Free Writing Software Review: oStorybook

[NOTE:  This post was originally written in October 2016.  Some features or functionalities of the reviewed program may have changed since then.]

Welcome to Part 5 of my “Free Writing Software Review” series (a companion series to my earlier post, “Free Scrivener Alternatives“).

This week, we’re looking at yet another free software option: oStorybook!

oStorybook has very little online support, so figuring out how to use it required some deep exploration within the program.  I had quite a bit of trouble getting it unzipped and set up, and Java definitely needs to be updated before this program will run.  Also, the in-program links to FAQ and online help appear to be broken, so you’ll pretty much be on your own for Googling forums or help if you get stuck.

It’s a pretty basic setup, starting with creating your file, then creating your characters, locations, and scenes.

oStorybook has many of the same features as other software I’ve reviewed in this series, including the ability to track appearance of characters, items, and locations throughout the story.

It also has a separate “Ideas” section, which allows you to store ideas and/or “Flashes of Inspiration” and to organize them by where you are in the process of exploring or applying them.

The program works by left-navigation menu, as many others do,  but does not provide analytical data such as word counts or allow you to set or track goals.

The program does allow you to export in a variety of formats, and to select which parts will be included in your export, which is nice.

And, it’s completely FREE.  You can access oStorybook here: https://sourceforge.net/projects/ostorybook/files/?source=navbar.

Check out Part 6 of my “Free Writing Software Review” series: Papel!

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