Brainstorm

A brainstorm board is an open canvas where you brainstorm a story idea before it has a shape: notes, stickies and connections, with no hierarchy and nothing you have to fill in.

When to reach for it #

Working out who wants what, before any of them are characters.
Throwing down the possible beats of an act and seeing the gaps, before they have an order.
Anything you would otherwise do on paper and then photograph.

Starting a board #

Open Brainstorm in the project and press Create Board, then give it a Board name; you can rename it later from the board's toolbar. A project can hold several boards. They are not nested, and there are no folders.

Putting ideas on the board #

The toolbar adds three kinds of item:

Add note — an idea with a name and a longer text. Type @ in the text to mention a character, place or other record; the mention becomes a link on the note.
Add sticky — a short line, for the thought you want down before you lose it.
Add frame — a labelled area that groups the items inside it.

Pick an item to dress it: a colour, and a status — Raw, Developing, Settled or Parked — so you can see at a glance which ideas are still loose. The same toolbar deletes it, as do the Delete and Backspace keys.

To connect two items, drag from the edge of one to the other. Pick a connection to give it a label — type your own or choose one of the Suggested ones — to make the line Solid or Dashed, or to Delete connection.

Quick capture #

Quick capture is the board's inbox, a panel beside the canvas. Jot loose ideas there without deciding where they go, and drag each one onto the board when it is ready. Clear sorted removes the ones already on the board, and Collapse panel folds it away when you need the room.

Referencing a record #

Reference an entity opens a search: find a character, place or event and drag it onto the board. The reference is a real link — Open takes you to the record — and the record's page shows which boards it appears on.

Finding your way around a big board #

Search board finds text on the board and steps through the matches.
Minimap shows the whole board in a corner, and the zoom buttons move you in and out.
Layout rearranges the items: Radial around the first item, Timeline in one row from left to right, Branching in tiered rows, Free-form and Web as a grid. Frames stay where they are.
Undo, or Ctrl + Z, takes back your last change.

How do I turn a brainstorm note into a character? #

Pick the note and use Promote to entity, then choose what it becomes: a character, creature, organization, event or entry — or a plotline, when the Plotlines module is on. The usual creation form opens with the note's name and text already filled in. Once you save, the note is marked Linked and Settled, and Open takes you to the new record.

The idea moves into the project without being retyped, and the board still shows where it came from.

Can I turn brainstorm notes into a plotline? #

Yes. Once the pieces line up — this, then this, then this — they belong in a plotline, where the order is the point and the manuscript is measured against it.

One note: pick it and use Add to plotline…. Choose a plotline, or start a New plotline with a name and a book. The note becomes the plotline's next beat.
Several notes: select them, then Make a plotline or Add to plotline…. The notes become beats in order from left to right, so arrange them on the board first.

How do I send an idea to a board from another page? #

Use Send to brainstorm and pick a board, or start a New board from the same dialog:

on a character, location, organization or other record's page, it adds the record to the board as a reference;
on a plotline's page, it is in the ⋯ menu and adds the plotline as a reference;
in the chapter editor, Send selection to brainstorm sends the text you selected to the board's quick-capture inbox;
while a board is open, each of your quick notes has Send to brainstorm too.

Who can see a board? #

Everyone in the project whose role can read brainstorm boards. Changing and deleting them are separate permissions. A board is not private — for thoughts only you can see, use notes.

Tips #

Mark what has settled. Moving a note from Raw to Settled as you decide shows at a glance what is still open.
Group with frames, not folders. A frame around the ideas for one act or one faction keeps a big board readable.
Line notes up before you make a plotline. Selected notes become beats from left to right, so a quick drag into order saves reordering later.
Capture first, sort later. Keep quick capture open while you think and drag ideas out only when they have a place.
Reference what already exists. Dragging in the real character, rather than writing their name on a sticky, keeps the board connected to the record.

Plotlines — give ideas an order once they line up.
Notes — keep private thoughts nobody else in the project sees.
Characters — build out the people your notes turn into.
Roles and permissions — decide who can read and change boards.