writing process

Which Scrivener Features Do You Really Need?

March 30, 2019 By Gwen Hernandez 6 Comments

I recently started a Scrivener Q&A column for my newsletter subscribers. One reader, Avril, asked how to determine which features you really need and which ones are distractions.

For example, she’d color coded her scene documents with Labels at one point because she learned how and it looked cool, but it didn’t really serve her process other than to make the Binder (list of scenes/chapters) look pretty.

Obviously, which of Scrivener’s tools are useful—or only useful for procrastination—depends on what and how you write. And it may change from project to project.

To help you figure out what’s right for you, I’ve developed a Writer Unboxed-exclusive, not-so-scientific, three-stage plan for getting the most out of Scrivener without getting overwhelmed. It’s what I preach to my private students and in my workshops, and I hope you find it useful for learning anything new.

1. Start by learning the basics so you can at least use Scrivener to write.

This requires a little time and discomfort upfront, but you’ll be better able to judge Scrivener’s value if you can actually use it. To get started, check out the free tutorial that comes with the software, but don’t worry about memorizing everything or even finishing the tutorial right now. Think of it as a nice introduction to what Scrivener can do, not something you must commit to memory before you can start working.

2. Learn the features that got you excited to switch to Scrivener in the first place.

Maybe it was the Corkboard for storyboarding, maybe it was tracking your progress, or maybe it was just being able to see the structure of your story in the Binder as you build it. Whatever it was, learn those functions as soon as possible so you’ll be able to get what you wanted out of Scrivener in the first place and be happy with your choice to switch .

3. Add more tools to your repertoire as your comfort level builds, or as needs dictate.

It’s good to focus only on what you need so Scrivener doesn’t become a distraction from what really matters: writing. But, it’s also helpful to know what Scrivener can do so that when you want a capability, you already know there’s a solution. Honestly, if you think it should exist, there’s a 91% chance (totally made up number that reflects my anecdotal experience) that it does exist.

In my blog posts, workshops, and classes, I try to highlight what I think are the most useful features. Not so you feel like you have to know/use all of them—I sure don’t—but so you know they exist in case you ever want them.

Avril didn’t find color coding helpful in her past projects, but what if her next one requires her to submit and then edit portions of the manuscript while she’s still writing other chapters? A quick visual aid for the status of each section might save her sanity. (I speak from experience.)

So, stage 3 is for those who say, “I’ve been using Scrivener for months/years, and I like it, [Read more…]

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Sinking Into The Bog

March 8, 2019 By David Corbett 37 Comments

In my last post (“Inspired to Emulation—or Preparing to Jump“), I talked about The Rule of No Rules, and how reading other writers you admire will provide the best writing advice you will ever receive.

Not long after the post went up, one of my favorite novelists, Adrian McKinty—who writes brilliantly about Northern Ireland during the Troubles from the perspective of a Catholic detective serving in the overwhelmingly Protestant Royal Ulster Constabulary—posted the following letter on Twitter. He composed it to an aspiring author who had asked his advice on this whole writing business. This is what Adrian wrote in response (the recipient’s name has been removed for the sake of privacy ):

I’m tempted to end this blog post here, because I couldn’t possibly say anything as perfect, but that would be cheating, or lazy, or both. So instead, I’m going to talk a little about my writing process, and in so doing I ironically intend to prove that Adrian is absolutely right—there are no rules. (Incidentally — for more on Adrian and his truly wonderful books, visit his blog The Psychopathology of Everyday Life.)

[Read more…]

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The In-Between Stages of Writing

September 7, 2018 By Natalia Sylvester 11 Comments

There are so many in-between phases in the writing life.

There’s the time before you begin writing a story, but have already felt the beginnings of a story simmering inside you.

The time between finishing a draft and revising it.

The time between finishing that draft and revising it yet again. (Repeat as necessary.)

The time between finishing a story and starting a new one.

What do you do with that in-between time? I’ve discovered this must be what non-writers call hobbies. Things that bring you joy, that you do purely for fun and pleasure. Which isn’t to say that writing is not something that brings me joy or that brings me pleasure…it’s just that I don’t quite see it as a hobby so much as a part of my life. Like breathing and reading.

I’m learning that the most nurturing hobbies for me are the ones that allow me to turn off my writer’s brain for a bit. Walking through my house the other day, I realized something. [Read more…]

Beyond the Gates – Challenging Yourself, Your Characters and Your Readers

July 23, 2017 By John J Kelley

An Old City Marker in Washington, DC. Photo by John J Kelley.

Leaving the Old City

My partner and I recently became outsiders, quite by accident. You see, this spring we took up residence in a modern building several blocks from our prior home in a converted row house in the Dupont Circle area of Washington, DC. We knew the move would bring changes. Indeed, we welcomed them. But it wasn’t until unpacking boxes several days later that I had an unexpected epiphany. Scanning the urban landscape from our new living room, the Washington Monument hovering on the horizon, I realized our current building sits just outside the boundaries of the “old city,” those streets and avenues built in accordance with architect Pierre L’Enfant’s original city plan.

In the weeks since, I’ve continued pondering this juxtaposition, enamored by the idea of hovering on the periphery, observing the comings and goings of inhabitants of the preordained community laid out literally before me. I think to myself, “Isn’t this the role of writers, ultimately, to step beyond the turmoil, all too abundant these days, and to incorporate the insights we gain into our work, consciously and subconsciously?”

It seems to me that it is, and in that regard the move has awakened my writing. Somehow moving out from the tended gardens and streetscapes of an established historic district to the more bohemian buzz of our new neighborhood has given me freedom to sprinkle a little grit into scenes. My characters have grown thicker skin. They are more prone to speak up or act out in pursuit of their goals, which don’t skew quite as noble as they began. And while the overall plot trajectory may not have altered (yet), the tone has undergone a notable shift.

This ongoing evolution has me thinking about how change impacts the writing process, nudging writers, characters, and ultimately readers in new directions. Here are a few observations on the act, and consequences, of “shaking things up,” both on and off the page.
[Read more…]

The Number One Subject to Study for Writing Success

February 3, 2017 By Cathy Yardley

Sorry – that’s a bit of a clickbait title, I know. But how often have you seen that kind of writing article? How often have writing reference books stated their stances in stark, all-or-nothing, my-way-or-the-highway terms?

Cut out all prologues.

Burn all adverbs.

If you don’t plot, you’re a mess.

If you do plot, you’re a robot.

(Did I mention that the advice is often conflicting?)

I am a contrarian. Much of my writing career has been motivated by sheer spite. I’m not proud of this, but I know myself, and I know that if you tell me I can’t do something, I’m going to laugh and wave at you with my proof of accomplishment at some point. It’s just my nature.

I’ve been writing professionally for nearly twenty years now. In that time, I’d like to think that I’ve learned some things, about the industry, about writing, and about writers. In that time, there is one fact I believe, profoundly, when it comes to writing and publishing. [Read more…]

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