StoryShape 1.0 · User guide
User guide
Everything StoryShape 1.0 can do, step by step. Start at the beginning, or jump to the part you need.
This guide covers StoryShape for Windows, macOS and Linux, and the differences in StoryShape for iPad. Buttons and menus are written in bold, exactly as they appear in the app. Shortcuts are written for Windows and Linux; on a Mac, use ⌘ wherever you see Ctrl, unless the guide says otherwise.
StoryShape also has a short guide built in, available offline: choose Help → StoryShape Guide….
Common tasks
- Install StoryShape
- Create your first project
- Set up backups
- Restore an earlier copy
- Write a whole chapter as one page
- Change the draft font and size
- Find and replace across the project
- Comment on a passage
- Save and restore a scene version
- Capture a character from your draft
- Export a Word manuscript
- Make a paperback PDF
- Make an EPUB ebook
- Set a daily word goal
- Move a project to the iPad
- Every keyboard shortcut
Contents
- PART 1
Getting started
Install StoryShape, find your way around the window, create or open a project, try the Wonderland demo, and keep your work safe with saving, checkpoints and backups.
15 sections
- Install StoryShape
- Keep StoryShape up to date
- The project hub
- Create a project
- Open a project
- Try the Wonderland demo
- Find your way around
- What a .storyproj project is
- Where your files live
- How saving works
- Copies, checkpoints and backups
- Restore a project
- Trash
- When a project opens read-only
- When a save needs attention
- PART 2
Ideas
Catch premises, questions and fragments, then develop them into scenes, plot cards, Board notes or World entries without losing the original.
- PART 3
Plan
Plot on a board of cards, connect what leads where, see the story as a timeline, clock or threads, and plan scenes with objectives, word targets and deadlines.
- PART 4
Board
Think in freely placed notes and images, colour them, link them to the scenes and pages they belong to, and move around a large board.
- PART 5
Write
Draft scenes, chapters and books in one place, with paragraph styles, page view, 23 included fonts, focus mode, references, find and replace, cuttings, spelling and read aloud.
21 sections
- The manuscript library
- Write a scene
- Books and chapters
- The writing tools
- Paragraph styles
- Spacing and indents
- Manuscript fonts
- Page view or pageless
- Draft appearance
- Focus mode and typewriter scrolling
- References
- Open beside
- World in this passage
- Find and replace
- Cuttings
- Split, merge and duplicate scenes
- Scene people and point of view
- Spelling and writing preferences
- Read aloud
- Paste and copy
- Word counts
- PART 6
Revise
Keep a revision queue of scenes, attach comments to exact passages, mark up a scene, run revision passes, compare snapshots and explore writing observations.
- PART 7
World
Build a connected series bible with Wiki pages, templates, typed details, relationships, a connections graph, maps and pins, and a project glossary.
- PART 8
Publish
Turn a book into a print-ready paperback interior PDF and an EPUB 3 ebook, work through the upload checklist, and know what to send to each store.
- PART 9
Writing progress and goals
How words are counted, sessions, streaks, levels and achievements, daily goals, timed sessions, word budgets and deadlines.
- PART 10
Import, export and collections
Export manuscripts as Word, RTF, PDF, text or Markdown, export a readable project, import manuscripts and Scrivener projects, and gather work into collections.
- PART 11
StoryShape for iPad
What the $4.99 iPad edition shares with the desktop app, what is different, handwriting and markup with Apple Pencil, and moving projects between devices.
- PART 12
Settings and keyboard shortcuts
Themes, interface scale, menus, the command palette and every desktop keyboard shortcut for Mac, Windows and Linux.
- PART 13
Privacy, troubleshooting and support
Where your data lives, what StoryShape connects to, fixes for common problems, answers to common questions, and how to get help.
Read the Support & FAQ, or email support@ironcandleinteractive.com.