![]() This is exciting but scary, as there have been times I’ve gone deep into a new rabbit hole only to discover I liked the original one better. My current revision has included serious rewriting, mostly of sections I first crafted years ago. If I hit a roadblock on a section I’m revising, for example, I’ll often glance at the Binder and become inspired with new ways to tweak a different section instead. As I’ve worked on my novel, I’ve found that one view informs the other in unexpected ways. I also love how Scrivener allows you to have both birds-eye and granular views of your writing right next to each other. I couldn’t imagine shifting chunks of a massive, multi-part project this effectively via a more traditional word processing program. The best part of Scrivener’s organizational functionality is that you can drag and drop sections and folders to easily and completely reorganize your work. It’s great to be able to label folders and sections as I see fit - for example, a blue book icon to indicate a section is fully revised and ready for the next step, a lightbulb graphic to show that I had an exciting idea and need to flesh it out, or a green flag to bookmark sections that have been semi-revised but require further attention. Within each folder is a collection of sections, each of which can be named and paired with a customizable icon. Breaking my work into groupings like this has helped as I continue to conceptualize, shape, and refine my narrative. They don’t correspond to chapters of my novel per se, but to loosely-defined sections. On the left of my Scrivener screen, I have ten folders within my organizational Binder (as Scrivener calls it). This is my favorite aspect of the program and one I recommend all long-form writers explore. One of Scrivener’s core benefits is that it allows writers to wrangle massive, multi-sectioned projects so they’re easy to organize, visualize, and work with. I look forward to experimenting with Composition Mode soon and seeing how it impacts my revision process. One note: in working on this article, I rediscovered Composition Mode, which turns your computer into a virtual typewriter, bringing whatever section you’re working on to a welcoming full-screen layout and excluding all distractions. Whether the above works for you or you prefer something completely different, Scrivener gives solid formatting flexibility so writers can create atmospheres and interfaces that set them up for success with each writing session. ![]() I also like the default three-pane layout, with my organizational window on the left, the section I’m revising in the middle, and Snapshots on the right (more on all of that below). As far as overall aesthetic, I’m happy with Dark Mode, which gives most of the app a mellow grey background that I find more conducive to novel-writing than glaring white. #Scrivener windows 11 fullIn full disclosure, I haven’t explored many of these options and don’t really plan to. Scrivener lets you tweak and customize its interface in a variety of ways. #Scrivener windows 11 softwareRead on for a look at how the software has continued to elevate my writing practice and how that functionality can help you, too. Scrivener is a powerful program with loads of features, and I’ve been surprised at which capabilities have helped me the most. Scrivener has played a key role in all of these efforts. My manuscript is over 130,000 words and I am deep into a late-stage revision: cleaning up inconsistencies, smoothing out transitions, and updating sections to fully reflect how I think and write today - rather than how I did months or years ago. I’ve been using Scrivener to work on my novel every day for three years. In “ Scrivener and My Case Study in Organizing a Novel,” I talked about how Scrivener, the groundbreaking writing software program, influenced my process. In “ The Accidental Novelist – How Stolen Moments Can Make A Book,” I wrote about my impromptu process for turning notes jotted on my phone into long-form fiction. ![]() Here’s what I’ve learned about the program along the way. Scrivener is a powerful writing program that has been my software of choice as I write and revise my first novel. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |