Ever since NaNoWriMo 2014, I’ve wanted to use Scrivener. Maybe it wasn’t the top priority or I had my doubts if I would like it, but I just barely and finally got the program on my computer this month. Let me begin by saying that I feel like there is so much to learn about Scrivener and I don’t know it all yet.
But I love it.
I’m still organizing my novel in the program and poking around, but I’ve collected some other resources that have been especially helpful to me in figuring this whole Scrivener thing out. Note that I wasn’t asked to promote these bloggers in any way but found them personally helpful and worth recommending.
Here’s my mighty list of eight resources in no particular order:
- Using Scrivener for Plotting—One of my main hopes for Scrivener is that I could use it to make sense of all the plot changes I need to make in my second draft. It’s what I get for being a pantser instead of a plotter. Hope Ramsey does a great job of showing you how to create visual order out of beautiful chaos.
- How to Use Scrivener to Write a Book—this leads to a few other tutorials for Scrivener that get down to the nitty gritty. There’s an especially handy image she made to boil the program down into five easy steps. This is a great resource if you’re starting a new manuscript or knee-deep in a current project.
- 10 Little Known Scrivener Tricks That Can Save You Time—Most of the screenshots are for the Mac version of the program, but Joseph Michael (who is already a Scrivener guru) provides really cool insight on how to make Scrivener work for you.
- How to Use the Scrivener Inspector to Boost Your Writing Efficiency—Something I also hope to do with this program is keep track of my writing progress and make legit goals to finish my second draft. I didn’t know the Inspector was a thing until I saw this post. Kristen does a great job of showing you what it is and how to harness its power.
- How to Use Scrivener to Edit Your Book. If you’re already missing Track Changes through MS Word, Natasha can help you cope. She doesn’t give general tips or steps to follow when editing, but rather gives you an idea of what she does to edit her book or keep track of her edits by using notes, color-coding, and the cork board tab.
- How to Import Word Comments into Scrivener in 5 Easy Steps (PC Version)—Yes, thank you, Alexis! This is helpful if you’re using a PC to edit your current work. This was helpful in showing solid steps on how to import a whole friggin novel and all the comments that came with it. If you want to save time, give this link a gander.
- How to Use the Scrivener Binder to Organize Your Novel—This post not only helps you learn the basic elements of Scrivener, but it helps you learn how to use them to keep your thoughts straight. Kristen talks a lot more about Scrivener in general, so it’s worth your time perusing the other posts in her series.
- Building and Managing Story Timelines Using Scrivener—Oh my days, if there’s one reason why I need Scrivener, it’s because I need something to create a helpful timeline. Since my novel spans over a few years (or at least that’s what I envision), it’s helpful to keep track of how time transpires with each chapter. This step-by-step method helps you create a timeline. *squee*
That’s what I have so far—did I forget any resources? Include your favorites in the comment section, because heaven knows I still have a lot to learn about Scrivener.