My IF story is growing (Twine), and in order to keep writing in different software (Twine and Google Docs) and platforms (Windows and Android), i realized i need to use some naming system for passages (scenes, etc). My ideal: something number-based in order to have passages sequentially sorted in Google Docs. I was thinking about something like: “1.0.Tavern Trouble”, “1.1.a.1.Tavern Trouble Run”, “1.1.b.1. Tavern Trouble Fight”, “1.1.a.2.Desert”, “1.1.b.2.Load Gun”.
As im still writing, its easy to see i will be modifying a whole lot of things, and lot of numbers will be later empty. My fear is to cling to a bad structure and end up in a worse mess.
Any tip/advice…?
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Perhaps it would be better to give each passage an unique number (divorced from the branching structure) followed by synopsis of the situation: “254#Tavern Trouble”, “255#Tavern Trouble Run”, “256#Tavern Trouble Fight”… ¿or perhaps a mix of both?
I personally try to avoid spaces and use a-z, 0-9, -, mixing lower/uppercaps.
Its like a javascript approach. Could you give an exact example?
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Guide-Macro
AnswerRobinBirthday
GoingToBeach13
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I use tweego and organize my passages into directories, then put a prefix before them so they show up properly in the directory.
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A nice structured approach. Question, how do you refer to each passage in twine? For example, is the passage name “leaving musings” or “a-leaving musings”, or “3 bad news leaving musings”?
Do you use the twine app or only… ¿whats that?
Tweego is a compiler for Twine story formats that doesn’t use the Twine app, it’s a little more complicated!
@manonamora actually made an easy to understand version for use. Ready-to-Use Tweego Folder [Open, Code, Compile!] - 100% Good Twine Sugarcube Templates by manonamora
https://manonamora.neocities.org/guide/tweego
It might even be easier for you to use if you’re trying to multi-platform the whole thing (desktop, android, twine, gdocs, etc).
You can use directories (file folders) to organize your files and they all get sorted and made into an html file properly when you compile it. This requires you to use something that’s not the Twine app though for creation – an IDE (integrated development environment, also known as a code editor) like Visual studio code or Notepad++, or even Windows’ built in text editor, Notepad (not recommended).
Note that Microsoft Word or Google Docs would not work with Tweego directly as they’re word processors not text editors – in other words, they process the text in ways that Tweego/other code don’t work with. However, you can always copy and paste text from the word processors into a text editor.
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This is a little confusing, but the file name is actually different from the passage name, so maybe I didn’t answer your question quite right.
You can have multiple passages within one .twee file using Tweego. There are multiple passages within that ‘leaving musings’ file, one of them is :: Leaving musings (the :: is Tweego’s way of differentiating different passages by their titles) and :: Conversation with Eser.
When there are multiple stages of a scene I just number the related passages - :: Conversation with Eser 1, :: Conversation with Eser 2. The directory system helps with organizing, so all I have to do is make sure I name the passages in a unique manner instead of an organizational one.
Just tried @manonamora template. Its great. Although i love twine gui, im trying obsidian… its nice, and it generates graphics too.
But it seems i should forget about twine and remain in a text editor, its an easier and cross-platform method.
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I think if I had multiple scenes that were connected like your example, I’d name them like this:
:: Tavern trouble
:: Tavern trouble - Run
:: Tavern trouble - Fight
:: Desert
:: Load gun
I’d also (if I were using Tweego) put all the Tavern trouble related scenes/passages into one file (called 0-tavern-trouble.twee. This is what my directory tree might look like:
Story/
└── Tavern/
├── 0-tavern-trouble.twee
├── 1-desert.twee
└── 2-load-gun.twee
I’d divide your Google Doc (if you still use it - I do use word processors to do the prose writing before converting into code) into sections like my directories (bad news or entering lucerne or Tavern trouble) using google docs headers and the like, then put each passage under its appropriate section.
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I see you write in Word first. I was writting first in Twine.Then tried Google Docs, yesterday started trying obsidian.
I was thinking about writting the whole thing in the text editor and take advantage of the tree view so that i could have an exact representation of the passage’s name right there (1 passage = 1 file, passage’s name = filename [except the twee extension]]. The directory would be something like:
1.0.Tavern.0.Tavern trouble.twee
1.1.Tavern.0.Tavern trouble.0.Desert.0.twee
1.2.Tavern.0.Tavern trouble.1.Load Gun.0.twee
1.3.Tavern.0.Tavern trouble.2.Load Gun.1.Aim at leg.0.twee
Passages names:
::1.0.Tavern.0.Tavern trouble.twee
::1.1.Tavern.0.Tavern trouble.0.Desert.0.twee
::1.2.Tavern.0.Tavern trouble.1.Load Gun.0.twee
::1.3.Tavern.0.Tavern trouble.2.Load Gun.1.Aim at leg.0.twee
Its not hard to anticipate the mess i was going to get into. Still thinking about the thing
That’s… super long. I’d make them as short as possible honestly. Maybe acronyms?
:: Tavern-Troubles
:: Tavern-Troubles-Desert0
:: Tavern-Troubles-LoadGun
:: Tavern-Troubles-AimLeg
...
You have to remember you will need to include those titles in your links… and the longer the title is, the more you will be prone to mistakes…
Also with .twee files, you can have as many passages as you want inside one file.
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Agree with Manon - those seems like very long names! I’m not sure what the long name would be for, if they’re already in directories that you can just look at and see where they are and what they’re in relation to. They’d also be difficult/annoying to include in links! The numbers/letters I use for prefixing the actual files are only for organizing in a directory, because my IDE (VSCode) auto-organizes things alphanumerically. They serve no other purpose. Also, your passages themselves don’t have to be named with .twee.
I write first in OneNote or Scrivener for editing purposes (not Word). Both apps have a similar-looking directory-style tree. Here’s Scrivener’s (for a diff proj)
(One advantage of text editors over the Twine app is last I checked, the Twine app doesn’t handle “undo” or “redo” very well, and doesn’t have syntax highlighting for sugarcube. Things could’ve changed in the meantime though)
If the passage is still open, it does for quite a bit (this might be new). And the app does have an undo when deleting whole passages.
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Yeah, “last I checked” was like…years ago…so I’m biased! But also VSCode has infinite undo/redo saved for each individual passage as long as the IDE is open last I checked that (today) so…still biased!
Its some kind of “snake” pattern 
, long and coiled 
Would you recommend Scrivener over… Word, VSCODE/SUBLIME for IF? I have been thinking about buying it, not only for IF but i’ve heard its a mess for syncing and people are already using text editor for dissertations…
Scrivener is another word processor sorta thingy, so it doesn’t work with Tweego! I use VSCode for my actual Twine coding, just copy and pasting the prose into the VSCode editor.
There is a scrivener template, “Scree” that uses tweego to compile, i tried during my Scrivener trials period