Review: Storyist
Are writing apps really needed?
As an emerging writer you may have heard lots of writers talking about Scrivener, one of the most popular writing apps. Having a dedicated writing app, though, is different from Word. It is not trying to do things like pie charts and borders. It appeals to people who want to write with a little less distraction or people who are distracted and looking for a solution. Another example of a writing app, the subject of this piece, is Storyist. I have found Storyist to be more pared down than Scrivener, and without that steep learning curve. “Steep” is relative of course. In its latest iteration, Storyist appears to be a part of the interface of MacOS and iOS. I feel talking about Storyist is helpful in broadening the conversation even if to the side-effect of a commentary on writing apps.
Storyist is currently priced at US$59. It has a one-month free trial, and there’s usually a discount on it around the end of the year. It’s still a good bit of money. On the upside the purchase is not based on subscription; it takes the milder route of offering current users a discount on newer versions released every couple of years.
I first used Storyist on an iPad, because I didn’t want to carry around a heavy laptop I had at the time. It gave me a Word processor to do my writing on for under $20. There was no option of using Word as this was outside university. In over 6 months I had managed to write 20,000 words, a feat I still marvel at. Perhaps I hadn’t discovered fountain-pens back then, that’s why, and typing out a first draft with printed words, with all the hidden imperfections, conjured up a greater sense of accomplishment.
Last year, on getting a MacBook for the first time, I downloaded Storyist. It “syncs” automatically between iOS and MacOS, and I found that worked perfectly. I used to type with a little portable mechanical connected to the iPad when out, and to have it all there when continuing the writing on the MacBook at home was a breath of fresh air. Maybe it also illustrates my poor tech knowledge to find that feature so remarkable.
I think one thing that Storyist, also Scrivener, do well is organise a project into chapters or scenes if desired. This makes navigating a story easier. A friend who has been working on a memoir has his chapters organised as 25–30 Word files in a folder and he said it’s a bit of a hassle. I think functionally a writing app behaves like an organising folder so that can be a real advantage. It offers place, an anchor.
I don’t do a background or accounting of my characters when writing, instead allowing them to seep into my mind with time, so I don’t use a lot of the features Storyist provides. Nor do I do “pinboards”, if I have that right.
I’ve come to realise that a writing app is not the whole sum. It can work and has worked for many. I feel we all have to find an individual approach, which may include a writing app like Storyist, that relies on us as the catalyst and the method as the tool. These days I use a few tools. Our tools have to be good enough of course. I like the cool blue of my Sailor pen, the pleasant scratch on the paper for the first draft, but I know it’s all immaterial if I didn’t write. It’s exactly because I want to write.
The writer is the hinge. Word is free for students and is often enough on its own for all kinds of writing. I think unless the manuscript has as many loose ends and stray notes like the heads on the hydra, focus mode on Word is enough to starve the distraction.
People who want to write will find a way. There’s no perfect desk or chair or mood or any of those things. There’s only the quest.
Along the quest, there is also the human longing for beauty and aesthetics in our environments and possessions. If we can narrow our choices, we can get on with the going. Whether that’s getting a Carradice saddle-bag for bicycle camping or a paid writing app to organise the long haul of a book or thesis you are working on. At least that’s the understanding, and it is not without cause. There’s always a better tool for a job even if there are many right ones.
