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StoryCraft Makes the Writing Process Manageable

© Roxianne Moore

Review of StoryCraft (DOS/Windows 3/1 version)

StoryCraft is a well-designed program that helps writers, beginning and more experienced, through the planning stages of a novel, play or screenplay. Although it was designed with screenwriters in mind, most advice applies equally to novels. I did find some of the choices rather limiting, as the menus don't allow for an overlap in story types. However, this is easily remedied by reading all of the story types and incorporating elements beneath the umbrella of your main story type.

Loading the program was quick and painless, but getting it to start up was another matter. A word to the wise: once you've loaded the program onto your hard drive, change directory to your root directory (i.e., the C:\ prompt). Then type in "scraft [title]" - the tricky part. You have to start at the root directory, not the "scraft2" or any other directory, and you have to come up with a working title before you can start the program. The title, as far as I could determine, has to include up to eight characters, including letters, a dash, and a number. Every other combination I tried didn't work. If you read the text file on the installation disk, you'll find this, but it's not exactly clear what you need to do to get the program to start. Maybe the newer version for Windows 95 is easier to start up, but I haven't had a chance to try it yet.

The directions after the program is started are very clear, and maneuvering is easy (for a DOS program). You'll find a variety of plot-lines, broken down into action and theme categories. You'll be taken through a series of screens and tutorials to create your premise and begin your story notes. By the time you've finished, you'll have created 96 pages of story notes, a good start on any novel.

First, you'll choose a category (action or theme) and a story type, such as:

• Puzzle
• Adventure - Focus on Character
• Adventure - Focus on Locale
• Chase
• Love Story
• Intense Love Story
• Capture and Escape
• Supernatural Transformation
• Excess and Downfall

If you've read The Writer's Journey, which I reviewed several weeks ago, you should feel right at home with this process. Using the same mythical-journey format, the Jarvis System in the program takes you step-by-step through the Hero's Journey. After you've chosen your story type, you'll proceed to the description of your main character's Ordinary World. You'll move on the Extraordinary World, then Mentors, Allies and Antagonists.

The copyright of the article StoryCraft Makes the Writing Process Manageable in Resources for Writers is owned by Deb Jones. Permission to republish StoryCraft Makes the Writing Process Manageable in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.