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Well, it’s been a long hard month.  Deadlines came rushing and issues arose.  While there’s been little time to breath much less write, I have manged to toodle around the latest version of Scrivener.

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As I’ve said before, it’s not often I’m ecstatic about a software program, but Scrivener for Windows is awesome.  From Cork board layouts to Character Sketch templates it organizes all my writing better than I ever have.

Cork Boards Help in Moving

One of my favorite features is the Cork board.  I found this very handy after I imported my massive 232 page novel into Scrivener.  I had pages all over the place some which flowed from page to page and chapter to chapter and others where I drafted a brilliant concept that could fit anywhere in one of three chapters.

After the novel was in Scrivener, I simply “chunked” the pages into logical groups.  While this wasn’t difficult to do, I did find it tedious.  Not the software’s fault, but that’s what you get when it’s in one long word document.  Sometimes I made the files too small, but once the chunking was complete it was easy to see my concept on note cards on the cork board.

Documenting Your Documentation

I know I must have driven my English teachers up a wall in High School and College, but outlining what I am going to write has always been problematic for me.  I prefer to jump in and set out to writing from beginning to end versus documenting what  I’m going to document.  So while I struggled to summarize each part, in the end it was well worth it.    I took the time to write out a short synopsis on each card and almost found this process enjoyable.

After I could see the synopsis of each section, I quickly created folders (i.e., chapters) that I could drag and drop the new sections into.  Very quickly I could see the flow of my novel without scrolling page by page.  One click and it unfolded before me.  This is very cool, believe me.

I could now see where I started, where I was going, and what just didn’t fit…yet.  Now I can easily identify the lack of transitions between sections and chapters.  I can’t wait to find out what else Scrivener can do for me.

Do you use a particular software to help organize your writing?  If so, drop a note tell us what you use.

PS:  If you’re interested in seeing how Scrivener works in more detail, check out the series on CreativeAce starting tomorrow.  Scrivener has graciously allowed CreativeAce to use their software as the basis for demonstration about how Online Help works.

It’s been a slow start to getting back into my writing in 2011.  But I vowed at the beginning of the year to stay motivated and focus on finishing my novel.  One major issue I identified with holding me back is my lack of organization.

I have notes everywhere, on tiny bits of paper, strewn throughout several notebooks, a notepad on my nightstand, a notepad in my car, and even a small spiral notepad pulling double duty as a bookmark for the latest novel I’m not finding time to read.

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I figured if I could just get past football season then I can finally start putting that extra half day that turns into all day football Sunday to good use.  Now if I could just find something to help me get my writing organized.

Last year I participated in NanoMoWri.  It was a great month to prove to me that I could prioritize my writing and fit it into a very hectic schedule.   One of the side benefits to completing 50,000 plus words was a discount for some writing software.  I’m now big on writing software of any kind.  In the past I felt that none of them lived up to the hype and I spent more time trying to get it to work than writing.

I had vaguely heard Scrivener mentioned around the writing circles I travel, but did not pay much attention to.  After all, Word was doing a fine job for me.  There are several files of novel, updated novel, submitted portion of novel (times 6), current novel, edited current novel, chapter notes, character sketches, and don’t know what to do with it so stick all notes in here document (times 3).  Very, very organized don’t you think?

After going to Literature and Latte to find out what Scrivener was, I was hooked.  The only bad part was that this software was developed for Mac.  If I ONLY had a Mac, which I don’t.   I’m a PC girl through and through, I mean hey, I’m still sticking with the Philadelphia Eagles, why switch now, right?

On the bright side they had just started Beta testing for Windows.

Now I know most of you would run in the other direction at the mention of Beta Software, but not me.  After looking through screen shots and reading what Scrivener could do, I was chomping at the bit.  I thrive on challenges and being a technical writer I’m usually testing software anyway, so what was one more software to test.  And a product I was readily going to enjoy.

I immediately downloaded Scrivener Beta 1.3 and set out going through the help and the online tutorials.  Being a the technical writer that I am, I’m a bit critical of the help and the tutorials.  For the most part the Help helped me understand the structure of the software, but it wasn’t easy to find answers after I started working through setting up my project.  The help is in another Scrivener project and I found it cumbersome to use while in my project and sometimes got lost in finding an answer to my problem.

On the flip side, Scrivener is pretty intuitive.  I think chunking my word document into manageable parts in Scrivener was tedious, but after is was in there….WOW!

I am happy to announce I’ve had little to no issues using Scrivener.  I find the later Beta’s are slower to open, but that, so far, knock on wood, my only issue and to me that is a non-issue.  I work with RoboHelp which is slower to open than most software because of it’s complexity, so taking a couple three minutes to open doesn’t bother me.

Now, as Scrivener is on the verge of going out into the world for Windows, I decided to sign up as an affiliate.  So, the links you see to Scrivener are affiliate links, but I have never become an affiliate for a product that I haven’t tried and don’t wholeheartedly support.

This is such a wonderful product, I plan on detailing some of the better features over the next couple of weeks.

In the meantime, check out Scrivener for yourself.  Then come back and let me know what you think.

Related articles

• Review: Literature and Latte Scrivener 2.0.2 (macworld.com)

Well, how time does fly. We’re now two months into the new year.  NaNoWriMo was a huge success for me.  Not only did I make the goal of 50,000 in a month, but I exceeded it by leaps and bounds. 

Unfortunately, holidays and the work schedule did nothing but hamper my momentum.  Thankfully as February approaches, so does my footing since the winter snow and ice seem to have left the area.

After meeting with the group this past Friday I am pleased to announce progress on all fronts. 

One of our authors has found an agent as she takes the next nervous step into looking for an editor and getting her novel on the shelves of bookstores.

A second author has completed her novel, despite itchy fingers to tweak said novel, we’ve all threaten harm to any finger that touches the completed draft.  We look forward with her as she embarks on finding an agent. 

Two of us have managed to keep on track and progress, sometimes bumpily, down that writing path.  Here’s to hoping that we manage to stay on the road more than off it over the next year.

And last, but never least, we congratulate one of our authors on her new baby girl.  While novel progress has been sleeping, not like the newborn though, talks of redefining her schedule have awaken her muse.  We look forward to reading more about Marine Corp life from a women’s perspective.

I have spent the last few hours cleaning up our blog, ridding it of dead wait, updating plugins, and finding a calendar to keep everyone informed of upcoming literary events that are local to Hampton Roads and to Virginia. 

Now that the winter clean up has occurred, I’m off to continue my beta test for the writing software I discovered thanks to NanoWriMo.  Check out my thoughts on Scrivener for Windows next week.  Even though this product is still in Beta, I have been impressed with each new beta they have released so far.  I am eagerly awaiting 1.6 which should be out tomorrow.

Til next week.

Happy writing.

Well here we sit on the eve of NanoWriMo most famously known as the National Novel Writing Month. I  learned about this unique concept, idea, site, motivational website a couple years ago. Last year I even signed up in the hopes it would help me finish the current novel I am working on.

While NanoWritMo requires that all novels reach 50,000 words from scratch in order to “win,” I thought it would be a good tool to help finish the novel in progress. I wasn’t so much interested in winning or being allowed to post a badge on this site to show that I met the requirements, in that I was using it as a motivational tool to complete something that is, sigh, as yet, not completed.

This year as I signed up and re-read the requirements, I decided to take a different tack. I am going to start a novel from scratch in the hopes that I can earn the right to proudly display the illustrious NanoWritMo badge on this site in December 2010.

While the first novel sits waiting my return, the new novel is going to address the old novel from a different view point. I have always struggled whether the 1st novel could contain all the information I have rambling around my head. Over the last couple/three years, I have toyed with the idea that the novel could not contain all the people, the concepts in one novel; that in fact I had enough material, angst, and mystery for 3 novels.

So with that tasty little teaser, follow me as I write a new novel from scratch and see if I indeed have enough meat for 2 or 3 novels.

Related articles

• “NaNoWriMo – it’s almost here!” and related posts (trashionista.com)
• NaNoWriMo (aseeofgreen.wordpress.com)
• “National Novel Writing Month” and related posts (magicalmusings.com)
• “November is National Blog Posting Month” and related posts (yoursforgoodfermentables.com)

Fingers fly across the keyboard much like a concert pianist.  No thought or sound seem to radiate from mind to fingers.

The words flowing softly, quickly like a babbling brook from the tiniest drip searching for the vast open waters. Gathering speed then slowing suddenly only to pick up again round the next bend.

The joy of knowing a world, a body, a mind is created.  The soul sings and flies from tree top to tree top, searching for nothing other than the joy of being.

Faster and fast the fingers fly; the indescribable joy bursting at the confinement; it presses harder and harder as a world of words and sounds spread throughout the body, flowing from the end of the fingers, on to the keyboard and out into the world.

Words and images scream into the air bursting in radiating light, breath taking to behold in all it’s pinks and oranges, and yellows.

Colors trickle from the air and a soft rainbow mist gather across the fields, waiting.