What is it?
Liquid Story Binder XE is a writing program created by Black Obelisk Software solely for Windows. It's a writing program designed to have the capability of a commercial text editor with a great deal of features and flexibility.

How it works?
Liquid Story Binder XE is software that must be purchased and downloaded. You can download Liquid Story Binder XE for free for 30 days, and have access to all of the program's features. After 30 days the program will stop working, and you have the choice of either uninstalling the program or purchasing a code to continue using the program indefinitely. Both the downloading and code purchase can be done directly from Black Obelisk's site, and the code is $45.95.

The Basics:
As stated above Liquid Story Binder only works on Windows machines. Its interface can be as full or as empty as you like; all the features can be used or left off. The workspace is not only completely customizable, but can be saved as well. This way when you restart the program you don't have to restructure your workspace every time. The menu can show up to 15 different stories, as well the program creates a seperate folder for each. The program has a bunch of great preferences such as 20 second Auto Save, automatic save on close, snap windows and others which allow you to customize the program to suit your use. There are even a list of preset different colour schemes under the Display tab, as well you can also customize a colour scheme of your own. Black Obelisk often updates the program and the updates are downloadable directly from their site.

The Pros:
The program's download is small for a program, which is great. I love that the interface is as customizable as it is and can suit my various needs and desires. I'm often moving my windows around and I like that the program remembers my set up for every story I have a file for. It actually really helps me remember where I was in my mind the last time I wrote, if that makes any sense. Also I'm one of those writers who makes a ton of notes on back story, characters etc. and it's great that I can do it all in the program and have it present or not when it suits me. The master File list is multi-functional in that I can see every file for the story, or I can simply focus on Dossiers, or Chapters, or what have you. Save features are good and you have pretty good protection from losing your work.

The Cons:
It does have a bit of a learning curve. So many features can be a hinderance as well as a blessing. Also my version of the program does not have a retrieve function like Microsoft Word has, where if the computer is suddenly shot off for a reason (i.e. sudden power outage) your work is often restored. If this program doesn't have such a feature, I'd like to see it.

My Thoughts:
All in all I love this program, and use it frequently for my work. If you can get your hands on this and you like having a single place for your work and notes you'll love this program. If you like a simple bare bones kind of workspace you'll still love this program. So download it, give it a try and don't be surprised if you stick to it. It's well worth the price.