![]() But where other apps try to update Scrivener’s layout and features, StoryShop is fresh and innovative. StoryShop is one of the newer programs, so it has had some growing pains. I had some issues with exporting to Word, but I found their customer service to be excellent. It does not currently have an offline mode, however, and it is entirely browser-based. There is a distraction-free mode and a typewriter mode, which keeps your cursor in the middle of the page to eliminate eye strain and distraction. StoryShop is now mobile-friendly for all devices. With StoryShop’s Beats Bar, you can then add more planning details to each scene. StoryShop does include a few more than seven plot structures, though. These structures largely come from the work of Christopher Booker’s The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Write Stories. These are basic story structures like Overcoming the Monster, the Quest, and Rags to Riches. If you want more structure, StoryShop also has Beat Templates. ![]() It’s great because you don’t interrupt the flow. In StoryShop, hitting Enter twice gives you a scene break, and hitting it three times creates a new chapter. In Scrivener and other programs, you have to click a few buttons to add a new chapter or scene. My favorite feature was the quick-add method for scenes or chapters. ![]() Then your World Bar will automatically import to your new manuscript. You can add new books to already created worlds and/or series. If you insert a new character as you’re writing, you can double click the name and add them as a character.Īnother advantage of StoryShop is the Series and World features. You can also quick-add items by double clicking in the text. The search feature within the World Bar is great. The best part is that you can keep this World Bar up as you write, so you don’t have to switch to a notes section. The level of detail that you can include is incredible. You can add details about characters, settings, species, technology, and more. You can basically build a world bible as you write. What drew me to this software was the world-building option. StoryShop has original features that I’ve never seen anywhere else. If you’re looking for a writing program that is completely different from Scrivener, there’s a good chance this is the one for you. The next software that I’ve used and loved was StoryShop. If you don’t do a lot of world-building or plotting, or you don’t need many bells and whistles, Novlr is a great fit. If you write on your phone often, this is the tool for you. Novlr is a great program for someone who wants a clean, easy-to-use interface with full syncing capabilities. It comes in at $10 USD a month, and there’s a slight discount if you purchase a yearly subscription. ![]() Novlr is subscription-based software, which allows them to constantly add new features and provide great customer service. However, they do have plans for character profiles and other planning tools in their roadmap. There is a notes section, but I wanted more features than blank documents. They have since fixed that, so if you write scene by scene, Novlr will still work. When I used it, it was only possible to organize by chapter, not scene. So, what are the drawbacks? For me, Novlr ended up being too simplistic. Novlr’s import and export modes are the most advanced of the three programs I’m reviewing today. It can also sync to Google Drive and Dropbox to back up your work. One of the biggest appeals for me was that it worked both online and offline. There are also day, evening, and night modes. It gets rid of all the other distractions. Novlr has a great focus mode that you can turn on or off. I’m not someone who can write a lot on my phone, but for people who do, Novlr is your best bet. It synced immediately and any changes I applied were there when I got ready to type again. If I wanted to quickly add something when I was away from my computer, I could pull it up in my phone’s browser. Of the three apps I’m reviewing today, Novlr’s mobile feature is the best. I also think they have the best stats and goal trackers. I found them to be just enough encouragement to keep going on the tough days. They were witty one-liners that popped up at the bottom of the screen as I got closer to my daily targets. My absolute favorite feature was the encouraging pop-ups as I hit different word counts. I wrote an entire novella in Novlr, and it was easy to learn and use. Novlr was the first novel-writing program I tried after Scrivener, and the simplicity of it was appealing.
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