I got Scrivener 2 weeks ago and have been transferring my rough draft in. By the second day, I was crying tears of joy and have gotten more work done in that time then I did the previous 3 or 4 months! I honest to god had maybe 40 word documents organized in columns on the desktop of my computer. That's how I kept things in order. Now I understand that I was living like an animal and I will never ever ever go back. So proselytize away. Love your stuff and thank you!
I am... definitely one of those writers who has individual docs for scenes and chapters. Most times, I'll open a google doc and write a couple thousand words for a scene and close it without naming it, so I have around 20+ "Untitled Document" docs in my google drive.
I love scrivener! Its so easy to organise and reorganise your ideas and the word count tracking is so useful to keep me motivated. I only use part of its functionality but i love exploring and finding additional features that make writing so much easier.
I''m so glad I came across your videos! You are so informative and so inspiring! I am so excited to import my 32,000 WIP into Scrivener and get finishing my first draft! I had become way too overwhelmed with all my different chapters/scenes in my book and it was too chaotic to try to get them streamlined into a chronological order and have it make sense. With this application I'm going to give it a go and am so inspired now! Thank you!! :)
You’ve convinced me. When I started my book a few months ago, a book coach told me scrivener is too complex and most writers find it overwhelming. So I ended up going with one of the monthly subscription platforms. But I’m tired of shelling out the $10 per month when I know I could buy scrivener once and just have it. Time to go watch your tutorial videos…
I love Scrivener. I use an outline from Abbie Emmons' channel, modified per KM Weiland and others' ideas. Abbie has a Scrivener template, which was my starting point. Open to the blank template, save it with the novel name, and start filling in scenes labelled on the left side, e.g. if I know the ending, crisis point, etc. At that point I'm using the note-card view and just entering brief scene descriptions. As it gets more filled-in, I switch to text view and fill in the action & dialog in whichever part I'm in the mood to write. Once the outline is pretty well filled in, I go to the beginning and write for real. I take 'em to my critique group and simply note the comments I'm going to incorporate. When I get to the end, that's the 1st draft! Go to the beginning again, and as I polish each one, that's the revised or 2nd draft. "Lather, rinse, repeat" 'til it's ready for a pro editor. Then publish! Recently, I was horrified to see it stop running with the latest (20) upgrade to Linux Mint. Went to the Linux site for Scrivener and someone created an "appimage" for it. Meaning all the libraries that constantly disappear or change are built into an executable file of the app. You just de-zip it and put it in a directory, link to it on the desktop for ease of use. Either way, first time you use it it's added to the main menu. It now runs better than ever, certainly better than on Windows or with Wine (emulator) on Linux. Mac is the best implementation of Scrivener, but I stopped liking Mac OS when they started using mountain names... not because of the mountains, but because it became as bloated and "cloud" dependent as crummy Windows. Gotta go write... bye!
I used the trial version of Scrivener for a bit and I was quite keen on it. Although after watching your video I’ve finally committed to the purchase. Thanks =]
I have found the split-screen horizontal feature in any word processing software to be the most useful feature in my writing. I wish Scrivener would add an additional feature of splitting the screen into three views, or at least splitting one of the splits.
Thanks Alexa. i thought i was the only one that found this software complicated. had it for months and to scared to use it. how ever nowe i found your video's i am giving it a go.
A frustrated geek writer wannabe here. I really want to start writing (hence my watching your vids and trying to get to the 'first draft' stage. I've written down a blip of an opening scene which I think has a huge potential. Like you talk about here, I had tried MS Word but gave up. I just bought Scrivener 3.0 for MacOS and am going to try your ideas with that.
I think Scrivener isn't for me, since I always write in a Google doc on the go - when I'm going to school, shopping, etc. But I might try it to organize my notes though!
Any recs for Chromebook users? Scrivener does not yet love Chromebook users. Right now, I'm using Google Docs and it's Fine, but at some point, probably I'll want something that does more.
I wrote my first and second drafts on my phone. Like literally in my phone’s notes app. Been looking for something still on my phone that’s a little more powerful...
It was right around 70,000. I’m doing a re-write edit on it and I’m at about 12k now. Still on my phone. Did totally find its iOS app after this video. I super duper love it!! Now EVERYTHING is in one app! It’s been very helpful.
Can you do a comparison of Scrivener vs Shaxpir for writing. I use shaxpir (it's free) and want to know if scrivener is so much better that it's worth getting. Thanks, I also I really love your work.
I started using the demo version and i love it so much, but I'm still having doubts about buying the full version because they dont have a mobile app for android. I'm a kind of person who has random ideas at random moments all the time, so i need to have an option to write on mobile
Love your videos and it is a ton of help for a newbie writer like me. Just a question on Scrivener. I read in the comments that a few people lost all of their work using Scrivener. Does it happen a lot of times and have you faced the problem?
Is there a way to change the overall target (i.e. the top bar that shows up when you hit cntrl+,)? I have multiple books in one file and I'd like to change the target to reflect the current book rather than the word count of the entire manuscripts folder. Thanks, Alexa!
I'm currently investigating Scribner and curious if I need to purchase 2 apps, one for desktop and one for laptop or will one purchase download to both places? Thanks for the PC demo as I'm not a Mac girl either.
Very useful. Thanks. Could you help with advise on historical novels? I find that I have to describe things unfamiliar to modern people, and risk boring the reader. How do I balance this?
Hi thank you so much for your videos they help a lot. I had a question, is there a way to export or compile your project the way it looks in Scrivener? Like say I want to export my writing with green letters or whatever for example. Thanks in advance! Just subbed.
Hello Alexa. I'm newly subscribed, big fan, first time caller. Do you have any experience with plugins such as Gramerly or ProWritingAid. You're incredibly informative and was hoping you had thoughts or opinions on them. Thanks!
Alexa Donne Thank you for considering it! I know a lot of people use them in their editing process. They are subscription based (I think) so I'm just trying to decide whether they would benefit me enough to take the leap. Your videos have been a big help in my journey as a writer. Thanks again 😎👍
I have a question about titles. Now I don't know if you have covered this in a video before but I am trying to work my way through you catalog of videos so I don't make you answer things you've already answered. So my question, when going through the publishing process how likely from what you know is the publisher to keep the name you submitted you story with?
That's a great question! Definitely worth a future video. I don't have any hard & fast numbers, but the sense I get from talking to friends is that your title changes about 50% of the time. Sometimes it's at the agented stage before you go on submission, other times it's after you sell/get the deal. It's not uncommon for the title to change because the marketing department of your publisher wants something else. My advice is to take care with your title at the querying stage--enough that you're not using a title of an already published/upcoming book--but not so much you get super attached, because it will likely change.
Thank you so much for letting me know what you already have found out about this topic, I am very appreciative for your advice. I look forward to seeing the possible future video. I meant to congratulate you on your cover reveal and the write up on ew.com that is so amazing hope you get to celebrate it now that you're no longer really ill.
Recently I downloaded Scrivener to my travel laptop (Windows 8.1) and copied parts of my manuscript into Scrivener. At home I prefer to write on my desktop (Windows 10). How can I transfer of copy it to my laptop?
You need to backup your Scrivener file as a zip--if you to go File and then select Backup To (select a location), it saves it as a zip. I then upload my backup zip to Google Drive, download on my other computer, unzip and then voila. It's worked seamlessly for me.
You face will go very nicely on the back of a book (a jacket cover?). Thanks for the video; it could have been much shorter. In other words, it's very wordy, but I need the intro. thanks.
I have noticed near the end of all of your videos the sound doesn’t match your mouth moving. It’s very distracting. I love your videos, but I can’t watch while I’m listening because of this.
Hmm, I might check your connection or device? I watch every video through before it is uploaded to UA-cam to ensure they sync--checked this one just now (above) and it does. I don't think it's a universal issue?
I got Scrivener 2 weeks ago and have been transferring my rough draft in. By the second day, I was crying tears of joy and have gotten more work done in that time then I did the previous 3 or 4 months! I honest to god had maybe 40 word documents organized in columns on the desktop of my computer. That's how I kept things in order. Now I understand that I was living like an animal and I will never ever ever go back. So proselytize away. Love your stuff and thank you!
I am... definitely one of those writers who has individual docs for scenes and chapters. Most times, I'll open a google doc and write a couple thousand words for a scene and close it without naming it, so I have around 20+ "Untitled Document" docs in my google drive.
Oh that's me lol
Scrivener is Amazing. Been using it for years and it's only gotten better.
I love that term, “chaotically organized”. ❤️
I never knew about the color word count goal thingy! I think that'll help me for sure! Thank you :)
It helps me SO MUCH. I'm such a compulsive person, and checking it constantly actually helps me haha.
As soon as you said ‘chaotic organized’ I knew this was the video for me!
I love scrivener! Its so easy to organise and reorganise your ideas and the word count tracking is so useful to keep me motivated. I only use part of its functionality but i love exploring and finding additional features that make writing so much easier.
I''m so glad I came across your videos! You are so informative and so inspiring! I am so excited to import my 32,000 WIP into Scrivener and get finishing my first draft! I had become way too overwhelmed with all my different chapters/scenes in my book and it was too chaotic to try to get them streamlined into a chronological order and have it make sense. With this application I'm going to give it a go and am so inspired now! Thank you!! :)
You’ve convinced me. When I started my book a few months ago, a book coach told me scrivener is too complex and most writers find it overwhelming. So I ended up going with one of the monthly subscription platforms. But I’m tired of shelling out the $10 per month when I know I could buy scrivener once and just have it. Time to go watch your tutorial videos…
I love Scrivener. I use an outline from Abbie Emmons' channel, modified per KM Weiland and others' ideas. Abbie has a Scrivener template, which was my starting point. Open to the blank template, save it with the novel name, and start filling in scenes labelled on the left side, e.g. if I know the ending, crisis point, etc. At that point I'm using the note-card view and just entering brief scene descriptions. As it gets more filled-in, I switch to text view and fill in the action & dialog in whichever part I'm in the mood to write.
Once the outline is pretty well filled in, I go to the beginning and write for real. I take 'em to my critique group and simply note the comments I'm going to incorporate. When I get to the end, that's the 1st draft! Go to the beginning again, and as I polish each one, that's the revised or 2nd draft.
"Lather, rinse, repeat" 'til it's ready for a pro editor. Then publish!
Recently, I was horrified to see it stop running with the latest (20) upgrade to Linux Mint. Went to the Linux site for Scrivener and someone created an "appimage" for it. Meaning all the libraries that constantly disappear or change are built into an executable file of the app. You just de-zip it and put it in a directory, link to it on the desktop for ease of use. Either way, first time you use it it's added to the main menu.
It now runs better than ever, certainly better than on Windows or with Wine (emulator) on Linux. Mac is the best implementation of Scrivener, but I stopped liking Mac OS when they started using mountain names... not because of the mountains, but because it became as bloated and "cloud" dependent as crummy Windows.
Gotta go write... bye!
I used the trial version of Scrivener for a bit and I was quite keen on it. Although after watching your video I’ve finally committed to the purchase. Thanks =]
I've taken to using it for academic papers, as well! It's really helpful for longer more indepth assignments
SCRIVENER SOUNDS LIKE A GIANT INCENTIVE SYSTEM 😂 and I'm here for it!! Gonna check out the trial period.
I enjoy your videos and am trying to be an author. Thanks! Keep 'em coming!
This is so helpful! I think I'm going to try it out. I've definitely a visual thinker so having more organization sounds amazing!
Thanks. I've been using docs for awhile now but scrivener have alot of features to use. Again thank you for this
I needed this because I wanted to figure out whether or not I needed to use scrivener
Not even 5 minutes in and I’m sold
It really helped reading the manual top to bottom. It is 363 pages though.
I've been using Scrivener for years, but I haven't tried the session target before now. It's so useful!! Thanks :-)
I have found the split-screen horizontal feature in any word processing software to be the most useful feature in my writing. I wish Scrivener would add an additional feature of splitting the screen into three views, or at least splitting one of the splits.
Woooooow m so glad i found ur channel.
Thanks Alexa. i thought i was the only one that found this software complicated. had it for months and to scared to use it. how ever nowe i found your video's i am giving it a go.
I like Sxrivener & use it. Might try Campfire for world building fantasy worlds.
A frustrated geek writer wannabe here. I really want to start writing (hence my watching your vids and trying to get to the 'first draft' stage. I've written down a blip of an opening scene which I think has a huge potential. Like you talk about here, I had tried MS Word but gave up. I just bought Scrivener 3.0 for MacOS and am going to try your ideas with that.
I think Scrivener isn't for me, since I always write in a Google doc on the go - when I'm going to school, shopping, etc. But I might try it to organize my notes though!
I personally use Notion.so
It can be more dynamic and changeable, but In regards to compiling and metadata, scriv simplifies a lot of things.
Any recs for Chromebook users? Scrivener does not yet love Chromebook users.
Right now, I'm using Google Docs and it's Fine, but at some point, probably I'll want something that does more.
I wrote my first and second drafts on my phone. Like literally in my phone’s notes app. Been looking for something still on my phone that’s a little more powerful...
Holy shit... How many words total?
Also! Good news! Scrivener has an iOS app
It was right around 70,000. I’m doing a re-write edit on it and I’m at about 12k now. Still on my phone. Did totally find its iOS app after this video. I super duper love it!! Now EVERYTHING is in one app! It’s been very helpful.
@@jaydingiesler5280 Yay! Glad to hear your writing journey is going well. I'm finishing up a 50k novel myself right now. I use another app though.
Can you do a comparison of Scrivener vs Shaxpir for writing. I use shaxpir (it's free) and want to know if scrivener is so much better that it's worth getting. Thanks, I also I really love your work.
I started using the demo version and i love it so much, but I'm still having doubts about buying the full version because they dont have a mobile app for android. I'm a kind of person who has random ideas at random moments all the time, so i need to have an option to write on mobile
Do you know if you can use scrivener with voice recognition software like dragon? Very informative, thanks for the info.
Does it work: yes, but it doesn't have 'full-text control'. if you want my advice, dictate on Notepad/TextEdit and copy and paste it over.
Love your videos and it is a ton of help for a newbie writer like me.
Just a question on Scrivener. I read in the comments that a few people lost all of their work using Scrivener. Does it happen a lot of times and have you faced the problem?
The thing that works best for me is a good table of content and writing about four pages a secession.
Is there a way to change the overall target (i.e. the top bar that shows up when you hit cntrl+,)? I have multiple books in one file and I'd like to change the target to reflect the current book rather than the word count of the entire manuscripts folder. Thanks, Alexa!
Does Scrivener work best with a Mac ?
I'm currently investigating Scribner and curious if I need to purchase 2 apps, one for desktop and one for laptop or will one purchase download to both places? Thanks for the PC demo as I'm not a Mac girl either.
Very useful. Thanks. Could you help with advise on historical novels? I find that I have to describe things unfamiliar to modern people, and risk boring the reader. How do I balance this?
Hi thank you so much for your videos they help a lot. I had a question, is there a way to export or compile your project the way it looks in Scrivener? Like say I want to export my writing with green letters or whatever for example. Thanks in advance! Just subbed.
Hello Alexa. I'm newly subscribed, big fan, first time caller. Do you have any experience with plugins such as Gramerly or ProWritingAid. You're incredibly informative and was hoping you had thoughts or opinions on them. Thanks!
I don't have experience with those, unfortunately! But I will check them out, in case they're worth making a video on!
Alexa Donne Thank you for considering it! I know a lot of people use them in their editing process. They are subscription based (I think) so I'm just trying to decide whether they would benefit me enough to take the leap. Your videos have been a big help in my journey as a writer. Thanks again 😎👍
I have a question about titles. Now I don't know if you have covered this in a video before but I am trying to work my way through you catalog of videos so I don't make you answer things you've already answered. So my question, when going through the publishing process how likely from what you know is the publisher to keep the name you submitted you story with?
That's a great question! Definitely worth a future video. I don't have any hard & fast numbers, but the sense I get from talking to friends is that your title changes about 50% of the time. Sometimes it's at the agented stage before you go on submission, other times it's after you sell/get the deal. It's not uncommon for the title to change because the marketing department of your publisher wants something else. My advice is to take care with your title at the querying stage--enough that you're not using a title of an already published/upcoming book--but not so much you get super attached, because it will likely change.
Thank you so much for letting me know what you already have found out about this topic, I am very appreciative for your advice. I look forward to seeing the possible future video. I meant to congratulate you on your cover reveal and the write up on ew.com that is so amazing hope you get to celebrate it now that you're no longer really ill.
Recently I downloaded Scrivener to my travel laptop (Windows 8.1) and copied parts of my manuscript into Scrivener. At home I prefer to write on my desktop (Windows 10). How can I transfer of copy it to my laptop?
You need to backup your Scrivener file as a zip--if you to go File and then select Backup To (select a location), it saves it as a zip. I then upload my backup zip to Google Drive, download on my other computer, unzip and then voila. It's worked seamlessly for me.
Thanks.
PC version is getting bumped to v3, so big stuff is coming this end of the year
You face will go very nicely on the back of a book (a jacket cover?).
Thanks for the video; it could have been much shorter. In other words, it's very wordy, but I need the intro. thanks.
My last name is scrivener an iv never know what it meant,guess now I do.
I have noticed near the end of all of your videos the sound doesn’t match your mouth moving. It’s very distracting. I love your videos, but I can’t watch while I’m listening because of this.
Hmm, I might check your connection or device? I watch every video through before it is uploaded to UA-cam to ensure they sync--checked this one just now (above) and it does. I don't think it's a universal issue?
Alexa Donne Thanks for the reply. I will check my connection.
Alexa Donne I don’t think it’s my connection. I watched another UA-cam video and it was fine. Then I rewatched this one and it did the same thing.
I hate it. Asked for a refund. Sticking to Word.