I really don’t think my novel would be anywhere near as almost-done as it (sort of) is if it were not for the wonderment that is Scrivener.
I downloaded it earlier this year, faced with the prospect of editing 100,000 words worth of very roughly drafted short vignettes and desperate for better organization than I could get with Pages or Word.
It is the bestest thing ever.
I have a master document for the novel draft. Each vignette has its own document within that. I have a column down the left side to organize them all and I can shuffle their order by just clicking and dragging. On the right side I can jot down random notes, which I do. Often.
I can label things by timeline! I can make little magic notecards with color-coded pushpins!
It is the Bestest. Thing. Ever.
Seriously, I wouldn’t be halfway as far as I am with revising and editing were it not for Scrivener.
I have another project document for short pieces (each in their own section), and another for notes & works in progress. I’ll probably do NaNoWriMo in Scrivener this year, too.
I am not a terribly organized person, and I tend to write in fits and starts and non-linear bits and pieces. Scrivener makes it really easy for me to take all that literary flotsam and tie it together into something resembling a novel.
And for that I am eternally grateful.
2 Comments
Paul · August 22, 2008 at 9:52 pm
That sounds really good – and especially that it’s actually created by someone who goes through that writing process himself. I was just looking at the web site, and I like the way he’s gone to the trouble of surveying other packages, too, for people who work in other ways. I’m glad that this one works for you.
erin · August 23, 2008 at 2:42 am
It really does, I hadn’t even thought much about writing software until I stumbled upon it and it’s been really brilliant and helpful and I love it so and would hug it if it were something hugable and not software.
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