So the StoryShop app launched on Kickstarter the other day and it’s already nearly halfway funded (at this time of writing).

I’ve dumped $50 on it – the 8 month deal – because I want the app produced. I also want lifetime access but can’t justify a $300 purchase on something which I’m not sure if I will use yet.

What is StoryShop?

It’s a story planning app.

What is StoryShop not?

A writing app.

Writing and planning are two separate parts of the brain, and many writers may not ever need/use this at all. But I believe this app is still necessary for writers. Firstly, because the Sterling and Stone guys ‘want’ it for themselves. This echoes other great great tools like Scrivener (built by a writer), and Smashwords (also built by a writer) and many other tools and services (some listed in my footer here). Secondly, there is nothing out there already which does the same thing.

Erm… actually there is… however, it’s rubbish.

I  bought, from Waterstones a long time ago, some software called NewNovelist. It claims to help you write a book without even realising it. Also, it has a number of features (character tracking, and location/world building) which StoryShop app is also planning.

The problem with NewNovelist is I’ve never used it for more than 10 minutes. It took about 8 seconds to realise that the software was crap, and I persevered for the rest of the time, hoping it would get better the more I used it. It didn’t. Now, despite owning a license for it, I can’t use it anyway because it doesn’t function with my operating system.

So, I’m supporting StoryShop because writers need something like this and there’s still nothing out there which comes close. I have complete faith in the app if the team behind it are committing to using it. I believe all hiccups will be ironed out (and there will be hiccups!), and I believe it will get better and better and possibly become more widely used than the team could ever have imagined. I also believe that many traditionally published authors will play with it and benefit.

Some will never touch it. And that’s fine.

However, let’s all give it a chance. Let’s see what the Sterling and Stones guys, who want to change the way writers plan and write the ideas in their heads, really can do with a fat wedge of cash behind them.

Does anyone else agree that this is something a trad publisher, or Apple/Amazon should have created years ago? Me too.

Go support StoryShop on the link below.

Mark