Chapter versus Section

[RobbC2]

Trying out Storyist now and I can't get my head around some things. Hoping you can help.

 

I don't write (or think) in terms of chapters and sections. That is, most--if not all--of my chapters are single sections. So I just want to have a sidebar under "Project" that lists each of my chapters without any kind of "Untitled Section" contained within. I don't want # signs or section breaks, arrows showing contents within chapters, etc, because each chapter is one section. I can see where the template format might work for some people, but for me it's all just redundant or unnecessary.

 

Assuming I can create the template I'm looking for, I then would like to attach a page of chapter-specific notes to each chapter. I don't want section sheets or any kind of rigid format -- I just would like a blank text page that I can fill with Notes to Self. Many of these notes are too long for the little yellow sticky comment. Each chapter note page should be called up somehow every time I open the chapter to work on it.

 

I hope that makes sense. I keep reading the users guide, but I keep getting hung up on Section Sheets and things I don't need. Thanks so much for any help!

[Steve E]

Hi RobbC2.

 

I do understand what you mean. Some of us started with lots of Chapters each containing a single Section and thinking, "What the heck do I need a Section for?". Some of us never particularly cared for the structure of Section sheets. I, for one, rarely use Section sheets but I have come to need Sections themselves. In long works (your typical romance novel, for example) you may have noticed blank lines (in effect, empty paragraphs) within chapters whenever there is a change in location of jump in time. These blank lines are what the pound symbols ("#") turn into when you're published. Now, you might consider simply starting a new chapter when these breaks in time and space occur to your characters--even though, structurally, they belong within the same chapter--but this isn't "standard". But then, there are all kinds of "standard" and you should go with what makes you feel most comfortable. (Your editor/publisher can always ask you to change it later.)

 

The technical problem (and Steve is far more qualified to address this than I) is that Chapters in Storyist are just folders for Section files. You can try using one Section per Chapter and you can create Notebook folders named after your chapters (that's your "chapter-specific" link) and put Notes (blank pages) in them for your various categories of comments. Or you could treat Sections as if they are Chapters and Chapters as if they are Parts (Part I, Part II, etc). Remember you can change the name of just about anything.

 

Hope this helps a little.

Steve should be back soon.

- Thoth

[Steve]

Hi Rob,

 

Welcome to the forums. Comments below.

 

I don't write (or think) in terms of chapters and sections. That is, most--if not all--of my chapters are single sections. So I just want to have a sidebar under "Project" that lists each of my chapters without any kind of "Untitled Section" contained within. I don't want # signs or section breaks, arrows showing contents within chapters, etc, because each chapter is one section. I can see where the template format might work for some people, but for me it's all just redundant or unnecessary.

 

You don't need to break chapters into sections if you don't use them, but you can't currently filter the single section out of the project view without also turning off the outlining for the file. Other folks who write in chapters have done this:

 

1) Instead of creating one manuscript item for all chapters, create a separate project item for each chapter. You can use Groups to organize them.

 

2) Open the project item preferences for each chapter and uncheck the "Show outline in Project and Outline views" and "Show outline in Navigation bar" checkboxes. That way, you'll see only the chapter title, not it's sections, in the Project view.

 

There are a couple of drawbacks to this:

 

1) You need to edit the preferences each time you create a new chapter.

 

2) You have to print/export each chapter individually.

 

3) If you want to change formatting, you'll have to do it for each chapter.

 

But...

 

You can write, outline, and take notes with the chapter as the smallest level of granularity. See the attached screenshot.

 

Assuming I can create the template I'm looking for, I then would like to attach a page of chapter-specific notes to each chapter. I don't want section sheets or any kind of rigid format -- I just would like a blank text page that I can fill with Notes to Self. Many of these notes are too long for the little yellow sticky comment. Each chapter note page should be called up somehow every time I open the chapter to work on it.

 

I hope that makes sense. I keep reading the users guide, but I keep getting hung up on Section Sheets and things I don't need. Thanks so much for any help!

 

For long notes, create a new notebook entry for each chapter and (optionally) associate it with the chapter.

 

If you don't want to use the Section Sheets, just delete the default collection from the Project view.

 

-Steve

[Steve]

Another screenshot showing the notebook entry on the collage for chapter 1. Note that you can option-click on an item in the collage to open it in the other views. Similarly, you can option click in the manuscript to open the text in other views (which can be set to outline view)...

 

-Steve

[Steve]

And here is the story file I used for the screenshots.

 

-Steve

ChapterOrganization.story

[Steve E]

And this while sitting in the Airport Lounge at JFK, waiting for a flight that in all probability will be bumped because of the snow.

 

Is this customer support or is this customer support?

- Thoth

[Steve]

Hi Thoth,

 

Thanks for jumping in with the amazingly fast reply!

 

One small adjustment:

 

Chapters in Storyist are just folders for Section files.

 

Chapters are just paragraphs with a heading level of 1. When Storyist builds the outline for the project view, it considers the outline level and any body text sections separated by the separator.

 

The real solution to this problem is for Storyist to simply ignore body text, if requested, when building the outline. I've already got this on the list.

 

-Steve

[RobbC2]

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. I follow what you're saying. I guess the issue is most of my chapters have no changes in time or setting, so there is no need for section breaks. (In previous novels, I've used the # to denote section breaks, but these breaks are few and far between). So under the present Storyist template, I end up with a folder called "Chapter 1" containing the entire chapter text within something called "Untitled Section." Just seems unnecessary. But you're right -- a solution might be to treat the "chapters" as "parts/acts" and use the Storyist "section" as what I think of as chapters.

 

I'll play around with the Notebook format you suggested. Thanks for that.

 

Right now, I think Scrivener seems to adapt better to my way of writing and thinking. But I really like Storyist's ability to show two pages at once when I write. It's a tough call.

[RobbC2]

Hi Steve,

 

I see your response as well and I appreciate you taking the time. I'll take a deeper look at the screenshots you sent. They seem to show what I'm looking for.

 

Thanks again to you and Thoth.

[Steve]

And this while sitting in the Airport Lounge at JFK, waiting for a flight that in all probability will be bumped because of the snow.

 

I hope not! It is snowing like crazy, but the runways are currently clear. I've got my fingers crossed.

 

Ever the optimist,

 

-Steve

[Steve E]

Hi Steve.

Thanks for jumping in with the amazingly fast reply!

No problem. Just sitting here writing and watching the snow.

 

One small adjustment:

Chapters are just paragraphs with a heading level of 1. When Storyist builds the outline for the project view, it considers the outline level and any body text sections separated by the separator.

Thanks!

 

The real solution to this problem is for Storyist to simply ignore body text, if requested, when building the outline. I've already got this on the list.

Interesting. But I don't think I'll be requesting it. I've come to like Sections. Useful option, though.

 

Thanks

- Thoth.

[Steve E]

Hi Steve,

 

I see your response as well and I appreciate you taking the time. I'll take a deeper look at the screenshots you sent. They seem to show what I'm looking for.

 

Thanks again to you and Thoth.

Hi RobbC2.

 

About the screenshots: FYI, you too can impress your friends and loved ones by generating beautiful Fake Latin paragraphs at this site.

 

Ever helpful.

- Thoth.