Quantum Storytelling

One of the problems I found with mind mappers and why I went back to 3×5 index cards for the time being is the ability to easily move and shuffle things in a tactile way that allowed me to re-order scenes of my story without having to fight with an interface.

Then the other day it occurred to me; Maybe there is note card software out there designed to behave exactly like 3×5 note cards?

There is, and it’s called Text Block Writer. Text Block Writer allows you to create, manage, and visually arrange virtual index cards. The best part? It’s free. If you like the free version, you can support the creator by purchasing Text Block Author — Text Block Writer’s big brother.

And so I go from the virtual to the real-world physical back to the virtual again.

P.S. As usual I’ve mocked up one of my crazy structure templates in Text Block Writer.

Give the character an unending, aggravating tooth ache. It’ll work magic towards making the character a cranky antagonist. I’m speaking from experience the last few days. Story development will commence again after my wisdom teeth are removed.

My stories take place in a post-apocalyptic dystopia setting. A large portion of my reading queue is guess what? That’s right; Post-apoc and dystopian novels. It’s not just because I love these genres. Researching the competition is important business.

I recently found a post-nuke series called Deathlands. Is it good? I don’t know yet. I just received my copy of Deathlands #1 ‘Pilgrimage To Hell’ today. Maybe I’ll dissect it here when I’m finished. Something interesting is that GraphicAudio, the publisher, has a specific marketing strategy. There are seventy or so Deathlands books, and a large number of them are audiobook only. They state their target as long-distance commuters. I find this interesting as it’s not often that publishers have such a narrow target audience.

More important though, I like to go through everything within my genre to make sure that my ideas haven’t already been exploited by someone else. In most cases, they haven’t been. My configuration of setting and character elements has enough of its own identity that it won’t be confused with others. This is good, but it doesn’t make the fear go away. I have this paranoia that one of these days I’ll pick up a novel and read exactly the novel I was writing. This is mostly an irrational fear, but in some ways a healthy one. It’s good to know what’s out there.

Is anyone encroaching upon your ideas?

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