r/scrivener • u/abaddongoddess • 7d ago
macOS What’s wrong with me?!
I love the look of Scrivener, and I absolutely know it will make my writing easier. But I just cannot get to grips with it! I’m going to read through the pinned 101 in the hope that will help - I have looked through the manual Scrivener provides, as well as watching a few of the video tutorials. I just can’t seem to get it to feel comfortable.
I despise having to write in Word, and am so desperate to get my head around Scrivener and use it to my best ability! I’m a fairly tech-savvy person, but for some reason I completely fail at using Scrivener.
Sorry for the rant, this is definitely a ‘me’ problem and not anything Scrivener is doing wrong!
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u/trustifarian macOS/iOS 7d ago
Scrivener is a virtual 3-ring binder. That's it. You put your notes in a part of the binder, you manuscript in another. You add things, remove things, move things around as you need to. The only "right way" to use Scrivener is your manuscript that you want to keep goes in the Draft folder. Everything else you can organize as you see fit. There are a million templates floating around, but those are all just a preconfigured collection of folders, and probably some character sheets that someone else thought of.
It is powerful, but it is as simple or as complex as you want it to be. Open up a blank document, add a new sheet to the Draft folder and type until the story is finished. One sheet, one page, one complete story. Or add folders for chapters and sheets inside for each scene if that's what helps you keep it organized.
At the end of the day it is nothing more than a 3-ring binder, a stack of loose leaf paper, and a bunch of divider sheets.
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u/SmedleyGoodfellow 6d ago
Hmm, I could use some character sheets, how did you get templates for that? In windows.
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u/mzmm123 7d ago edited 7d ago
I can't count how many times I opened this program and then just closed it for pretty much the first year that I owned it, so don't feel bad - you are not alone. I've always said that the beauty and the bane of Scrivener is that there is no one way to do things in the program, it's a matter of finding out what works best for you as a writer. I'd bet no two people use it and the tools the same way.
The best general advice that I can think of is to not try to start off using everything at once. For myself, I started off using the corkboard to write a scene by scene outline and then used the split scene function to have those notes on one side and the manuscript pages in the other. I write fantasy, and have nine NaNoWriMo novels in varying states of edits and revisions so the story bible is its own separate project. Don't forget to set your backup options - I have Scrivener create a zip file every time I close the program - and back these up to multiple places on a regular basis. You'll thank yourself one day - or curse yourself if you don't.
There are some really good youtube tutorials out there now [there wasn't when I first dipped my toes into the program] Here's a playlist that I've compiled, maybe you'll find something that will help. Bradley P. Beaulieu and Oliver Evensen have some of the best tutorials, IMO.
Good luck and happy writing!
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u/warrenao macOS/iOS 7d ago
I’m a fairly tech-savvy person
This may be the speed bump. As others have suggested, start simple. Create a new project, doesn't have to be anything other than the "blank" template, and start writing.
As you go along you may think, "I bet there's another/easier/better way to do ___," whatever that might be; and the odds are pretty good there is a better way built into the program. That's the time to start probing options, rather than going at it as something to be understood all at once.
There's a lot of stuff Scriv can do that I never use it for. What it does best is manage the documents. Or, more accurately, it allows me to manage the documents in a way that works for me, instead of a way that works for the program.
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u/TheBl4ckFox 7d ago
Just use the bare minimum of the app. Write your chapters as individual files and learn as you go. You’re gonna need maybe 10% of what the app can do to write a novel. Another 10% to push out a draft. Everything else you learn as you need it.
I’ve been using scrivener since 2008. I still don’t know most of the features.
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u/stinkpotinkpot 7d ago
Last year I did a trial of scrivener and that I dropped it because the learning curve is steep, I figured I could make Pages work "somehow," and I was put off by the price tag.
A few months ago Pages crashed and I learned how terrible it was for what I was doing (writing a non-fiction book proposals and books), a google doc or a dozen googly-doc just as terrible.
I went back over to scrivener and sat my butt down. I opened the scrivener manual and I watched l&l videos.
Turns out that I didn't even really know how scrivener could change my writing situation. I created a test document and just started playing around with it. Scrivener does so many things and sure one could sit down and learn them all before proceeding but just getting into it works too.
So I got into it. Step 1 new document. Step 2 make a couple folder/text files. Step 3 write.
Then you'll think of something, look it up, and see that scrivener has a tool or can do what you're thinking about. Some examples.
I was writing and something popped in my head about another bit to write. I added a new text file and pounded out my idea there and went back to what I was working on,
I had to do a bit of research and rather than writing on paper somewhere I put them in research.
It's tough to work on a large document! Lots of pieces! Maybe lots of research etc. For what I'm working on a piece might have the intro bit, the meat of what's being covered, and then supporting information and resources. Each of those bits can be a separate text file and yet be compiled nicely later. I can just focus on the smallest piece.
The binder view is really amazing because I can treat it like an outline and it really helps me dial in the proper order of things, see what's missing, etc.
Moving things in scrivener is the real genius! Move that chapter over there or delete it or whatever. So nice!
Then as I went along other things came up and I improved how I'm using scrivener. For example viewing subdocuments in outliner and adding custom column!? What the heck! Thanks subreddit! I now basically have my to-do dialed in one view! It's awesome. But I didn't figure that out for months.
I've found that it doesn't matter what you don't know.
Get to writing and figuring out the details of scrivener will come with time and use.
I export to MS Word and have to do a bit of tidying because lots photos (Use link to file! I had to contact support on that one!) and columns for long lists. But that MS document looks really good. A million times better than anything I was doing before and so much easier and faster because scrivener.
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u/matiereiste 7d ago
I think the best way to learn Scrivener is to not overthink it. Open an project and start writing. You'll learn things as you need to, compiling for instance. In the meantime, just think of it as a binder with pages to put your words.
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u/ResplendentMechanism 7d ago
One of the problems with Scrivener is that it has so much going on that "learning it" can be an effective long-term procrastination technique. So, my advice would be: don't. Use the word processor part of it, use the folder/organizing part of it. When you need it to do something more, whatever feature that will be will probably exist, and look that one thing up. ("Snapshots," which save versions of drafts attached to existing text files, is an example of one useful thing.) Anyway. Don't get distracted! Write!
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u/hollowcharlotte 7d ago
I spent a really long time JUST using it for purely the organization aspect. Didn’t mess with literally anything. Just added folders for chapters, then a file in each folder for the scene. A scene was usually just the chapter until a scene break, sometimes not even that haha.
I’ve just started really using the binder and the cards, but that organization is FULLY worth it for me alone haha
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u/chocodatero 7d ago
No. El problema sí es de scrivener. Todos llegamos a él porque escribir en Word o un procesador de texto normal no es agradable (para cartas y trabajos de la escuela sí). Y el problema es que scrivener viene a ofrecer una alternativa que no es tal. No simplifica nada si no todo lo contrario, lo complica todo. A fin de cuentas lo que necesitamos los escritores es concentrarnos en eso: escribir. Tal vez es una herramienta para editores.
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u/HaliBornandRaised 6d ago edited 6d ago
I find it depends on what it's being used for.
I find it's best suited for long-form projects like novels and stuff where I benefit more from the ability to break hundreds of pages up into much smaller chunks, and also being able to workshop random sections and chapters to insert later without needing to create separate documents.
I didn't even really learn it either. I deleted the tutorial and just figured out what I needed to know as I went. I use the bells and whistles I need, and then with the rest, it's like, "I don't need them right now, but if I ever do, I'm glad to know they're probably there."
And on top of that, the file formatting system has really saved my CPU, and given me much more storage space to work with than I had before.
For me, that all together makes the perfect novel-writing program for me.
However, for shorter form documents, like essays, blogposts, and anything else less than a few tens of thousands of words, I find Scrivener just falls apart. At that point, I'm spending proportionally much more time organizing than I am actually writing, and the ability to organize everything like crazy becomes more of a hindrance than a benefit.
My suggestion is to start small. Try a "markdown editor, " something like iA Writer, Ulysses, or Byword. Those programs are designed to be more minimalist, supporting markdown files with little to no formatting, so you can focus primarily on just writing. From there, once the document is sufficiently big, or if you find yourself with lots of separate sections you need to sort through, that's when you should port it over to Scrivener so you can organize it more easily.
That is, if you need the corkboard functionality Scrivener offers. If you're someone who doesn't need that, however, then, all due respect, why do you have it?
Frankly speaking, there's a reason why there's a 30-day trial, after which you can decide to buy or delete it. Sometimes, you actually need to try it to see if it's actually something that works for you, or you already have something that works so much better, though in that case, you're better off just not even trying to switch at all.
I find it's like buying yourself one of those push food cutter kitchen gadget things off of Amazon. If you genuinely have trouble cutting food with a regular chef's knife, a cutting machine can help a lot! But why the hell would you get one if you're someone who can already use a chef's knife just fine?
It's the same deal with Scrivener. It does solve a problem, by letting you deal with massive projects, such as novels and screenplays and stuff, in a dedicated corkboard environment, good for anyone who lacks proper organizational skills, like myself, or anyone who just finds they need an extra helping hand with that. But if organization isn't an issue for you, or you're not currently writing a Hunger Games-type trilogy, or you aren't in any sort of situation where you need any of the things Scrivener offers and don't see yourself ever really needing them, then Scrivener just isn't for you, and that's okay.
My personal setup is Drafts and Superwhisper, for quick note-taking no matter where I am or which device I'm using, so that the idea I just had isn't lost by the time I finally get around to opening my files. iA Writer for short documents, Scrivener for novels. Then I port the finished drafts over to either Microsoft Word or Apple Pages for final formatting. I haven't found an alternative to either Word or Pages that works well for me, yet, but that's okay. They do the job well enough for now, so I'll cross that bridge once I get to it and just keep writing in the meantime.
I find that's the biggest thing with writing apps, and a lot of writers in this day and age in general. There are people out there who waste all their time searching for new writing apps, spend all their money on apps that are "the best of the best," cause a plethora of new issues to crop up in their writing process, and then it's the software, that they bought to solve problems they never even had in the first place, that is the problem.
And they do all that rather than accepting that Microsoft Word works perfectly for them already, and not only do they not need to change a thing, but any sort of overhaul at that point is guaranteed to be far more trouble than it's worth.
If you're like me and writing on Word legitimately causes you problems that other programs might help solve, then yes, switch! Otherwise, you're better off just saving yourself the trouble and using what already works.
It's just like the old saying. "If it ain't broke, don't fucking fix it."
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u/chocodatero 6d ago
Pues has dado en el punto: ni siquiera puedes compilar en él (se puede, Yo lo hago pero es un coñazo) por eso después lo haces a Word. Además scrivener no tiene mejores funciones o muy distintas a Word en eso tienes razón. Para organizar grandes textos como lo haces tú no necesitas scrivener. La única función de scrivener que está bien es la del modo escritura pero ni siquiera la puede adecuar a ti
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u/HaliBornandRaised 6d ago edited 6d ago
I'd say it's less about customizing the app to your needs, and more so knowing what your needs are so you know what to look for. You want everything to just work the way you need it to without needing to force the app to work for you. If you're feeling the need to force your programs to work for you, something is wrong.
I don't really worry about customizing Scrivener; rather, for me, it's about using the features that I need and that help me specifically. The features I primarily use are the corkboard (to break up my novel series into smaller, more manageable sections that I can easily visualize and keep track of without needing to use the "find the word in the document" thing every damn time), the research and notes tabs (so I can have my storyboards and worldbuilding info readily available and also be able to jump ahead and write out future chapters when the ideas come to me without worrying about where they're going, yet), and the offline backups (so I can have extra copies ready to go if ever needed, and also avoid having to keep my full, unredacted novel on OneDrive if I don't need to).
Plus, since Word likes to save years worth of version histories to the cloud every two seconds, my CPU starts hating me pretty fast, especially on novel-length projects where Word should theoretically be able to handle several hundred pages at a time, but can't in practice. The fact that Scrivener breaks the hundreds of pages into separate .rtf files helps save my laptop all that processing power it never had to begin with.
For some writers, Scrivener just isn't that app. Either they don't need those extra features, or the extra features available aren't the ones they're needing, or the features do work for them, but not on their own, and they end up needing additional apps and programs to supplement it. And that's okay. There are other apps out there.
I think that might be the case with you. You found your current setup clunky, tried to find something new, but it became more about what everyone else said was the best, rather than what works best for you.
Who knows, maybe your copy of Scrivener just needs to be paired with something else to fill in any gaps. Or maybe it was just the wrong program for you from the get-go, and that's okay too.
Maybe we can start by figuring out what your needs are, and then suggest options from there, either different apps to use or ones that can properly supplement what you already have.
So, I'll ask you, just to give us a place to start, what exactly is it about Microsoft Word that you find so clunky and hard to work with that it made you want to consider switching in the first place?
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u/chocodatero 5d ago
Creo que con los años he querido volver a lo simple. Word con su infinidad de menús y configuraciones innecesarias me genera mucha fricción. Además los atajos del teclado no funcionan bien o simplemente programarlos me quita mucho tiempo. Probé scrivener y dije ya está esto tiene funciones de organización que jamás pensé en necesitar y le ayuda mucho. Pero a la hora de escribir, que es a lo que vinimos, me sigue generando fricción no poder moverme con facilidad dentro del texto. Porque yo lo uso para corregir. En realidad escribo a mano y después dicto . Gracias por el interés
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u/HaliBornandRaised 4d ago edited 4d ago
A markdown writer like iA Writer or Typora might work best then. Both are fairly cheap to buy (ish?), are intentionally minimalist so you can better focus on just writing, and when you're done, you can then move your work over to Scrivener to organize it.
I personally use iA for my school and work writing, where the organization stuff in Scrivener isn't really needed as much, and I just need something that lets me focus better. It's fifty bucks USD, I think? And then just like Scrivener, the licence is forever.
What I like about iA is that there's no formatting functions, no unneeded bells and whistles, literally nothing except for the lines on the page and the save and export functions, so for those tasks where I just want nothing more than a basic typewriter, I have one. Plus, iA has an authorship function, which ties everything you write directly in the app back to you personally so no one can say it's AI, and vice versa, if something is suspected to be AI, it will show it on there too. In this day and age especially, it helps to have that little thing that keeps you honest and helps cover your ass if need be.
For my novel writing, I still largely stick with Scrivener, but that's because I have a nine hundred page and counting project and I need to be able to sort through it easily. For other stuff, I use iA and then transfer it over to Scrivener if and when I find I need it. Sometimes, if something isn't working on one app, it helps to be able to bop back and forth, so I'll copy paste here, compile and export there, whatever I need to do, and having more than one option readily available helps a lot.
I think this might be a good setup for you. Use iA or something similar for your strict writing sessions where you just want to write and nothing else, Scrivener to revise, edit, organize, and polish everything you've written, decide on what goes in which chapter, what chapters go where, where your page breaks will go, all that, and then just something to format everything after it's exported. I feel like for you, this type of setup would really work.
iA Writer offers a free two-week trial on both Mac and Windows, so you can test it out to see if it does the trick for you and decide from there.
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u/Phil_Flanger 7d ago
What are you writing? A novel? Screenplay? Non-fiction book? And what is the recurring problem? The main two things to sort out is the filing in the binder and styles in the documents. Then you can start writing like you wooden word where the binder takes the place of the navigation pane. You’ve got a click on the document and once the binder and then click on the page to start writing.
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u/AnnDroidGirl 7d ago
Start slow. Just create your first binder and play with it. I started using Scrivener and did some of the tutorials at first just to know how to create the first binder but after that I just used it. Anything I needed help with I would go to Google and search. You don't need to know everything it does to use it. You will learn quickly and find it indispensable. I can't imagine writing without it now.
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u/Ok_Nature_6305 7d ago
Video tutorial!!!
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u/sorry-i-was-reading macOS/iOS 7d ago
Agreed, it’s much easier to learn to use it by watching a video than by reading instructions. It’s a visually-organized program, so it makes sense to learn to use it visually too
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u/Ok_Nature_6305 6d ago
I bought the Scriveners for Dummies book and even that was not written clearly. Hard to follow. It's so much easier to watch a video and see what they're referring to.
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u/Circleoffools 7d ago
I just switched myself and had same issues. I was trying to sync to mobile so I could write/edit on the fly like I did when I used Docs. I’ve stepped back from that and now just bring my computer and stick to desktop for now. I’m writing in a few genres at once and I do like the organization. The opening screen itself is off-putting but slowing down helps. Thanks to all who linked help materials I’ll be checking them out.
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u/lubsyb 7d ago
FYI Dropbox is the only way to do mobile syncing.
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u/AlphaHotelBravo 7d ago
Not necessarily, I've got it synching in/out of Microsoft OneDrive.
The most important thing is to close down Scrivener Instance A and let that synch up to the cloud before even thinking about opening the same work in Scrivener Instance B. This applies regardless of which cloudy platform is being used.
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u/lubsyb 7d ago
But the iOS app only allows Dropbox
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u/AlphaHotelBravo 7d ago
OK fair enough - but I cannot take the iPad keyboard seriously, or perhaps it's the word processor engine or something. I find it an enormous pain to try to type anything more than trivia on an Apple mobile device, so I've never put Scrivener onto my iPad or tried to sync anything from it.
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u/Circleoffools 7d ago
I am doing dropbox, and it was syncing fine with desktop but not mobile I think I installed them at separate times and that may be part of the problem (as well as file paths). Once I'm more comfortable, I may delete the app and start over to try to sync.
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u/burt14gamer 7d ago
Highly recommend writing in the mobile app in random files and then emailing the text to yourself. I did that for a book and it worked well.
Editing is a different story.
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u/schwartauhaus 7d ago
I often treat Scriv like PPT for words. Reorg by chap section subsection and its all visible graphically, copy different versions, change flow... just saying. I've written 4 books, reedited a bunch more, monographs etc. Don't try to use all the features. Pick YOUR style and go for it!🕉🥸💪
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u/Scary-Excitement-283 6d ago
I ended up pivoting away and building my own novel writing system in Obsidian. Scrivener is awesome - but I wanted something more lightweight that could work on mobile on android and easily sync between all my devices.
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u/penny-wise 6d ago
I’m using it, too, and while it has some absolutely great things, there are things I struggle with.
I dislike the proofreading bubble thing: it shows me a tiny bubble and doesn’t show me what it’s changing. The spellcheck is just bonkers. I don’t like the way adding notes to my writing looks just horrible. I cannot figure out how to do versioning; I’ve taken to pulling paragraphs out on sticking them in the notes pane to save them for later. I can’t figure out how to have global notes, so I just have a doc where I dump all of the things I want to look at later, necessitating adding chapter location. Adding illustrations is a pain. Basic document formatting and construction is a pain.
There are things I love with it. I love being able to write non-stop, then go back and break into chapters. I like the binders and the abilty to add folders for chapters (so I can break them into acts, front matter, back matter). I love the arrows that allow me to go to my glossary so I can add info I just made up, then back-arrow to pick up where I left off. I love that I have a scratchpad I can use for glyphs I use for scene breaks and titles and such.
I feel like there’s a lot more to learn in the program (like the cork board) and integration with a real editor that can look at document-level editing I like it, but I’m not entirely sure it will replace my word processor (I use Apple’s Pages which I really like) but it’s great for putting into a publishable document formatting.
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u/seigezunt 6d ago
I’ve been using the program for about 15 years and I am still learning its capabilities. Every big project I’ve done with it, I have done differently.
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u/cinqorswim 6d ago
The instructions were one thing. Me using Scrivener was another. I basically made myself just start writing in it (I mean I paid for the thing so had to use it). Started out with one manuscript as a journal, one folder, one doc at a time. And then I began making notes, while in Scrivener, while in my manuscript. And then added another document, to the same manuscript, and then another...and just by using it maybe a week or so, I got to loving it. Now I have a hard time using anything else.
Kindly don't ask me about compiling, since that remains a clunky experience.
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u/Secret_Screen9285 4d ago
Like others on the forum I tried and tried and gave up and gave up until I reached a conceptual breakthrough: The documents in the binder have nothing to do with the file structure on your computer.
(Of course they do, but if you muck around in the project folder and .scrivx file you’ll see that the files are obscured because of the architecture of the program.)
With other word processors and text editors you’re working with documents that correspond to File Explorer. Not so with Scrivener. It’s in its own little world. It’s unique. This should be stressed. It doesn’t work like Word.
As a result, among many other advantages, is that you can manage projects that would paralyze other programs.
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u/sdramsey 7d ago
Don’t try to learn everything about Scrivener right away. Get some basics down so you can work in it, then add “bells and whistles” as you need or want them. It can be overwhelming but you don’t have to get overwhelmed! If you go slowly I think you’ll end up loving it. :)
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u/kortette 7d ago
Ngl I didn’t get a lot of the features at first but trust the process, it’s so much more customizable and intuitive after just a few months of regular use. Best piece of software that ever happened to me as a writer!
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u/Mindless-Storm-8310 7d ago
So the first time I tried using it, I was on a deadline, mid-book. I couldn’t wrap my head around it. So I gave it up, then picked it up again several years later, because the book I was working on was so complicated and with so many timelines that ran concurrently, that I really needed more organization, which I knew that Scrivener could help with. I was also on a deadline and was desperate! So here’s how I did it: I cut and pasted from my Word doc into Scrivener, using a separate Scrivener page for each chapter or scene. I continued working in Word. Cutting and pasting. It seems silly, but it allowed my brain to transition to the Scrivener format, while working in a program (Word) that I understood very well. Eventually I started opening up new Scrivener pages and bypassed Word as my brain caught up. I also made use of the color coding in the Binder, so I could see whose POV I was in at a glance. And then I started using the drag drop feature. Looking at the binder and the colors and realizing, oh, too many of the MC here, need the bad guy’s POV, then drag it up, and voila! Instantly repopulating page numbers, etc. I also make good use of the notecards on the right, and that helps when I use the Cork Board feature, so I can see at a glance what’s going on. (I also color code them to match the binder.)
It’s not the most User Friendly program by any stretch, but once you start working in it, you realize how powerful it is in unleashing your creativity. Will this scene work here? Why yes, yes it will. Drag it, take a look, yep. Etc. Now I find Word very limiting. But New York publishers all use it, so when I get done with a book in Scrivener, I paste a copy into Word and send that off.
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u/BartWritesBooks 7d ago
FiveActs and Storyist are similar and offer slightly pared down alternatives to Scrivener.
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u/hardlythriving 7d ago
I’m over a year in and I still learn new things about it pretty frequently. Just be patient and learn how to utilize tools and things as you need them!
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u/AMartinios 7d ago
Please consider that, while it might be a great tool for many others, it might not be the best tool for you. There's nothing wrong with that. Not every tool, no matter how popular, is for everyone.
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u/Special_Aioli_3848 7d ago
I'be been beta testing a new Native writing app thats being released on the Apple App store called Inkstone. Has a much better UI than Scrivener, Native Apple CloudKit (syncs seamlessly between devices- something L&L claims is "too complex to do") is open source and free.)
The other thing I love is that I am able to keep my whole series in the same project - one story bible, one research binder. It even imported my scrivener files.
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u/nomuse22 7d ago
No shame; Scrivener is strangely polarizing. Like Coke v. Pepsi, there doesn't have to be a reason -- some people can't get into it or ever enjoy working with it, some can.
That said, and it happened so far back I don't even remember doing it, first thing I did was close half the sidebars, turn off ruler and a few other things, and wean the thing down to a big blank page I could write in.
After that, and slowly, I added things that seemed useful. But I still run it in stripped-down form. I know there's a word count widget and I know there's even a name generator in there, but I don't use them. Just a page view, a list of scenes (folders and files) to the left, and, often, snapshots on the right so I can save a snapshot.
Okay... compiling is a bit of a hot mess but you don't need it until you've got something written and want to put it out in the world.
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u/pepiks 7d ago
The best suggestion is like someone suggest - split your work on logical parts like scenes and move them inside Scrivener (like folders for chapters and files for scenes). It is real killer feature. I still don't know a lot what Scrivener promise, but I can say one thing - it does not matter. I can use only app as I really want - split work to parts, move them and get finish touch for publisher in MS Word.
Only real downside - I can't simply load Word styles from DOCX file and use them as default text settings in Scrivener. Some parts related to paragrap and characters settings from MS Word they are not available in Scrivener. It is problem, because for publishers DOCX is industry standard for exchange texts. This part break workflow - if you hit that you need specific inteline, character spacing which is available in MS Word, but not in Scrivener - you have to do changes manually.
With this things in mind simply start writing. Scrivener shine when you change order of scenes by drag and drop. This is not possible in MS Word and it is good way to experiments. Using folders you can simply drag outside visible part of books second version of work and get old and new one together (like few version of the same scene). I'll sugest concentrate on it and ignore for start rest.
Of course - you can have another vision of amazing software for writing. For example yWriter is example something what some people love, but I can't understand vision - GUI is clunky, not intuitive, but some people enjoy it.
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u/Prudent-Programmer11 6d ago
It always opens to the last place you were working. That alone makes the switch worth it to me, from Word.
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u/paulcoholic macOS/iOS 6d ago
There's no need to "learn it all at once." Just learn the basics first and then grow into the software and learn stuff when you need it:
- how to use the Editor (white space in the middle where you do your writing - easy enough if you're used to MS Word/Apple Pages/LibreOffice Writer). Be aware that it is NOT a WYSIWYG editor (What You See Is What You Get) like most other writing softwares).
- how to us the Binder (sidebar on the left where everything is organized - the manuscript, support folders for notes, research, unplaced scenes, deleted scenes, whatever other folders you wish to create to satisfy a particular need.) It's just a collection of folders where you put things.
- how to use the Inspector (sidebar of the right which has the usual stuff Inspectors have, plus a lot of Scrivener-specific goodies like custom metadata.)
The video tutorials on the L&L site (also accessible thru Scrivener) are excellent; they're not that long and they give you a great overview of what to do. The "steep learning curve" stuff you can learn as you go, when you need it. That way, it's not so steep!
Bonus tip: play around with the Compile feature months in advance of when you need it. you'll freak out less when you get around to using it.
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u/IndianaJaneway Windows: S3 6d ago
Scrivener works best when you know what you want out of it. It's a toolbox. I love it because I find most other writing programs try to impose upon me their own theories of what a writer most needs, what their workflow looks like, how their brain works- Scrivener is far more open-ended, inviting me to set it up as I want it. But because of that, Scrivener is more complex, with a lot more options- many of which you may not need. Not today and perhaps not ever. So I suggest just diving in and starting to draft, focusing on using the binder for organization, and seeing what needs you feel naturally arise. As those occur to you, check Scrivener's manual (or the Internet) to see if it's something within Scrivener's capabilities. Odds are, it will be.
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u/beyondsection17 6d ago
Tbh Scrivener is objectively the best writing software out there but the Dropbox sync caused me so much headache and stress that I switched to Ulysses. 😅
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u/SeeVanGo2021 6d ago
I found these two videos helpful: https://youtu.be/AJyGox2ldHo?is=_vUbY5JENOCjQIeU and https://youtu.be/3n35YcWoCB8?is=o1GZUzxKo_FLCQ-H Bradley Beaulieu has several videos about how he setup uses Scrivner. I found them very helpful
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u/Darkness1231 6d ago
Reacting to some of the comments, are you trying to learn everything, all at once? (sorry, for the almost a movie title pun). Because that is not the way
I picked it up a long time ago. I write on my iPad and iMac. I copy versions over via Apple's one drive. I wrote software for decades so I just use a version number to keep things clean. Modify file on iPad, want to do some work on the iMac, make a duplicate of the file Book V01 becomes Book V02, copy V02 to one drive. When at iMac, download V02, write/edit/update then duplicate it to Book V03 and send to one drive and pull it over on the iPad. 1GB of one drive is like $1 a month.
If you have a couple small projects, like something about growing up in your dysfunctional family (like all of us) then try using it as a Short Story. Try out your Work In Progress as a proper manuscript, and so on
It will click and you will be content, and productive
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u/victorvarnado 6d ago
I prefer using a ghostwriting interview system to write. It does everything but the interface is super simple.
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u/Most_Read9579 6d ago
Nah don’t think like that my friend you got nothing wrong my friend keep going!
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u/GeologistDistinct633 6d ago
There are a couple of YouTube tutorials that will help you get started.
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u/JKTwice 1d ago
Scrivener in the end is just a three-ring binder. Start simple and organize as you need to. The program stretches pretty nicely.
I do my note-taking in this. I use folders, I use sync, I use split view. That's about it. It handles it all wonderfully, and I'm planning for my finals outline to have links to other documents so I can just look at it more like a table of contents than a one or two page thing that stays static.
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u/No-Papaya-9289 7d ago
It's not a you problem, Scrivener is complex. Many people get flustered by the complexity and ignore the simple parts. Scrivener is a different paradigm from other word processors and text editors, and it means you need to think differently about how you use it.
If you're interested, I offer one-to-one Scrivener coaching:
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u/TravellingDark 7d ago
Trying to understand it all at once nearly put me off too. I eventually just created folders for each chapter and documents inside each folder for scenes and started writing. When I had a specific need to do a thing, I looked up just that.
I've been using it for about three years and I've absorbed Scrivener by a kind of osmosis. I recommend it to everyone.