Organizing with Scrivener
By Cynthia on Apr 5, 2011 in Software
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.
Hey, thanks for this. I love Scrivener and am always looking for new tidbits about it. I didn’t know you could download a full manuscript then chop it up like you did! Very nice to know!
Thanks again,
Lynette Eason | Apr 9, 2011 | Reply
I haven’t tried scrivener before. But it became interesting to me after I have seen the cork boards. I realize it makes organizing easier just like ordinary cork boards. I didn’t have scrivener because I only use notepad or word document to be able to organize my notes. Thanks for the interesting article.
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Florence | May 30, 2011 | Reply
thanks for providing information about scrivener.I undergo through the link you provided for scrivener.please tell me that can it work only on MAC Operating system.
thanks for providing such valuable information.
pankaj from online bookshops | Aug 31, 2011 | Reply
is Scrivener only available for MAC? I’ve been using just the little “sticky note” features of Outlook to create notes like that when writing.
Rich Davies | Oct 3, 2011 | Reply
I bought a computer from my brother and he had this software installed on it. I had no clue to what it was. Thanks, now I know how to better use it.
BJ Knights from Paper Jam | Nov 15, 2011 | Reply
IN my opnion with such application you should be really successful and well-organized!
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