Words with Wings Scrivener 2.0: Tools for Writers - PixelCom

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Words with Wings. In software development terms, a version 2.0 product is still a babe in arms. Even large software development companies tend to be sheepish.
Words with Wings

Tips, Tools and Techniques

Scrivener 2.0: Tools for Writers Lisa Taylor has spent almost two decades writing fiction... er, marketing copy for the computer graphics industry and other technology makers. As an award-winning YA novelist she combines technology, detective fiction and classic European literature into something she hopes is coherent.

In software development terms, a version 2.0 product is still a babe in arms. Even large software development companies tend to be sheepish about their version 2.0 products. Most of the development effort between version 1.0 and 2.0 is about fixing serious stability issues (i.e. things that cause ‘crashes’ or ‘hangs’), performance issues (i.e. things that take longer than they should) or features that failed to deliver what the company promised the first time round (due to ‘bugs’). Smaller companies, with their lower quality assurance standards usually suffer from these issues in spades. Not so Literature and Latte, the small UK-based team that has created Scrivener. The second version of their software for Mac (first version for Windows) is an incredibly sta-

ble, robust and well conceived tool for writing professionals. At present the Windows version is lagging behind the Mac version in terms of features offered (in software lingo, it has not achieved ‘feature parity’), but that’s alright, because one of my few complaints about the software is that it follows the ‘enough rope to hang yourself’ software development philosophy. This means the user is given so much freedom to work the way they want, that it can actually inhibit learning the software. This is only an issue in the early stages of using the product, however. Isn’t ‘Word’ Enough? While MS Word is a great tool for some things, it doesn’t offer writers many ways to manage multiple, related documents. While writing

Scrivener at a Glance Beats my word processor at: • Organising research, including web pages, images and movie files • Managing Revisions of a manuscript • Providing useful, writerly templates • Offering transcription tools • Providing smart characters I want (e.g. for en and em dashes) • Saving work automaticlally (every two seconds by default) • Pricing: 20% off for Omega Writers members. Email Annie for details. Areas I’d like to see growth: • A simplified workflow for compiling a character’s (manuscript-wide) dialogue • Expanded formatting tools • Feature parity in Windows version

Words with Wings Motive Games I nearly lost my mind trying to organise my various research files (e.g. text and photos). Plus, I occasionally lost drafts due to having too long a period between my automatic saves or because I overwrote an Composition Mode gives writers a very focused older draft with a environment to work in. newer one… and then changed my mind and wanted to revert back (oops, too late). As I compose this article (in Scrivener) I am working in the ‘Draft’ section of the software while looking at a small window of my compiled research (stored in the ‘Research’ section). The latter document is in a small pane called a QuickRef that floats beside the window I’m typing in. Even if you write using two monitors (as I sometimes have), this is still a better way to have your screen set up. It means you can have all the information you need around you, without any extra distractions. If you want an even more focused environment, one of

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the tools Scrivener offers is a Composition Mode. The software is loaded with brilliant tools and work options (‘workflows’ in software lingo) like this that make organising your work simple and painless. How Does It Work? Upon opening Scrivener, you go to the New Project option in the File menu. As you can see, there are templates for fiction, non-fiction, poetry and scriptwriting: as well as an option to embark on a tutorial (highly recommended). You can also import existing documents and make them a Scrivener file based on any one of these templates. In order to become familiar with the inner workings of Scrivener, I imported all of my research documents for the Motive Games sequel into a ‘fiction’ template. All research went into the ‘Research’ folder and its sub-folders, all of which are easily viewed in the ever-present (except in Composition Mode) left side bar, called the ‘bind-

Words with Wings

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er’. As part of organising my notes into sensible topics and sub-topics, I used the Scrivener ‘character’ and ‘setting’ templates. These are well-thought-out, easy to modify templates that get you started creating characters and locations. And as I write, I can make these docs into QuickRef panes so I can easily review my ideas as that particular venue or character steps into the limelight. Above the Research section is the Manuscript folder (the Draft folder in other templates). As I started work on the first two chapters of my manuscript, I began creating sub-folders in that area. Soon, however, I realised, that I don’t write linearly. Sometimes I play out scenes in my mind that I haven’t gotten to in my draft, but which are in my outline. So I sat down and wrote out my ideas for those scenes in individual documents and I can now easily access their files at any time; plus, I have a visual reminder of their existence whenever I read through the Bind-

er. (Previously I would have added these scenes to pages 27 and 28 of some lengthy research document and then immediately forgotten about them for time immemorial.) When it comes time to work on these scenes, I’ll benefit from the fact that Scrivener is very smart about letting users combine individual files at any time: either for reviewing or for the final output into a layout program. For those of you who work more with note cards, the folks at Scrivener (who are closet, and not-so-closet, writers themselves) have got a workflow for you as well. The right-hand panel of the screen contains a number of different organisational tools. At the top of the list (and screen) is the Synopsis pane, styled as a note card. For every document you write, you can create a synopsis which can then be pinned onto a virtual cork board. Here, the synopses for my chapters and scenes have been added to the board. The second chapter, which is comprised of a number of scenes, consists of a series of cards under one

Words with Wings pin. You can also see that the cards are colour coded: green for chapters, blue for scenes. Your research can just as readily be ‘pinned’ to the corkboard for a quick overview. From there, cards can be rearranged and edited at will. For those who like this idea, but don’t relate to the cards/cork board analogy, there is an outline tool which works in a similar fashion, but is more graphically straightforward. Award-Winning Yet Affordable At USD $40 (Windows) and $45 (Mac) Scrivener delivers incredible value for the dollar. The Mac version has won numerous awards, and even the new Windows version has brought in an accolade from the prestigious PC World magazine. Moreover, Literature and Latte offers discounts to writers groups (now including Omega Writers), sponsors NaNoWriMo, and are very generous in giving out review copies (including one to yours truly). It is no wonder a number of wellknown authors are already singing the software’s praises.

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