Scrivener

#1
Scrivener, from Literature and Latte is a "...powerful content-generation tool for writers... ", and if you won NaNoWriMo, you can get it for 50% off for the Mac & PC versions. (They also offer an IOS version, but that can't be discounted, because Apple doesn't have a method to allow that in their APP store.)

Anyone else used it? How did it work for you?

RE: Scrivener

#2
I use it although I should state that I by no means use all of the functions. I write my PDFs/etc with hand, so I can't say anything about the "publishing" features, but I like the way you can sort and include all kind of things, make shortcuts to brainstorming pages or character sheets and have everything there in one writing program. I think it can be a bit of an overkill for (new/some/?) indie writers as everything can be also done with a good folder structure and free software. It's luxury but it can help you save time loading other programs, searching through your folders, ...

So if you save some - let's say 3 - minutes each writing session, I would end up saving 8+ hours a year. I often compare such time with my wage and so for me it was an easy call to buy it after some testing. And especially the autosave and roll back functions saved me multiple times already. So even with just using a part of it, I would still recommend it to anyone who has the money and is looking for an easy allround-solution. It's luxury, but it can make life quite a bit easier. And for me that alone is worth the price...

RE: Scrivener

#4
Scrivener is 100% necessary for me at this point.

My project, Of Astral and Umbral, is huge. I have dozens of files dedicated to world building. Cultures, races, character profiles, magic systems; the works.

Scrivener lets me have all of these files in one project and I get to organize them into the file structure I prefer.

Not only do I get to organize everything in an easy-to-find way, but there's also a built-in option for split screen view--which makes cross-referencing and searching while I work easy. And I can make it even easier by using notecard view when I search; because regardless of file type, everything in my project has its own notecard that I can scribble brief summaries or information on. Like this.

This is a good example of what my Scrivener project looked like when I first started importing files.

The only thing I use MS Word or Google Docs for at the moment is extra editing and sending out copies of chapters to beta readers/editors. Most editors will require I send them a .doc or .docx file, but that isn't a problem since Scrivener has export features.

I've also used Scrivener for formatting a print edition book. In the next few months I will be formatting my own book for both print and e-book editions.
Looking for stuff to read? Click below to navigate to my stories.

https://i.imgur.com/r6iTizF.jpg

RE: Scrivener

#5
Scrivener is 100% the best program out there. I've used it for the last 3 years, have the whole of TSK's world in there, 1 million words, 750 of those the novels and spin-offs. With the rest in research and planning.

The whole of my team have access to the one file and if they need to update anything they email me to let me know.

Also Aeon timeline with Scrivener is awesome. We've the timeline matched and synchronised so nothing is missed. When I was contemplating on some of the spin-off stories this was a great feature, because I could just input key events in characters lives, and Scrivener and Aeon syncd so that I had files to write in!

Highly recommended, and if anyone needs a code, please do mail me to pass it on, I have no need for it this year. :)

RE: Scrivener

#7
As someone who writes nearly every day, I can tell you that it is vital to my writing process. There are just so many little things that I've gotten used to and now can't live without. I recently assisted an acquaintance with getting through their Master's Degree in Nursing, and if you have to do any type of actual research, Scrivener is the only tool I can recommend.

Be aware that it is designed for Mac. If you're a PC user (like me), you'll have to deal with the fact that they're not too terribly interested in making the PC version as perfectly spiffy as the Mac version is. It works fine, but it's simply not as polished.

With that said, I have no reservations recommending it. At all.

RE: Scrivener

#8
I think it was Charles Stross who pointed out Scrivener's big advantage is providing an integrated environment for the writing of novels.

I'm going to suck it up and pay the bloody $20 for the iOS version so I can have a low-imprint writing machine while on a cruise. I'll pair my iPhone 7 with a Logitech K480 keyboard and swan about with them in my jaunty man-purse, gadding about the decks and... whatever other things a ship has.
She's a VRMMORPG player on a mission: Granny God-mode
"Old age and treachery always overcomes youth and skill" -Proverb

Re: Scrivener

#11
I bounce between Scrivener and yWriter a lot, mainly because yWriter does a better job for me for NaNoWriMo, but Scrivener has better export options and i find it easier to tweak the editing area for reduced eyestrain. I just wish that Scrivener did a better job building the table of contents in the epub export, but that's the trade off for how flexible it can be with organizing your work.

Re: Scrivener

#12
I wrote my first novel entirely in Word, but when I needed to transform it into an e-book I encountered many issues. With Scrivener, exporting has become a breeze, and I usually only need to do some touch-ups. I really wish there'd be a way for Grammarly to be integrated into the program, however, so I don't need to copy and paste text back and forth :S

Re: Scrivener

#14
I know this is an older thread, but I'd like to echo my support for Scrivener. My only experience has been with Scrivener 3 (the most recent version) on the Mac, but I can't imagine going back to Word.

I haven't taken too much advantage of keeping notes in Scrivener. For me, what matters the most is in organizing chapters and scenes. I can see at a glance what all my scenes are, and can jump right to the one I'm looking for (for my scene labels, I use "POV Character: Brief Description", to make it easier to find what I want). Or I can write a whole batch of scenes, then shuffle them around as I decide how to assign them to chapters. I can view one scene at a time, or view the entire chapter if I want to see how it flows together. I can drag three chapters into my "Current Release" folder and compile them to a PDF to release on my Patreon account, then drag them into the "Book 1" folder to see how the ebook is coming along.

Re: Scrivener

#15
I pretty much only write in Scrivener these days, but the lack of an update-to-date Windows version has been annoying. The 3.0 version should be out on Windows in the next couple months though. I've been using the beta. I switch between Mac/Win every day so I need it to work on both. :-)

I like being able to split out chapters into scenes, and have individual synopsis tied to each one. That and being able to store all the location, character, and misc information in one project file is so much more convenient than a bunch of separate Google Docs or Word files. There's a similar free program called Bibisco that has many of the same features and works on Mac/Win/Linux. It's not as polished, but if Scrivener was too expensive for someone, it could be a good fit.

Re: Scrivener

#16
Scrivener is pretty great for deep worldbuilding, as well as building a framework and letting you fill it in later.  If you're the type that randomly gets an idea about a character or a town, it gives you a simple way to quickly and easily save that idea.  And if you don't like the framework you've set up, it's easy to change it.  The flexibility of folders being files and folders at the same time is really magical, and the template system is quite useful.

Re: Scrivener

#18
Scrivener is great for organizing your story/stories. I'm writing several that use a common plot structure, so I created a project as a template that I can 'save as' to create a new story. Tip - If you open two or more projects on the desktop and re-size each window so you can see the Binder, you can drag folders/files from one Binder to another where it makes a copy - it doesn't move the file/folder but copies it. 

Anyway, just wading in here with a first post. Hello everybody! 

Re: Scrivener

#19
Scrivener is a great program, no doubt. Another option for folks who like to organize things is OneNote. If you have Microsoft Office, this might be a viable option. The biggest drawback, in comparison to Scrivener, is that OneNote is not really ideal for composition. It is good for storing and organizing info, though. Also, depending on if you have a touchscreen hooked up, you can add sketches. 

Just wanted to mention that as an alternative.