Lucas wrote:

Dr Andus,

Thanks for describing your setup. The distinction between creating the
meat and creating the outline is useful. I actually find it easiest to generate text
hierarchically to begin with (in a single-pane outliner like Ecco Pro,
OmniOutliner, or Microsoft Word), but the resulting text often becomes
unmanageable. I end up generating lots of complex hierarchies of text with various
themes reiterated throughout, and ultimately it becomes extremely time-consuming
to organize all the text, even though I produced it very quickly. Now that I have begun
using ConnectedText, my workflow has changed. Instead of generating text in a
hierarchy, I create a new "topic" for each significant idea (like in Ideamason). I can
still indicate all the hierarchical relationships among my ideas using the built-in
functionality for assigning topic relationships and categories (and this actually
allows for richer webs of connection than a straight hierarchy does). The initial
task of creating text takes longer, for me, with this method, but the overall time for a
writing project becomes significantly shorter, because the text I generate is much
more manageable and better organized. (And the dividends pay off even more when one is
faced with a new writing project on similar themes, and it turns out half the work is
already done.) The next stage with this method is very similar to what you describe
doing with Bonsai, only it does not requite a separate program. ConnectedText has a
built in Outline module that is designed for arranging existing topics into an
outline for export (to be worked on, for instance, in a word processor). Anyway, it
seems that the workflow here is somewhat similar to what you accomplish with
WhizFolders and Bonsai.

So, what I am learning is that while I love the freedom of
generating text in a single-pane outliner, I get better results when I am forced to
separate the text I generate into discrete topics from the get-go. And this becomes
even more palatable when I still have the freedom to assign complex hierarchical
relationships (including bi-directional ones), as in CT. When I used outliners, I
was always in search of robust "cloning". But with a wiki like CT, I suddenly have
infinite cloning. I can make any topic a parent and/or child of any other
topic.

Lucas

Lucas,
I wish I had paid more attention to what you were saying in this post 3 years ago. I have ended up doing exactly what you describe, for the reasons you describe, but unfortunately it took me 3 years to get to that point. Argh! Anyway, did you stick with CT to the bitter end of your dissertation? I'm curious about your experience.