Adapting to Storyist from Jer's Novel Writer

[Lint Hatcher]

Hi - I just purchased Storyist after encountering problems with Jer's Novel Writer which could not be addressed since it hasn't been supported for over a decade! Here's my current dilemma:

In JNW, one could write in a layout window quite different in style from the eventual manuscript format. For example, you could write using large text for easier viewing, etc, but then print that same text so it appeared in a manuscript form suitable for sending to an agent. Is anything like this possible in Storyist? Must I do my writing in the manuscript format? Or can I write in a format better suited to my eyesight, etc. then either print in manuscript format or perhaps export rtf and import that rtf into the "novel" layout style? Nothing I've tried so far seems to work.

Thanks!

[Steve]

Hi Lint,

 

You can write in one format and then change styles/formatting on export using an automator workflow. Check out the export options when you choose File > Export.

 

-Steve

[Lint Hatcher]

Thanks, Steve. The apparent complexity of the automator kind of scared me off, but I will give it a try. I'm guessing I'll need to have the upper right hand author and page number info in the original layout?

[marguerite]

At the risk of giving the "dumb bunny" answer, there is also a zoom setting in Storyist that goes up to 400%, so you can have large text on screen without changing the print size.

Best,

M

[Lint Hatcher]

So, Marguerite, if I were to take what I currently have in Storyist (Times New Roman, 24 pt, body text, plus Helvetica chapter titles, etc.) how would I convert that into the "Novel" format one can choose when starting a new project? The title of the chapter tends to take on the body text format and not be centered, for example.

And is the Novel format written in stone so far as the font is concerned?

Thanks so much for helping this newbie.

[marguerite]

If you use the word Chapter to start your chapter titles, there's a very easy way to do this. Start by selecting your entire text and choosing Section Text from the list of styles at the bottom of the manuscript window. Then click in any paragraph, choose Format > Style > Edit Current Style and change the text to Times New Roman 24 point and whatever else you want. Click OK.

 

The entire manuscript is now Times New Roman whatever. Here's where the magic comes in. Go to the Format menu again and choose Style, then Apply Styles by Matching Text. Make two changes (both are preset, in this case).

 

1. First choice says Chapter and Chapter Title. Make sure it is dark blue and click OK. (If you don't start chapters with the word Chapter, ignore this and see below).

2. Second Choice is # and Section Separator. Click the down arrow to make it dark blue. Click OK.

 

Go to the first # character, use Format > Style > Edit Current Style and adjust its formatting. Click OK. That now applies to all the section separators. Go to the first Chapter Title and change its formatting in the same way. Bingo, all your chapter titles are Helvetica and whatever else you specified.

 

If you don't use the word Chapter to start a chapter heading (or anything else that is unique but applies to every chapter, because you can add Text/Style pairs to the Apply Styles by Matching Text window), then you have to do something a bit more time-consuming.

Go to your first chapter title.

Choose Chapter Title from the list at the bottom of the manuscript window.

Click on the Chapter Title, choose Format > Style > Edit Current Style. Change the formatting. Click OK.

Go through your manuscript chapter by chapter. Click on each chapter title, and choose Chapter Title from the list.

 

There are other ways to get the same effect, but that should get you started.

Best,

Marguerite

[Lint Hatcher]

Thanks so much, Marguerite! I bet you've had to share these details about a dozen times. Thanks for being patient with me.

[marguerite]

You're welcome. No problem. We all have to begin at the beginning, right?

Best,

M

[Lint Hatcher]

One more question, Marguerite. What would you suggest is the best method of getting this (for me) user friendly format transformed into the novel manuscript format? Export as rtf, then import somehow?

[marguerite]

The Novel template is just a Storyist file with some preliminary formatting applied. If you have set things up as you like them, go to the File menu and choose Save as Template. Give the new template a name (MyNovel.story, say), and save it. It will appear in the list of options next time you want to start a new file.

 

If you have not added a lot of text but have just changed the formatting, you can open a new project based on Novel, make the same changes there, and save it as a template or under a new name. But you can add anything in the Novel template to your own file, one by one, as you need it. So if you have already put a lot of work into the file, I would stay with the file you created rather than start over from scratch.

Best,

M