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Q&A Program for Tracking Scene Information

I assume that you have googled for outliners and have rejected all of the many version available out there. So here are a couple of thoughts on alternatives. Trello, or something similar. Trello ...

posted 8y ago by Mark Baker‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2020-01-03T20:41:51Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/25083
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T05:42:30Z (about 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/25083
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T05:42:30Z (about 5 years ago)
I assume that you have googled for outliners and have rejected all of the many version available out there. So here are a couple of thoughts on alternatives.

1. Trello, or something similar. Trello is actually a process management tool, but it basically consists of boards to which you can add lists, to which you can add cards. The cards open one at a time as you click them, and you can add as much detail as you want to a card. But with the cards closed, you can just look at the set of lists and their card titles. So you could use lists for acts, and cards for scenes, which would let you see the whole outline in one view, but then open the cards for as much detail as you want on any scene. You can also rearrange cards and lists just by dragging and dropping. It is online, but you can create private boards so no one else can see them. 

2. Mind mapping tools. These are essentially outliners, but they are good at letting you quickly show and hide details and move stuff around. They also allow you to connect various points in the mind map with arrows, which you can use to plot the relationships between things outside of the linear flow of the outline. Most allow you to use color or icons to represent various properties of a node, which can further help with visualization. 

3. Index cards and a large table or empty wall. You can write you scene titles large so you can see them at a glance but add detail in smaller size. You can even clip multiple cards together if you need a lot of detail on a scene. You can also color code for characters and highlight for rising or falling action, to see how people move through the story and how the arc builds. Low tech, but very flexible.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2016-10-29T17:34:50Z (about 8 years ago)
Original score: 2