Ever thought about trying a different word processor when writing your stories? Maybe one that'd jump-start your creative juices? Scrivener from
Literature & Latte is supposed to be designed especially for the creative and organizational needs of a writer. It was created by a writer for writers.
What makes Scrivener different from traditional word processors like Microsoft Word are features such as outliners and virtual index cards to help you storyboard and structure your story. Other features include a scriptwriting mode, character name generator, Kindle/epub exporter and a way to store and organize your collected research.
Scrivener is a native Macintosh program, but a
Windows version is in beta, with disclaimers. Scrivener costs $45, but there is a 30-day free trial. If you're a NaNoWriMo writer, you get a discount if you buy Scrivener.
What's the challenge? Write a story using Scrivener's 30-day trial, and come back here to tell us about your experience using it. Did it help you in planning and structuring your story? Did the process inspire you? Was the interface intuitive? Would it be worth switching from Word? Etc.
Are you a blocked writer? Has your muse bailed on you halfway into your latest story? This challenge has your name all over it. Your fans want to be reading. And c'mon, the archive needs feeding.
This could be the change of pace that gets you over the hump.
I came upon a mention of Scrivener recently while listening to an episode of the podcast MacBreak Weekly and was intrigued. The technology journalists on the show are big fans, and they were excited that version 2.0 had just been released. So I checked out the
Web site and read shout-outs from many published fiction writers -- including Bruce Sterling, one of my favorite science-fiction authors.
Someone excerpted audio from MacBreak Weekly in which Chicago Sun Times tech writer Andy Ihnatko talks about how he uses Scrivener, which is worth a listen. It's
posted here .
On
Episode 33 of the Mac Power Users Podcast , Ihnatko goes more in depth on it.
Here are some press clippings from Scrivener's site I found especially interesting:
Scrivener starts by assuming that any piece of written work (be it a novel, screenplay, academic paper, you name it) will be written as a series of disconnected chunks... this application is a great value and comes highly recommended.
- Giles Turnball, MacUser
By the time I had reached 50,000+ words on my first story I couldn't find anything when I was using Word... Finally, I found scrivener. Scrivener does a lot but the most important thing, for me anyway, is that I can separate each scene. I can name it in the side column, and finding things is now a snap. There is a place for notes on each scene, research, outlines, etc. It's awesome. Worth every penny.
- Crystal Posey, Acualize blog
What makes Scrivener so cool is its ability to squirrel away almost any kind of file in its "resource" area - website URLs, snippets of text, emails, PDF documents, images, etc. See something you want to keep? Just select and drag it in. You'll always know where it is, because it will always be in the same place....
- Bill Henderson, Write a Better Novel
The big benefit of Scrivener is that you can outline, research and write, all in a single application. The Scrivener forum, a bunch of knowledgeable "writerly" people (I can't think of another way to describe people who are serious about writing and who write), generously give lots of tips which will not only help you use Scrivener, but to write as well.
- Angela Booth, Angela Booth's Writing Blog
I am not a linear writer. In other words, I don't start at the beginning and just keep going until I get to the end (and then edit, edit, edit). Instead, I visualize the entire project and see an outline or skeleton. As I find resources, material, quotes, literature and even websites that I need to include, I try to place them on an appropriate "hook" in the outline in my mind. This can get crazy. Especially if you are juggling several projects... the search eventually led me to an amazing application which is the subject of this post: Scrivener.
- Karyn Traphagen, Boulders 2 Bits blog
Really I'm not trying to be a commercial for Scrivener, but I love the idea that it has helped some writers be more productive. And if there are any writers I wish could be more productive, it's you guys! Shameless self-interest here. I love reading fanfic -- what can I say?
And speaking of tools to help writers be more productive, are there other programs out there that get your creative engines turning? Please share.
Lauren
