as discovery of evidence from appropriate past activities.

It's a good tool. I didn't see anything on your list that couldn't be done, but it is all manual, not automatic.

Fitch
 
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Lunatique

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It has an alignment function that can be used to align selected objects in either vertical or horizontal axes. It won't maintain a grid. But you can select groups of boxes and move them as a unit if you want to insert another block ahead of them without screwing up their alignment/relationship. The blocks don't auto-arrange like they do in Writer's Blocks. If you leave room you can stick other blocks in.

I have time on the horizontal axis and put in events for each plot line. The main plot usually has the most boxes. Sub plot lines go parallel in synch with the plot boxes.

It's also possible to put a row of boxes related to what the 'bad guys' have going on that isn't discussed directly. It affords an opportunity to mine possible interactions as discovery of evidence from appropriate past activities.

It's a good tool. I didn't see anything on your list that couldn't be done, but it is all manual, not automatic.

Fitch

I see. Thanks for explaining.

I'm going to have to experiment and see if what you described offers better solution than Writer's Cafe's Storyline tool.

I like the Storyline tool a lot, and the only thing that really bugs me is that I can't do simple card swaps without creating new empty spaces in all the lanes. That behavior isn't inherently bad, because I do need it when I actually do want to add an event to a subplot and must have all other lanes also alter their timing to match the space created by the event. But in cases where I don't want that behavior (such as only wanting to alter timing in one subplot while all others stay the same), it's a bit more work, where I have to have a "temp/blank" lane where I can drag cards to without affecting other lanes, and then move cards around manually. But at least it allows me to draw a marquee selection around multiple cards at once, so I don't have to actually move one card at a time (that would be terrible).
 

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I see. Thanks for explaining.

I'm going to have to experiment and see if what you described offers better solution than Writer's Cafe's Storyline tool.

I like the Storyline tool a lot, and the only thing that really bugs me is that I can't do simple card swaps without creating new empty spaces in all the lanes. That behavior isn't inherently bad, because I do need it when I actually do want to add an event to a subplot and must have all other lanes also alter their timing to match the space created by the event. But in cases where I don't want that behavior (such as only wanting to alter timing in one subplot while all others stay the same), it's a bit more work, where I have to have a "temp/blank" lane where I can drag cards to without affecting other lanes, and then move cards around manually. But at least it allows me to draw a marquee selection around multiple cards at once, so I don't have to actually move one card at a time (that would be terrible).

The marquee selection works with Edraw as well. So does selecting blocks by holding down the control key and clicking in them.

Fitch
 

CoolBlue

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You asked for "Virtual Index Card" software, but it seems you are looking for timelining software. I didn't see what OS you are using, but Aeon Timeline is available for both OSX and Windows. There are no graphics of cards, but I think much of the functionality you seek is there. There is a free download to try.
 
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