A few weeks ago, I reviewed the physical novel planners and novel planner app offered by the Storyfolk. At the time, the app was specifically geared towards plotting out fantasy novels (though in a wide variety of sub-genres). I am happy to report the app has since been updated, and now offers options for a wide variety of genres.

When I open the app, it immediately takes me to My Bookshelf, where all of my WIPs are shown. I’ve uploaded my covers, but I could use any image to highlight the story. When I tap the big Create New Story bar, a dropdown menu appears. In the previous version, there was no menu; fantasy was the only option. Now, however, I can choose from Crime & Mystery, Dystopian, Fantasy, Fiction, Historical, Horror, Romance, Sci-Fi, and Thriller.

Once I have selected the genre, I jump over and choose a sub-genre (though this is optional). In the case of Crime & Mystery, the available sub-genre options vary from amateur sleuth to espionage to historical to romance, and more. The Fiction option has even more choices, while the Historical category offers everything from arthurian to greco-roman to paranormal to World War II.

While some sub-genres only appear under certain genres (and Dystopian and Sci-Fi have no sub-genres at all), I’ve found it pretty easy to finagle the app to get what I want. For example, if you look at the screenshot above, you’ll see two stories I am working on entitled “Dangerous Hearts: Tales of Romantic Suspense” and another entitled “Boundless Hearts: Romance From the Realms of Adventure, Fantasy, and Science Fiction.” Rather than have a long line of stories categorized as Romance, I opted for “Fantasy” and “Crime & Mystery,” with romance as the sub-genre. The visual/literary distinction is important to me; it helps me to more clearly focus on the type of romance story I want to write (e.g, this one is real-world with spies at a fashion show, while this one has space-faring ninja priestesses).

I am thrilled with the new update. I have already loaded a dozen stories into the app, some fully outlined, others barely more than a sketch of an idea. I can’t wait to see what they turn into, and I can’t wait to share those stories with you when they’re done.