Scrivener | Why You Should Buy It

For my writing I use a program called Scrivener. I started writing my first book not knowing anything about writing, editing, publishing, really anything about the project. I've always loved reading and writing but never thought I could actually write a book. Anyway, I have a mac, so I wrote plainly on pages. This went fine. I created a folder and saved each chapter individually. It was great. Long story short, I scrapped that book. I still have it on file but I wasn't feeling it anymore.

Before starting my curse series, I researched. I found various applications and tried them out. I got trial versions so I could test drive them all. My favorite by far is scrivener. I ended up buying it for $49.99 on amazon. They have the automatic download on there. I fell in love with it. It is much like other applications but with extras and I find it easier to use.

It starts you off with a tutorial. This was extremely useful! It shows you how to work it, which buttons to push for short cuts and everything you ever need to know. If you forget you can click the link and it will go through it again. I am constantly watching the tutorial when I forget things.

This is what the page mainly looks like. It is like a cork board. As you can see it is set up by scenes. Personally I did it a little different. Instead of setting it by scenes I did it chapter by chapter. I wrote it out in pages and copy and pasted it into scrivener. I wanted one place where all my information was. This was extremely helpful.

Another great thing this application does is set up locations, characters and plots. It allow a special area where you can input all this information. You can set up each character. List all their information and even put a picture there. Then you can write out each location. This is a helpful tool because all your notes are in one spot. If you forget what a character looks like all you have to do is click their name. Here is the character cork board.

The best part of scrivener is that it sets up your manuscript. It allows you to export it, compile it, print it, send it out or whatever you need to do. You can create an e-book or paperback. All of this is crucial when sending out manuscripts to editors or publishers. You can add in your cover or pictures. The program is the whole package.

Anything you want to do as an author you can do with this application. It will tell you word count or how many words per chapter. It lets you search for a name or word and tells you how often it occurs and where. You can do whatever you want. Each edit you can make a certain color. It makes organizing your essay easier than ever. I definitely recommend using scrivener if you like to be organized. Your writing will improve instantly.