04-07-2021, 01:46 PM
Thanks for sharing your Google Doc. It’s interesting to see how others keep track of their worlds. I have all my solo writings, tables, info, etc. on Google Drive as well so I can access it anywhere, anytime I want to play. For my first adventure, I used a document similar to yours to keep track of all my character/world/plot data. However, even using bookmarks I found I was doing a lot of scrolling and searching to find exactly what I was looking for. What I really wanted was a database similar to what a writer might use to plan and track their novels. I looked at several things and finally landed on something called TiddlyWiki.
It might be something you want to consider. I will put a link at the end of this post to download a sample of my Wiki from my Thieves adventure. Tiddly is just what it sounds like, a customizable wiki. The good thing about it is that all the information is contained in a single html file so it’s easily portable. Also, using a plug-in, the wiki file can be hosted in an online location, such as Google Drive, so you can access it anywhere.
The system is based on a “card” for each topic or item you want to track. You can add tags to each card for easy sorting or retrieval and you can create links for words and terms in your cards that will reference and retrieve other cards when clicked. The program is very versatile right out of the box, but is highly customizable so you can make it look how you want and automate a lot of functions. (For example, the first thing you should do is set up the Table of Contents feature that organizes all your cards under their appropriate heading in a collapsible list for easy navigation. Why this isn't already programmed in the base file is a mystery to me.) If you choose to customize it does take some time and research to learn how to do so, and the instructions/tutorials on the program's site aren’t always the easiest to follow, but there are several example tiddlywiki’s (including every page on the program's site) that can be referenced to see how things are done. Personally, I spent approximately 2 hrs. total over several sessions learning how to customize it to my liking but the time was worth it for me.
As always, my recommendation is to do or use the tools that work best for you, but if you want to check TiddyWiki out I’ve added some links below. Oh yeah, the program is open source and completely free and I get no kickbacks or reward for recommending it. I’m just passing along something I’ve found useful.
Tiddly Wiki’s Site - https://tiddlywiki.com/
Sample of one of my wikis (I think you will need to download it as an HTML file and open on your machine for it to work. The button should be in the upper right-hand corner of the page the link opens.) -
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NsiSyrk...sp=sharing
It might be something you want to consider. I will put a link at the end of this post to download a sample of my Wiki from my Thieves adventure. Tiddly is just what it sounds like, a customizable wiki. The good thing about it is that all the information is contained in a single html file so it’s easily portable. Also, using a plug-in, the wiki file can be hosted in an online location, such as Google Drive, so you can access it anywhere.
The system is based on a “card” for each topic or item you want to track. You can add tags to each card for easy sorting or retrieval and you can create links for words and terms in your cards that will reference and retrieve other cards when clicked. The program is very versatile right out of the box, but is highly customizable so you can make it look how you want and automate a lot of functions. (For example, the first thing you should do is set up the Table of Contents feature that organizes all your cards under their appropriate heading in a collapsible list for easy navigation. Why this isn't already programmed in the base file is a mystery to me.) If you choose to customize it does take some time and research to learn how to do so, and the instructions/tutorials on the program's site aren’t always the easiest to follow, but there are several example tiddlywiki’s (including every page on the program's site) that can be referenced to see how things are done. Personally, I spent approximately 2 hrs. total over several sessions learning how to customize it to my liking but the time was worth it for me.
As always, my recommendation is to do or use the tools that work best for you, but if you want to check TiddyWiki out I’ve added some links below. Oh yeah, the program is open source and completely free and I get no kickbacks or reward for recommending it. I’m just passing along something I’ve found useful.
Tiddly Wiki’s Site - https://tiddlywiki.com/
Sample of one of my wikis (I think you will need to download it as an HTML file and open on your machine for it to work. The button should be in the upper right-hand corner of the page the link opens.) -
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NsiSyrk...sp=sharing