Featured Favorite Product #4: Scrivener
April's favorite writing product is:
Scrivener by Literature and Latte
Scrivener is a writing software developed by a writer specifically for writers. Even though I write my books by hand, when it's time to type them, I type them directly into Scrivener. I always sing Scrivener's praises because this software makes every aspect of writing completely convenient. Word is nice, and Dabble is cool. But I have never found a software that even remotely compares to the organization and accessibility of Scrivener.
With Scrivener, everything is literally right at your fingertips, just a click away, and it's easy to organize everything the way you want it organized. The main screen of Scrivener is the Editor screen. This is where you type your manuscript. If you've used any word processor—Word, Google Docs... hell, Works or Word Perfect—you'll feel right at home with the Editor. It indicates misspelled words and has all the options to format your indentations and spacing.
While in your documents, you also have the Binder on the left side. The Binder is your quick access to everything. Scrivener allows you to organize your research documents, character sketches, location information sheets, and any other documents you can think of and could possibly need right there in the software. Those items can all be found in the Binder. You just click on the folder you put them in and they open right up inside the software.
You've also got the corkboard. Think of this as a set of index cards organized by chapter. For every document you create within a book, there's an index card added to your corkboard. If you choose not to type anything on it, the first few lines of that document will automatically populate on the index card. However, you can type whatever you want on it, so if you want to write chapter notes, character notes, things you need to go back and revise within the chapter, a short summary of what happens in the chapter, etc., that space is right there for easy reference.
If index cards aren't really your thing, you also have the Outliner. The Outliner creates an outline version of your documents that you can use as an overview of the work as a whole. It allows you to check off areas that are completed, add notes as you wish, and organize it however you want.
And that's the best aspect of Scrivener: being able to organize everything the way you want! It's a software built by a writer, so it caters to writers of all types. One of the first screens you see when you download Scrivener is a list of templates. Scrivener isn't just for novels. You can also write screenplays and other types of literature in this software, and there's a template for it.
There are also a number of tools inside of the software, so you can do anything from setting word count goals to exporting your documents in various formats (including Word format) to even formatting it for publishing.
Another fave? Auto-Save and Backups. The software automatically saves your work, so you never have to worry about forgetting to hit the save button. You can also choose to have the software create a backup version when you open or close the document.
Now let me tell you how Scrivener works. You get a 30-day free trial off the top. (NOTE: There is no free trial for iOS.) This is 30 days of actual usage, not necessarily 30 consecutive days. So if you only open the software every other day, you'll get to use it for two months. After the trial expires, there's a one-time flat rate of $59.99 for a lifetime of usage and updates. No monthly or yearly subscription. No hidden fees. Just $60, and BAM! It's yours forever. They also offer educational discounts, and during Novel November, there's usually an extended trial period.
And that's it, folks! I mean, there's muchhhhh more to Scrivener than what I've listed here, and the product comes with an extensive tutorial that shows you how to do literally everything in the software. I highly recommend this product. I've been using it for yearssss, and I refuse to come up off it. It makes writing and referencing your writing so much easier. I can easily flip to a different project and check my character sheets to see if I've already used this name in another book. I also make sure to store my book covers in the project folders as well for easy reference. There's just so much you can do, and there's really no limit!
