Moving an existing project from Scrivener to Storyist

[CorStellae]

Hello,

 

I'm new to Storyist and I'm trying to move an existing project already in progress in Scrivener to Storyist, so I can continue editing it on Storyist for iPad. What would be the fastest and more efficient way to do that? I don't want to copy/paste every single document. I would like something easier than that.

 

Thank you.

[Steve]

Hi CorStellae,

 

Welcome to the forums, and thanks for checking out Storyist.

 

Hello,

 

I'm new to Storyist and I'm trying to move an existing project already in progress in Scrivener to Storyist, so I can continue editing it on Storyist for iPad. What would be the fastest and more efficient way to do that? I don't want to copy/paste every single document. I would like something easier than that.

 

Thank you.

 

A number of people seem to be interested in this. I'll do some research and post a more complete how-to soon, but to get you going:

 

I think Scrivener stores individual chapter and sections as separate files and then you compile these into a manuscript. Storyist imports RTF, so

 

1) Compile a version of your manuscript that you're happy with and export it from Scrivener as RTF.

 

2) Launch Storyist.

 

3) Create a new Storyist project from the Blank template.

 

4) Drag your RTF file to the Project view (the organizer on the left of the window). A dialog appears saying "Copy items to project."

 

5) Select Novel Manuscript from the Type popup and click Add.

 

Scrivener doesn't support style sheets (at least in its RTF), so Storyist will add a default style sheet (which you can change later when you become more familiar with Storyist).

 

Like conventional word processors, Storyist uses the style's heading level to build the document outline. This outline appears in the Project view and in the Outline view (View > as Outline). You'll want to apply at least the Chapter Title style to your imported manuscript.

 

If your chapters start with a specific string, "Chapter" for example, you can have Storyist apply the styles for you mostly automatically. To do this:

 

1) Display your manuscript and click somewhere in the text.

 

2) Choose Format > Style > Apply Styles by Matching Text. A dialog appears with some options appropriate to most novels. Edit them if you'd like.

 

3) Click OK.

 

You can repeat the above process for other text files (character bios, etc...) you want to include in your project.

 

If you want to export your project data back to RTF files:

 

1) Choose File > Export.

 

2) Select the project items you want to export.

 

3) Select "Text and Image Files" from the Export popup.

 

4) Select "Rich Text Format (.rtf)" from the Format popup.

 

5) Click Next and check the "Export to folders matching the project structure" checkbox.

 

6) Click Next again, select a root folder, and click Choose. Storyist will create a folder with subfolders and RTF files matching your project structure.

 

7) Import to Scrivener as you would normally.

 

Hope this helps. I'll try to post more information soon. In the mean time, if you have specific questions, please feel free to ask.

 

-Steve

[CorStellae]

I think Scrivener stores individual chapter and sections as separate files and then you compile these into a manuscript. Storyist imports RTF, so

 

1) Compile a version of your manuscript that you're happy with and export it from Scrivener as RTF.

 

2) Launch Storyist.

 

3) Create a new Storyist project from the Blank template.

 

4) Drag your RTF file to the Project view (the organizer on the left of the window). A dialog appears saying "Copy items to project."

 

5) Select Novel Manuscript from the Type popup and click Add.

 

Scrivener doesn't support style sheets (at least in its RTF), so Storyist will add a default style sheet (which you can change later when you become more familiar with Storyist).

 

Thank you, Steve. I've been experimenting with Storyist the whole morning. I managed to bring my RTFD manuscript from Scrivener. Since you're researching on this, I had to use RTFD because my text has many bullets and numbered paragraphs. When I imported the RTF file it all turned into chaos; but the RTFD respects most indents and fonts. I also imported it directly from the desktop, so I didn't loose my formatting settings (indents, fonts).

 

Like conventional word processors, Storyist uses the style's heading level to build the document outline. This outline appears in the Project view and in the Outline view (View > as Outline). You'll want to apply at least the Chapter Title style to your imported manuscript.

 

The part I'm having problems with is that I was trying to create small texts and documents, just as I do in Scrivener, in separate files. But it appears that I should be creating and applying styles in order to manage my document. In Scrivener, the outline is the result of the arrangement of those subdocuments. As far as I can see, Storyist is closer to a traditional word processor, since what I have is a single document with a hierarchy built over the style sheet.

 

If your chapters start with a specific string, "Chapter" for example, you can have Storyist apply the styles for you mostly automatically.

 

I'm moving two projects. One is a manual, and it's not exactly distributed by chapters, but by sections with a different name each. The other is a novel in progress, but, again, all I have is chunks or pieces that I haven't put together yet. That's why Scrivener works so well… Because it helps me in my chaotic initial creative process, and I organize it all later. I just write in a non linear order, gather things together, create collections, etc. In Storyist I'm finding a far more lineal interface. So far, I feel lost. It looks like I don't create new separate documents but a single documents with a lot of styles. So, how exactly do I manage a chaotic project? I still don't know.

 

I guess at leas the manual I'm working on will be easier to manage. The other project, the novel, is going to be the real challenge, because there is no way to make a distinction between one segment and the next, except for characters such as # (which I can add in Scrivener when I compile the manuscript).

 

Thank you for your help, I'll continue my experiments.

[CorStellae]

Hi Steve,

 

I have a major issue on the Mac version: accents. I write almost everything in Spanish. The Mac version won't write my accents correctly. It looks like this:

 

c´omo

Of course, it should look like this:

 

cómo

The iPad version, on the other hand, works perfectly.

 

Is it possible there is a glitch in the Mac version? Has anyone else reported this before?

[marguerite]

I tested this in 2.3.3, but the accents work perfectly for me: cliché. cómo. ñç. So I don't think it can be a Mac bug per se. I tried the same key combinations in text, sheets, and notes.

 

I used the Option key shortcuts. Could it be a font issue? I tested several, but I don't know which one you are using. I don't think it's an iPad/Mac sync issue either, because I checked a couple of novel files that have gone back and forth to the iPad umpteen times.

 

On managing a chaotic project (and believe me, I sympathize!), I suggest setting up one chapter as a holding pen, directly under "My Manuscript" or whatever you have renamed it, and treating each subdocument as its own section, separated by # (styled as Section Separator). You will see the sections listed in the project outline under the name of your chapter, and you can drag them around at will or display them as index cards for note-taking (the notes on the cards will show up whenever you display the sections as cards: you will not see them when the sections are displayed as text). Make sure you include the # after the last section in the chapter. If you don't, it will merge with the text following (and seem to disappear, causing panic and woe) when you move it.

 

If you have one group of sections that seems to be separate from the main group, set up another chapter for them. Since you can add chapters at any time and can call the chapters whatever you want, you can gradually refine your outline. In this way of working, the chapters become the equivalent of your collections in Scrivener, and you can drag sections from one chapter to another. You want them all in one manuscript, because you can't drag from one manuscript to another. That's also how you "compile" sections for print: by either printing one entire manuscript or by specifying a page range within that manuscript.

 

You can also set up folders under PLOT to hold collections of plot points and display those as index cards, if you like. Again, you can drag them around as you change your mind about the order. You can print only one plot sheet at a time, though.

 

More than that is probably confusing at first, but rest assured that Storyists are no more organized from the get-go than Scrivener users, so there are ways to cope with those initial inchoate ideas!

Best,

Marguerite

[Steve]

Hi CorStellae,

 

I have a major issue on the Mac version: accents. I write almost everything in Spanish. The Mac version won't write my accents correctly. It looks like this:

 

c´omo

Of course, it should look like this:

 

cómo

The iPad version, on the other hand, works perfectly.

 

Is it possible there is a glitch in the Mac version? Has anyone else reported this before?

 

Like Marguerite, I tested this in the Mac version (on Leopard, Snow Leopard, and Lion). By typing

 

"c", "option+e,o", "m", "o" I got the result shown in the attachment.

 

I tried using both the U.S. Keyboard and the U.S. Extended keyboard. Which are you using?

 

-Steve

[CorStellae]

I feel almost embarrased. I have opened the program again and everything worked just fine. I was away all afternoon, so I shut down the computer and restarted it when I came back. I don't think it was a font issue, but now it appears to be all right. Nevertheless, since I use my keyboard in Spanish, I don't use the key combination "option+e+letter". Instead, I use the key next to the letter P + letter. But since it's gone back to normal, I must assume that it was an isolated event.

 

Thank you, Marguerite, for all your detailed suggestions. I'll begin my experiments right away. Since I can include the character # when I export my draft from Scrivener, that may help a lot.

[CorStellae]

Hello,

 

I was able to export my Scrivener draft with the # character between every document, so I can create sections. When I import it into Storyist, now I get one chapter with a lot of "untitled" sections. Is there a way to automatically rename those sections rename them one by one?

[Steve]

Hi CorStellae,

 

Hello,

 

I was able to export my Scrivener draft with the # character between every document, so I can create sections. When I import it into Storyist, now I get one chapter with a lot of "untitled" sections. Is there a way to automatically rename those sections rename them one by one?

 

There isn't currently a mechanism to automatically rename the sections. The easiest way to rename the sections is to step through them in the outline view, which you can see by choosing View > as Outline.

 

Out of curiosity, what would you envision automatically renaming them to? Section 1, 2, ... perhaps?

 

Now that Storyist for iPad is out, there will be a "back to the Mac" of sorts for some of the iPad features. In the iPad version, for instance, you can turn off the display of body text sections in the outline, and that feature will be in the next Mac version. I'd be very interested in suggestions you might have that would make your current task smoother.

 

-Steve

[marguerite]

Alas, there is no way I know of to automatically rename the sections: you have to double-click the name next to each icon in the project view and name it. Several of us have asked for automatic chapter renumbering, and Steve says it's on the list for a future release. Even then, it probably won't affect sections, since they often have descriptive titles (at least, mine do). Storyist doesn't really have a way to figure out what those descriptive titles might be.

 

Also, now that you have the file in Storyist, it's best to keep it there, exporting to RTF for Word if necessary but re-importing as little as possible. That's because each time you import the file, you have to rename the sections again.

 

You can use the Format > Style > Apply Styles by Matching Text feature to find all the # characters and apply the Section Separator style to them, though.

Maybe your Spanish keyboard was acting up yesterday.

Best,

Marguerite

[CorStellae]

Thank you both for your answers.

 

About naming… This is the thing: in Scrivener I have hundreds of different documents (almost 90 000 words now). Each one is named either manually (I choose a name of my liking) or with the first words of the first paragraph. That's enough for me to find out what that text is about.

 

Until now, I had been using Notebooks (on iPad) to write new documents. I usually write a really small document, maybe a page or two, with a fragment of a scene (not even a whole thing, even less a chapter). Notebooks automatically names it with the first words of the paragraph, and syncs with Scrivener, from there I import the new text documents into the binder.

 

Right now, that particular chaotic, creative, delightful project I have in hands, looks impossible to bring into Storyist until I make further advance into its real structure. So far I've been writing freely, following inspiration, creating pieces of a puzzle. But Storyist works in a far more structured way, with real beginnings, middles, and endings.

 

After I organize and rearrange my writings, after I make sense of all the pieces, after I start seeing the pattern behind all those fragments to get at least clear groups of the story… only after that, I would be able to have something manageable enough to bring to Storyist. That's, at least, as it looks like at this point.

 

The other project is actually easier to bring into Storyist because it's highly structured, I already have a detailed outline, and, honestly, Storyist will be the perfect tool for it. All the formatting and styling is precisely what I needed. All I have to do now is spend a little time creating my style sheet and I'll apply it on my first revision of the text, probably from the iPad. No problems there.

 

Ideas for automatic naming? I would choose the first words of the first paragraph after the # symbol. That would do it for me. The other idea, "section 1, 2, etc." would be as empty and chaotic as having hundreds of "untitled" sections.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Jacqueline

[marguerite]

About naming… This is the thing: in Scrivener I have hundreds of different documents (almost 90 000 words now). Each one is named either manually (I choose a name of my liking) or with the first words of the first paragraph. That's enough for me to find out what that text is about.

 

Right now, that particular chaotic, creative, delightful project I have in hands, looks impossible to bring into Storyist until I make further advance into its real structure. So far I've been writing freely, following inspiration, creating pieces of a puzzle. But Storyist works in a far more structured way, with real beginnings, middles, and endings.

 

After I organize and rearrange my writings, after I make sense of all the pieces, after I start seeing the pattern behind all those fragments to get at least clear groups of the story… only after that, I would be able to have something manageable enough to bring to Storyist. That's, at least, as it looks like at this point.

Jacqueline

Well, not really. A section in Storyist can be any length or any chunk of prose. If you decide later that you want to combine two sections, just delete the # that separates them. If you want to split a chunk of text into sections, hit return, type # and apply the Section Separator style (or center it). Name the new section. You can add and delete chapters almost as easily. You don't have to be organized to start a project in Storyist, let alone have a clearly worked-out structure. Most of us don't. Even the plotters (outliners) change their structures on the fly, more often than not.

 

That said, I can imagine that the thought of renaming hundreds of sections is indeed daunting. One option would be to break the renaming into chunks: say, 10-20 sections a day, starting with the ones you use most often. You could even set up a chapter for named sections and a chapter for untitled sections and move them as you get around to dealing with them.

 

Or maybe you have too many files to make that practical.

Just a thought,

M

[CorStellae]

Hello Marguerite,

 

At this point of my project, I think that I do have too many files to make your suggestion practical. I believe that for my novel, the best is to remain in Scrivener as far as I can make any sense of it. When I reach certain level of progress, it will be easier to take into Storyist, probably piece by piece and not as a "whole project" import. At this point, I would only bring onto myself a huge amount of unnecesary work. I would have to dedicate many of my waking, precious, hours to do something that won't look like writing at all.

[marguerite]

Well, don't hesitate to ask if you need help as you transition the manual.

And a belated welcome to the forums!

Best,

M

[CorStellae]

Well, don't hesitate to ask if you need help as you transition the manual.

And a belated welcome to the forums!

Best,

M

 

 

Thank you. Real work starts today, so I may stay here for a while. See you in the forums!

[onceupon]

A number of people seem to be interested in this. I'll do some research and post a more complete how-to soon, but to get you going:

 

I think Scrivener stores individual chapter and sections as separate files and then you compile these into a manuscript. Storyist imports RTF, so

 

1) Compile a version of your manuscript that you're happy with and export it from Scrivener as RTF.

 

2) Launch Storyist.

 

3) Create a new Storyist project from the Blank template.

 

4) Drag your RTF file to the Project view (the organizer on the left of the window). A dialog appears saying "Copy items to project."

 

5) Select Novel Manuscript from the Type popup and click Add.

 

Scrivener doesn't support style sheets (at least in its RTF), so Storyist will add a default style sheet (which you can change later when you become more familiar with Storyist).

 

Like conventional word processors, Storyist uses the style's heading level to build the document outline. This outline appears in the Project view and in the Outline view (View > as Outline). You'll want to apply at least the Chapter Title style to your imported manuscript.

 

Hope this helps. I'll try to post more information soon. In the mean time, if you have specific questions, please feel free to ask.

 

-Steve

 

I'm having trouble compiling my Scrivener manuscript so that the text documents (not folders) are marked as separate chapters and the titles show up as chapter titles when style format is applied in Storyist. I've done about 6 different compiles, and none preserve the markings. Anyone know how to set the Scrivener compile settings to get the Storyist to sort this out correctly? Driving me nuts, not a good frame of mind for creative writing!

[CorStellae]

I'm having trouble compiling my Scrivener manuscript so that the text documents (not folders) are marked as separate chapters and the titles show up as chapter titles when style format is applied in Storyist. I've done about 6 different compiles, and none preserve the markings. Anyone know how to set the Scrivener compile settings to get the Storyist to sort this out correctly? Driving me nuts, not a good frame of mind for creative writing!

 

 

I wasn't very succesful myself, but you should use Scrivener compiling settings to add markings at the end of sections. That can be done in the compiling window. I did manage to do that succesfully.

 

Storyist recognizes the symbol # as a section separator. It will create a lot of sections inside a chapter, but all of them "untitled" .

 

The most effective way to create the chapters is applying the "chapter" style within Storyist. But if you're willing to give it a try, when you compile the manuscript, try adding the word "chapter" as a separator instead of the sign #, which you should reserve for sections or scenes inside a chpater.

 

When you use the "import" function in Storyist, you should ask the program to apply the style "chapter" to all the paragraphs with that word. Tell us if it works.

 

Hope this helps.