Has anyone used Campfire or similar products

[Mythobeast]

Campfire Blaze was the sponsor for the most recent Trope Talk, so I was wondering if anyone here has tried something like that.

Campfire - Writing Software for Authors and Worldbuilders

Campfire is a creative writing software platform that offers world-class organizational tools, educational resources, and a platform to build an audience. Write better stories faster with Campfire!

www.campfiretechnology.com

I know that most writers are amazed/horrified that I keep it all in my head, so I was wondering how you benefitted from it. My initial reaction is that it would encourage busy-work that would distract me from writing.

 

[Jonny]

No I haven't used it Mytho but (and I may be wrong) it looks to have a similar feel to Scrivener and there are some Liptopians who swear by Scrivener

I'll wait and see what they say as those that do use it seem to really LOVE it.

There's a fully functioning version of Scrivener FREE to download which gives 30 days for a user to evaluate it. These don't have to be consecutive days either so you may want to check that out. I did and liked it but I found I was having to 'learn' how to use it and so decided it wasn't for me.

Scrivener

Although I do have about 25 days left of my freebie and I keep thinking about having another crack at it.

 

[CageSage]

These products are useful. I like Scrivener because it can help me avoid the issues pointed out by @David Y here.
I don't like having to open multiple documents to find what I need -- when in manic mode, the info must be close and clear and not distracting. That's the benefit of it all. Word is also prone to so many ailments (crashing if it's too long, corrupting for no known reason (and yes, the backups can also carry the bug and be unable to be resuscitated), and inserting hidden crap (like bookmarks that cause a doc upload to a site to fail)).
I also like to be able to separate out the scenes, or combine them, or view side-by-side with a single click.
I don't like to make silly mistakes, but it happens, so if there's anything I can use to avoid those issues, I'll be in it for a few tryouts. (The latest published story has a mistake in the TITLE! Gah! that's what comes of using/proofreading with Word.)
I've seen/read a book by a well-known, high-sales author who mentioned a character with a blue tongue and scaled lips in chapter 3, then in chapter 27 he has a pink tongue! Readers notice these things, so it's worth keeping each detail as close as possible when constructing the story. And editing.

Some people find Scrivener too steep on the learning curve, so other products may be worth looking into to see how they work for the way the writer works. I don't use all of Scrivener, but the bits I don't use I also don't miss. And it's not subscription -- pay once, never pay again.

Everyone will find what works for them if they want to go looking, otherwise, they'll just write (and some will keep it all in their head until the day comes when they have to remember everything about every character in a series like GoT!).

 

[RK Wallis]

I haven't @Mythobeast, but I'm a Scrivener user, and that's so useful, I can't imagine using something else (especially the split screen). And I can't go back to Word...

 

[Robinne Weiss]

Yeah, I'm with @CageSage and @RK Capps. I'm an evangelical Scrivener user. I found the learning curve well worth the effort and I can't imagine writing a full length book without it. No idea about Campfire Blaze.

 

[Jonny]

@Robinne Weiss @CageSage @RK Capps

How long will it take me to learn how to use Scrivener? The concept as I understand it sounds pretty good - particularly the planning aspects.

I'm not a technophobe but when I tried it out a few months back I ended up becoming frustrated. I was constantly clicking backwards and forwards between sections and frequently getting confused. I didn't find how its sections went together intuitive (I am a man of course, so...) but (for me) it was hindering progress on the project I was trying to work on.

Could you recommend somewhere I can go (Youtube or Scrivener for Dummies or whatever) where I can start on the very first square. I have (I think) over three weeks of the trial left. Is that a reasonable amount of time to allow me to become 'fluent'?

 

[RK Wallis]

@Robinne Weiss @CageSage @RK Capps

How long will it take me to learn how to use Scrivener? The concept as I understand it sounds pretty good - particularly the planning aspects.

I'm not a technophobe but when I tried it out a few months back I ended up becoming frustrated. I was constantly clicking backwards and forwards between sections and frequently getting confused. I didn't find how its sections went together intuitive (I am a man of course, so...) but (for me) it was hindering progress on the project I was trying to work on.

Could you recommend somewhere I can go (Youtube or Scrivener for Dummies or whatever) where I can start on the very first square. I have (I think) over three weeks of the trial left. Is that a reasonable amount of time to allow me to become 'fluent'?

TBH, even after 4 years, I'm still discovering new ways to do things. I just learnt some basic stuff then added to that as I went, and I probably have lots more to learn. One thing I will say, there's a lot of tutorials on YouTube, but make sure you search for tutorials using the same system you use, i.e. Mac or Windows.

 

[Robinne Weiss]

To add to what @RK Capps said, Scrivener itself has tutorials you can run through within the program. Go to help-->Interactive tutorial. I ran through a tutorial when I started out, and it was quite useful to get the basics and get me up and running quickly. I, too, keep coming across new things, particularly when it comes to compiling my work into different formats.

 

[CageSage]

@Jonny I got the free access during NaNo, did the tutorial, then just kept working. There were a few things I didn't understand right away (like, how to create a new text box somewhere ) but by the end of NaNo I realised it was much easier to work with Scrivener than without. So easy to find notes, to put notes on the right hand bits, to have research and links in one of the folders on the lower left side.
Definitely worth persisting (and occasionally playing around to see what happens if I do *this*) ...

 

[RK Wallis]

To add to what @RK Capps said, Scrivener itself has tutorials you can run through within the program. Go to help-->Interactive tutorial. I ran through a tutorial when I started out, and it was quite useful to get the basics and get me up and running quickly. I, too, keep coming across new things, particularly when it comes to compiling my work into different formats.

See what I mean @Jonny, I didn't even notice they had this! Thanks @Robinne Weiss