It was the first iPhone app specifically for writers that I’ve seen in the iTunes app store, so of course I had to buy it — it was only 99 cents, and I figured I’d get at least that much entertainment value. I was wrong.
The idea is straightforward: You can click on “plot” for a plot idea, “challenge” for a writing challenge and “quote” for (surprise!) a quote.
After playing around with it for only a few minutes, I realized that this app was probably put together in a hurry, probably to target those participating in NaNoWriMo. Not just anyone participating in NaNoWriMo, either, but those who are far more concerned with the wordcount than content. Almost all the so-called plot ideas are pretty specific and silly.
The writing challenges are pretty much the same as the plot ideas – instead of being general writing exercises, they are clearly targeting NaNoWriMo types who are working on fiction novels.
I found the quotes to be the most useful/interesting, but even those weren’t all about writing.
My biggest beef, however: the typos and grammatical errors. This would be bad in a regular iPhone app, of course, but this app is supposed to be for WRITERS.
I had figured that the app would be worth at least 99 cents, but I was wrong.
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey, I just checked out iStop WritersBlock, this is what I think of it. First off its $.99. Thats not a lot of money, its worth it! I do agree with the grammar and spelling, and I even contacted Lab013 about it. They said they were sorry and that there writer(s) were in a big hurry trying to get everything out by NanoWriMo and were sloppy in some areas, but they are trying to fix it and would be more then happy to fix anything that us users send them. As for the quality of the plots and everything ( talking among other writers [ who agree with me ] ) Its very helpful, but its not the type of thing where it gives you a whole detailed plot. It gives you a idea that helps you get started or gives you a twist. Same with the challenges. Overall I disagree with your review though and would defiantly say its worth getting.
Classic. The comment defending the typo- and misspelling-riddled app is full of typos and misspellings.
First of all, being “in a big hurry” is not an excuse for mistakes. You ARE, after all, selling a product, which makes you a small business, which means you ought to show a bit more professionalism. Businesses need to plan ahead. It’s not like it was a surprise that NaNoWriMo was in November this year.
Secondly, just because it only costs a dollar doesn’t make it worth buying. I don’t care to throw my money away on crap, even if it is only a dollar.
I think Debbie’s review was extremely helpful for serious writers who don’t need their money (or time) wasted by something like this.
For something better, and free, go for the iphone Oblique app, you might have heard of the cards version, created by musician Brian Eno. It’s totally not just for music though, very handy random suggestions to help you change up and charge up your creative process.
Oblique iPhone Review
Oblique Cards
iStop is awsome. I dissagree 100% with this review
Oh yea Kat Swan, there’s a error in your logic. You heard of INDIE? x-x
Indie does NOT mean unprofessional. I suspect by “indie” what you really mean is “hobby.” Even so, I’d at least expect that the content be spelled correctly, even if it isn’t useful to serious writers.
Even your comments defending your app have misspellings in them. Not exactly a good recommendation for your app, is it?
lol if u buy a app for it’s spelling and not for it’s use. Seriously, u need help.
I agree, I don’t like that I wasted money on this either.
Proper spelling shows care. If you can’t write properly, your code probably contains a lot of bugs too. If not, then why can’t you take equal care in the output as you do in the software? Too lazy? Too keen on getting it out asap so the money starts flowing?
I found this article relevant:
The iPhone’s Golden Touch
The article is about the popularity of iPhone apps and the rush to meet the demand. I found this near the end of the article:
Besides, he says, iPhone apps are easy to create: Some get cranked out in just two weeks by a single developer. “Some kid in his bedroom can literally make a million bucks just by writing a little app,” Greenstone says.
Apparently, that is exactly what some developers have been doing — without bothering to make the quality any better than what “some kid in his bedroom” could do!
So yo your saying that the app is so simple you could make a duplicate. You could make a app work on the iPhone within 2 weeks that has a note section a number of generators, and over 1000 character properties and plot properties? I don’t think so.
Obviously it’s not that difficult to write a working app and still have time to proofread, because I have yet to see an app with spelling errors other than yours!
You must not search very hard for apps. And this is the one of the only apps in this area with this much writing. Also I think you meant to say ” The app you use ” not ” Your app”.
I bought the application because it looked like a great way to help break through writer’s block. I write constantly, and therefore my mind is always getting “fried”, as I like to call it. All the application is really good for is for laughs, and for giving you silly ideas for a writing project that is for fun. However, I would never use it to get an idea for my serious work. The new character feature that has been added in an update is not bad, but I think that is probably the best thing about the application. If the maker of it were to fix the spelling and grammar errors, add more plots that have more to them, make the existing ones less silly, and give them more content then it has some pretty good potential. It has a good point here and there, and it has definate bad ones. All applications do.