Scapple customization pdf#
Scapple customization software#

Plottr also doesn’t interface with Scrivener or have an export function. Unlike Scapple, in Plottr you can’t change the text formatting inside the boxes or give the boxes different borders. The yellow, black, and pink boxes are mood tags I created. To edit the details double click on the box. To see more detail on a plot point, hover your mouse over it. The titles at the top represent key scenes and the titles along the left represent plot lines. If you decide that you really want one piece of the plot to occur in a different scene, you can easily drag a card to a new position. You can view the structure in either a linear timeline, with each plot piece as a separate box, or in an outline form. Each plot line can have a different color. You can also set up characters and settings and tags (for marking the mood, time of day, etc.). Then you assign those cards to a scene and a plot line.

The premise is that you set up cards to describe pieces of the plot. While Scapple is simply a place to put ideas and connect them, Plottr is a tool meant to help you plot your novel.

Scapple customization pdf#

You can also export your Scapple document into a variety of formats, including PDF and PNG. You’ll need to rearrange the order in Scrivener, but I like not having to retype the information. If you have Scrivener installed on the same machine, you can select all or a portion of your Scapple boxes and drag them over to the Scrivener binder and they’ll be added as individual text documents. You can do minor formatting of text within the boxes, such as change font size and color, do bold/underline/italics and change the alignment (although alignment affects ALL text inside the box, not just a selection). I use three of the four box styles: Rounded (has rounded corners), Cloud, and Jagged depending on how much emphasis I want to place on the text within. This is a screenshot of a document I created in order to brainstorm what happens to the weapon that’s at the center of my WAR series.Īnd this is a screenshot of a map I used to figure out where the various vehicles were at a certain point in a pivotal car chase in WAR: Disruption.Īs you can see, I like to use colors. I now fill out one of these maps for my hero and heroine in each book. This is a screenshot of a character development map I made for Kirra, the heroine of WAR: Opposition. I use Scapple to brainstorm ideas, to work out character development, and before I invested in a bunch of action figures and toy cars I used to use Scapple to work out the logistics of car chases and action scenes. Of the three tools in this post, Scapple is the most customizable regarding appearance.

Oh, and did I mention that you can make each box a different color? Or choose from four border styles? Yep, you can. You create boxes, fill in some text, then link and arrange the boxes however you like. What the heck is mind-mapping software? It’s a visual tool for linking ideas.

Scapple customization software#

Scapple is a mind-mapping software created by Literature and Latte, the same people who created Scrivener. In this post, I’m going to introduce you to three tools you can use for planning your novel or simply storing random ideas: Scapple, Plottr, and Scrivener. Writers across the globe are jotting down plot ideas and character notes. National Novel Writing Month, aka November, is fast approaching. Join us for this webinar training with Vanessa Kier! blog/scrivener-webinar/ Learn the five simple steps to get you comfortable with Scrivener so you can get back to writing your novel.

Let’s welcome back monthly columnist, Vanessa Kier as she shares with us “Three Tools for Planning Your NaNoWriMo Novel.” Enjoy!