News and Reviews > Mini-Reviews by Members

Really tiny reviews for creating, organising, analysing and reorganising writing

<< < (5/6) > >>

KodeZwerg:
If you like to play with flowcharts, draw.io offers a free online and offline application for that matter with many possible objects to choose from.
draw.io.exe < Windows Offline Version Installer

Flowcharts are not bound to any rules (starting point, middle, end point = all that belong to your own wishes if at all, that way you can visualize more than one idea on a chart),
but yes, software developers use such to have a program flow visible presented. (...to me that step need way too much time...)
The cool thing is that you "can" (but not must) connect each object with another to decide if that way is good or better rethink about it.
For story telling I guess that might be a good alternative method to have everything "logical" tested and that it is comprehensible.

I wont disturb you anymore in here and let you be on your own again.

Dormouse:
OK. You've convinced me. I'll add draw.io to the Bubbl.us segment. Possibly it will take first place. It is what the segment was originally for.
And, have actually added to my list for checking out with my project. Looks good. Thanks for the suggestion.

Mindomo can do disconnected nodes, and doesn't need fixed rules either, except on export. But I don't regard it as a core part of the review - more a consequence. I might use it in future,  but it's overkill for the review.

Which does leave the segment without a good example.

PS I'm not looking for isolation, so feel free to interject any time.
Though I am doing the survey for my own purposes really, with the review only being a record, so I don’t mind being on my own either.

app103:
Notezilla has an advantage you may not have considered, and that is a custom desktop wallpaper designed to suit your own personal organization, workflow, or brainstorming needs.

This is an example of what I am currently using (sticky notes hidden for privacy reasons):

Really tiny reviews for creating, organising, analysing and reorganising writing

No, it doesn't come with this wallpaper, but it is easy enough to design one in any graphics program. Then just set it as your desktop wallpaper, and you'll be able to drag & drop notes to any column or box that you need to.

Dormouse:
a custom desktop wallpaper designed to suit your own personal organization, workflow, or brainstorming needs.
-app103 (April 20, 2021, 03:41 PM)
--- End quote ---
Mmm.
I was sort of aware of the possibility without ever considering it further.
But now that you've pointed it out, with illustration, I agree, and can see all sorts of extra possibilities:

* There could be a kanban wallpaper; (I've been looking for wanting an alternative to Trello for some time - I like Trello, but it doesn't really fit any of my workflows);
* or, eschewing wallpaper, the screen could be tiled with documents and notes attached to those documents. And you could choose which documents you wanted on screen at any one time.
* brain burned out with the immensity of the scope
It's amazing how many possibilities there are in such a deceptively simple program. Thank you.

Dormouse:
My project is now obstruction free and pressing ahead, so this large and unwieldy process has achieved success for my personal objective, however limited my software insights. Success achieved mostly by thinking, as was always going to be the case, but I needed to find techniques that allowed that thinking to be progressive and developmental rather than always getting pulled back into the whirlpool.

Program/technique outcomes:

* I observed that my initial recourse with ideas was nearly always to pen and paper techniques (usually digitally). Never stayed there long (draughtsmanship and writing too poor), but always went there first.
* I recorded the process, observations, indecisions, problems, intermediate outcomes and, eventually, this post in Obsidian. This was in its own nested vault which will now become just a sub-folder.The balance between visuals and text turned out to be a harsh and exacting requirement; when it did not feel right, I moved on very quickly:

* draw.io failed on this (text not good enough);
* Outlining failed because it wasn't visual enough;
* as did Notezilla on one task (I couldn't change note shape).
* The survivor for the creativity brainstorming was Mindomo, which was slick and flexible once I'd got used to it, and had a wide range of visual options and two for text.Other people may make very different choices.

I spent what felt like an immense amount of time going backwards and forwards between Jutoh Storyboard, Plottr and spreadsheets. This resolved almost immediately when I saw Plottr's new Acts feature (in beta); this transformed it, from being attractive but not having all the functionality I needed, to ticking all the necessary boxes for detailed plotting. Key features of the program for me include sophisticated filters, expanding and reducing sections, powerful tags, story bible, export process to txt/md (including wikilinks), ease of use. I remain mindful that it seems to be in rapid development still and has not demonstrated longevity or financial stability (hopefully aided by the SaaS looking sales model).
I will still use the other programs:

* Jutoh Storyboard - for playing around with things in grids;
* Spreadsheets - for tables where cells don't need to change position and for analytical data;
* Timeline 3 - for complex event timelines.
I will also use Notezilla as a general factotum or go-between. Potentially even as a deputy to pen and paper.

Writing will be done in WriteMonkey, Obsidian or any other program that takes my fancy. I will use Atlantis, Docs, Word, even Scrivener, etc whenever I perceive a specific need. All files and notes will be kept in Obsidian vaults.

This is quite a big thing for me as it feels like a major shift in some of my core workflows. The trigger may have been a fringe project, but I doubt I will maintain alternative approaches to the same tasks.

UPDATE one week later
I've spent most of my time in Mindomo, which is just as it should be. Getting on with the job rather than playing with programs.
A visual/text mix has always been a fundamental part of my creative and organisational workflow.
(I'm still irritated with myself that I have only just caught up with software developments. Some of that is, no doubt, that my internet is now more reliable and much faster so that web apps are no longer completely out (still need the local option though), so I've been able to look wider.)
Still expect to use Plottr for the next stage, though doubts are creeping around in the background of my mind. If the needs are simple, will I need it? Will it be the best answer to any complexity? We'll see.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page