# What's the hype about Scrivener?



## DARION (Sep 3, 2014)

I saw a few days a ago a software called Scrivener. It has testimonials that it's making the writer's life easier. Is it really true? For me, it's just tool but you still have the decision on how you make your writing life.


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## smikeo (Dec 1, 2014)

I started writing in Scrivener. It's awesome. Not earth-shattering-how-could-I-live-before-this awesome, but it makes writing nicer.
I don't struggle with some things that I struggled before (like finding things in the book, swapping and inserting chapters and so on), and formatting is completely painless.

There is a learning curve, but the demo is free for a month, and I think it's worth a try.


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## 75814 (Mar 12, 2014)

It's certainly made my writing process easier. Helped me stay organized, stay on task, makes it a lot easier to produce ebooks, and it's so much simpler writing comic scripts or screenplays in Scrivener than in Word. 

Could I do all this stuff without Scrivener? Sure, but it would require a lot more extra work. Instead of having one Scrivener file where everything is stored, I'd probably have half a dozen Word windows open on my desktop and another two dozen Finder windows.

It's a tool, like anything else, and it's up to you how to make the most of it. The free trial is very generous, so just give it a shot for yourself.


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## ufwriter (Jan 12, 2015)

I love Scrivener because it has the ability to divide each chapter into its own "section" instead of having one massive scrolling document in Word. It's great for revisions because you can find what you're looking for so much easier.


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## TheIndieEditor (Jan 12, 2015)

A lot of my clients use Scrivener, and I've never heard a bad word about it. Its modularity makes it a lot more convenient than, say, Word, as it allows for quick rearrangements of chapters and makes it easy to export to a variety of file types.


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## N. Gemini Sasson (Jul 5, 2010)

I know I'm not alone in this, but I bailed on it after spending a month trying to figure it out. For me, it just added extra steps to an already simple process. I outline, then write in Word, occasionally untangle my plot on a whiteboard, and I'm good.


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## Stewart Matthews (Nov 21, 2014)

Scrivener's organization tools are awesome. That, for me, was worth the $40. Also, it's $40, and I can install it on as many computers as I like. I'd use Scrivener exclusively if I didn't have to send around .doc files every now and again.


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## TBD (Mar 14, 2014)

M Stephen Stewart said:


> Scrivener's organization tools are awesome. That, for me, was worth the $40. Also, it's $40, and I can install it on as many computers as I like. I'd use Scrivener exclusively if I didn't have to send around .doc files every now and again.


And you can get it for $32 with coupon - WORDSWITHJAM. I love it! ;-)


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## Gone 9/21/18 (Dec 11, 2008)

I think Scrivener is just a tool. For those of us who like it and use it, it's a good one. For those who don't like it or who are happy with what they're using and have no reason to try something else, it's not a good tool.

For me, posts right here on KBoards about Scrivener features are what made me try it. I'd just gone through edits that were really difficult with an entire book as one document in Word Perfect, my preferred word processing program and one I thought I'd never, ever give up. In fact I haven't given WP up, I still use it for everything other than books. What happened was more than half of my beta readers on one book didn't like the hero and I needed to soften his personality. So I wanted to take every scene in his POV and rewrite.

First I tried going to each scene in his POV within the larger document, but that gave me consistency worries as I searched and swooped around. Finally I decided to pull them all out of the main document so as to have them one after another. That left me having to put the changed scenes back where they belonged and worrying about making a mistake and ending up with a tangle. From the KBoards posts about Scrivener I knew I could do what I wanted in Scrivener easily, so I switched.

I spent one day going through the Scrivener tutorial before starting with the program. I skipped anything that I didn't need to know right at that moment and just concentrated on the basics I did need to know to get started. I put an older short story with 3 chapters in the program to experiment with, and off I went. The only problem I ever had was moving things with the mouse, which too often put things where I didn't mean to put them and a couple of times scared me since a scene seemed to be missing (because I'd moved it without realizing and it was hidden in the wrong folder). After I stopped trying to move things that way and changed to using the arrows on the menu bar, I had no more trouble with the program.


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## Kevin Lee Swaim (May 30, 2014)

Yes, it can.

I liken Scrivener to a DAW. It allows you to slice and dice text like a DAW does with audio.



David S. said:


> Can you do a global search and/or replace on all chapters at once, or do you have to do them one at a time?


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## Daniel Dennis (Mar 3, 2014)

I'm slowly backing away from it. I use the Windows version, which leaves much to be desired. The compiler is great in theory, but I still find myself having to make way too many formatting changes in Word because the functionality simply isn't there. I have some programming experience, so I find myself writing a lot of Word macros to help fill the gaps left by Scrivener. If it weren't for its organizational features I'd ditch it completely.


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## Kenzi (Jul 28, 2014)

I've tried just about every writing software there is--yWriter, Liquid Story Binder, Storyist, Pages, Word, etc. Scrivener is hands down the best *for me* and the way I write. 

As someone else mentioned, you get a free trial, so why not try it for 30 days and see if you like it?


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## unkownwriter (Jun 22, 2011)

I started out using Word. Got my first novel so screwed up I just about went insane trying to fix it. I'm still not sure I have it right.

Then I found yWriter, and started using it for longer work. You can keep stuff about characters, locations, things you used in a particular book, any kind of research in the program. I used Word for short stories.

People here kept talking about Scrivener. How useful it was for organization. I didn't pay much attention at first, because I was getting that with yWriter. But it was the compile function that really sold it for me. I use the PC version, and while it's not quite the same, I am able to put out files that are perfectly fine simply using Scrivener.

I was lucky enough to get a 50% off coupon from someone here who didn't need their NaNo one. My son bought the program for me and I haven't looked back. I've made a project for all my short stories, and another for the serials I'm working on. Each novel has it's own project, except for the series, which is all in one place. The more I use Scrivener, the more ways I find to use it.

So hype? Maybe. But for me, it's a program that works for the way I write. All I want is parity with the Mac version.


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## Fishbowl Helmet (Jan 12, 2014)

If you think of Scrivener as just a word processor, you're selling it short. It's got the word processor part sewn up, sure, but the meat of the program is in the organization. Instead of creating separate folders and files for the various things you need to keep track of with a longer work, for example: logline, outline, synopsis, blurb, scenes, chapters, character bios, setting info, images, and more. You can create all the text files you need, organized how you need them within Scrivener, then drag and drop any relevant images you might want, say setting reference images or inspirational images, and it's all kept in one file for one program. You can drag and drop elements to where you want them easily, instead of say cut-and-paste in most word processors. It also has a built in name database with regional variations. And a basic text-to-voice feature you can play with.

It's not the word processor that's the wow factor, not for me at least. It's the ease of keeping everything together and easily reorganized when I need to shuffle things around. There is a hell of a learning curve, especially with the compile (ie export) feature, so it's not for everyone, but for my money it's the best all-around writing tool I've used.


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## Melisse (Jun 3, 2012)

I use it like Helmet(up thread). Since I primarily write series I use one binder for each series. All my info is right at hand--place names, secondary characters, political and historical world building, terminology. This makes the first draft and the first revision much easier since I don't have to try to find that space hub name or the spelling of an alien ship etc. I keep my reference info on the cork board and find needed information easy to locate. I do have to put effort into the organization, but any series takes that type of work.


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## Flay Otters (Jul 29, 2014)

It makes ebooks in ten minutes or less.


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## eleanorberesford (Dec 22, 2014)

Scrivener actually changed everything for me. The ease of keeping everything accessible, the ease in restructuring, keeping my synopsis and notes visible when I type, auto-outlining, compiling easily into different formats, easily creating templates for my writing, saving snapshots before I make huge changes...

For me, it totally lived up to its hype, and is why I am now producing completed works instead of getting tangled in multiple word and Excel docs and notebooks.


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## ilamont (Jul 14, 2012)

Scrivener is a powerful writing, organizational, and conversion tool. It's almost always the starting point for my writing projects, and until recently was the ending point, too (via the compile function, which I used to create epub/mobi/PDF versions of my how-to guides).

Repeating what I've said elsewhere on Kboards, Scrivener is also an extremely complex piece of software with many buried features that are not easy to figure out. To give you one example, I spent many hours trying to determine how to preserve blockquotes in ePub/mobi compile jobs before finally locating the answer at the end of the 400-page Scrivener manual. Certain features even require opening up a command line interface to access. Not everyone will need to use these features, but for those of us who want to leverage them, it can be a royal PITA.


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## ShayneRutherford (Mar 24, 2014)

she-la-ti-da said:


> So hype? Maybe. But for me, it's a program that works for the way I write. All I want is parity with the Mac version.


I have a MacBook Air just so I can have the Mac version of Scrivener.


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## KelliWolfe (Oct 14, 2014)

I use it for its organizational tools. The ability to throw all your scenes down on the corkboard and drag them around until you get the ordering right is great, and so is being able to color code folders and text docs as notes, character information, etc. All the little things like that make it very nice for keeping track of medium to large sized projects.

The Windows version does seem rather kludgy, though. You can definitely tell it's a port from another platform, which makes it frustrating to use at times, and I still do all my writing in Word to take advantage of the superior spelling and grammar checkers. On the Windows side Word seems to be far better at formatting the document as well. For some reason Scrivener likes to shove the right margin all the way over to the left when exporting so I end up with a document that's a long column of text one character wide.

I'd still recommend it, especially at the price. It's worth every penny even if you just use it as a project management tool.


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## Stephanie Tsikrikas (Sep 23, 2014)

I'm currently using the free trial of Scrivener, since I heard so much hype about it. Maybe I'm not using the features to their greatest potential, because I'm not "getting" it.   I used Google Drive to write my first novel, with the title as a folder and each chapter as document in the folder. It was free, available on any device with internet capabilities, and it worked for me. The only tedious part was copying each chapter into one document on Open Office. I'm willing to give Scrivener a try with this second novel. I must admit, I like the split screen feature.


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## 75814 (Mar 12, 2014)

Stephanie Tsikrikas said:


> I'm currently using the free trial of Scrivener, since I heard so much hype about it. Maybe I'm not using the features to their greatest potential, because I'm not "getting" it.  I used Google Drive to write my first novel, with the title as a folder and each chapter as document in the folder. It was free, available on any device with internet capabilities, and it worked for me. The only tedious part was copying each chapter into one document on Open Office. I'm willing to give Scrivener a try with this second novel. I must admit, I like the split screen feature.


If you feel you're not getting the most out of it, then check out some tutorials. You can also install Scrivener on multiple devices at no extra cost (provided they all use the same operating system) and sync it with Dropbox.


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## JV (Nov 12, 2013)

It's just preference.

I personally don't like it.

It's the same thing with Apple. Just preference. Some people love their computers, I think they're an overrated waste of money.


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## C.E. Weisman (Mar 12, 2014)

Hi! I've been playing around with the free trial and Im curious if I can download my work from Word or if I have to start over in Scrivener.


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## Speaker-To-Animals (Feb 21, 2012)

Daniel Dennis said:


> I'm slowly backing away from it. I use the Windows version, which leaves much to be desired. The compiler is great in theory, but I still find myself having to make way too many formatting changes in Word because the functionality simply isn't there. I have some programming experience, so I find myself writing a lot of Word macros to help fill the gaps left by Scrivener. If it weren't for its organizational features I'd ditch it completely.


I'm not sure what problems you are having, but most of it can be avoided by formatting in the editor and then having compile not reformat things.


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## Briteka (Mar 5, 2012)

I use Scrivener exclusively. 

Compiling my files into epub/mobi/pdf takes me less than a minute for the mobi, and ten seconds for the epub and pdf, since all the metadata is already filled out from the mobi compile.

I also like its word targeting and fullscreen mode.


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## Daniel Dennis (Mar 3, 2014)

Sarah Aubrey said:


> I'm not sure what problems you are having, but most of it can be avoided by formatting in the editor and then having compile not reformat things.


Maybe I missed something but I haven't been able to figure out how to apply styles. I don't do direct formatting. I picked up Scrivener because I thought it would allow me to type in rich text and then the compiler would do the rest. It does some. I learned different ways of tweaking it so it showed the way it needed to without styles. But the Windows version has been neglected. I can't remove the first line indent on new scenes like the Mac has. I have options to leave color on hyperlinks but it strips out the color on the links anyway. If I could compile it and trust it to be upload-ready it would be worth every dime.


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## Jim Johnson (Jan 4, 2011)

C.E. Weisman said:


> Hi! I've been playing around with the free trial and Im curious if I can download my work from Word or if I have to start over in Scrivener.


You can cut and paste your Word doc text into scrivener, or you can import the file into Scrivener by dragging and dropping. On my PC version, it warns me that it'll convert the Word doc to a rtf, which IIRC will wipe out any formatting.


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## Briteka (Mar 5, 2012)

Daniel Dennis said:


> Maybe I missed something but I haven't been able to figure out how to apply styles. I don't do direct formatting. I picked up Scrivener because I thought it would allow me to type in rich text and then the compiler would do the rest. It does some. I learned different ways of tweaking it so it showed the way it needed to without styles. But the Windows version has been neglected. I can't remove the first line indent on new scenes like the Mac has. I have options to leave color on hyperlinks but it strips out the color on the links anyway. If I could compile it and trust it to be upload-ready it would be worth every dime.


Yeah, I use the Windows version and had the same problem with styles. So I just started writing in Scrivener. Works perfectly fine. I write and format through the word processor, and then click "As Is' when compiling, and everything sticks.


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## Fishbowl Helmet (Jan 12, 2014)

C.E. Weisman said:


> Hi! I've been playing around with the free trial and Im curious if I can download my work from Word or if I have to start over in Scrivener.


Yeah, in a few minutes...

http://vimeo.com/31433040


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## C.E. Weisman (Mar 12, 2014)

Thank you! Glad there are options


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## SpringfieldMH (Feb 2, 2013)

The Windows version has not been "neglected". Scrivener was originally developed on/for Macs. The Windows version was started later and is working toward parity with the Mac version. The real world warts-and-all history is in the Scrivener forums, for those interested. Software development is not wave-a-wand or wave-more-money-and-people-at-it magic. As things stand now, it appears that 2016 2015 will see the Windows version reach rough parity with the Mac version (though the Mac version will likely always lead a bit), the release of Scrivener for iOS (iPhone/iPad) and all three versions provide built-in cross-version DropBox syncing.

A free full featured time limited version of Scrivener is available. Try it. It has a learning curve. It supports pretty much any approach to writing. It may resonate with and work for you. It may not. If it works for you, great. If not, try something else. Better yet, try them all, using a small project that involves all the stages of the type of writing/publishing projects you anticipate doing, and see which fits you best.

You may settle on a single app for doing everything... or may decide to combine several apps into a production pipeline. Depends in part on you and in part on the type of projects you pursue.

As for me, they'll have to pry Scrivener for Windows from my cold dead hands. I've tried pretty much every other PC based writing app out there and none come close for me.

CORRECTION: 2015, not 2016


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## Stewart Matthews (Nov 21, 2014)

> As for me, they'll have to pry Scrivener for Windows from my cold dead hands. I've tried pretty much every other PC based writing app out there and none come close for me.


Ditto. I run Scrivener on Windows, and would push an old lady down the stairs to keep it.


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## SimonPotts (Jan 16, 2015)

I'm a recent convert (mac version)

I love it for the ability to carve up your chapters into 'sections' and focus on each one individually. It really works well for my writing style. The formatting and stuff is really powerful too, if a little of a steep learning curve.

I paid for it and have no regrets.

As with anything though, it won't magically help you come up with ideas or write a book for you. It will help you organize yourself so you don't have 1000 individual word files floating around your computer.

NOTE: I have heard the mac version is much better than the windows so I can't comment on that.


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## 75814 (Mar 12, 2014)

C.E. Weisman said:


> Hi! I've been playing around with the free trial and Im curious if I can download my work from Word or if I have to start over in Scrivener.


If you go to File > Import > Import and Split, there's a part at the bottom that says "Sections are separated by:" and then a text box. So if you want to break it up by chapter, you can by typing chapter in that box and it will split the document every time it finds the word. If you want to do further splitting, the Command+K key combination will split the document at the point your cursor is at (it's under Documents > Split > at selection if you're on Windows and need to check the hotkey).


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## Speaker-To-Animals (Feb 21, 2012)

Daniel Dennis said:


> Maybe I missed something but I haven't been able to figure out how to apply styles. I don't do direct formatting. I picked up Scrivener because I thought it would allow me to type in rich text and then the compiler would do the rest. It does some. I learned different ways of tweaking it so it showed the way it needed to without styles. But the Windows version has been neglected. I can't remove the first line indent on new scenes like the Mac has. I have options to leave color on hyperlinks but it strips out the color on the links anyway. If I could compile it and trust it to be upload-ready it would be worth every dime.


You need to format in the editor.


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## Daniel Dennis (Mar 3, 2014)

SpringfieldMH said:


> Software development is not wave-a-wand or wave-more-money-and-people-at-it magic. As things stand now, it appears that 2016 will see the Windows version reach rough parity with the Mac version (though the Mac version will likely always lead a bit), the release of Scrivener for iOS (iPhone/iPad) and all three versions provide built-in cross-version DropBox syncing.


I have a background in development. I'm aware of the issues with cross-platform development without a common language. I chose that specific word because I kept hearing from users (here I think) that the Windows version would be up to speed as of year-end 2014.


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## GeoffW (Dec 14, 2014)

I put this "how I do it for first line indents" on the Scrivener boards.  Works for me (Windows version), maybe it will help you.
"...........As far as the "what I try to find out is how to position the first line of text without indent", here is how I got it to work (probably a few other different ways).
1. In the editor pane of one of the project scenes/chapters (you have to do this to every individual scene/chapter), put the cursor into the first line. I place it after the first character of the first line of the first paragraph.
2. Then move the top slider on the ruler all the way to the left. This will move your first line all the way to the left (get rid of the indent).
3. Select the first character (so it's highlighted as if you are going to make a change to it).
4. Go to Format/Formatting and select "Preserve Formatting".

The character will now be highlighted in green and outlined.

When you compile it, the "zero" indent will be retained for the first paragraph.

Normally, I also increase the font size to 18 and "bold" before I do the preserve formatting (only for the first character). That makes the first word of my chapter standout.

The great thing is you can try all sorts of different changes, compile to mobi, and then check the results in previewer/etc. It all only takes a few minutes. ............"

Also, for my writing needs (not that I'm an author yet : ), Scrivener was one of the best purchases of my life.  Yeah, that good.  For me and the way I write.  That said, I spent a few years dithering away because it looked so complex.  Then one day I just copied everything I had written to date into the program and just started using it.  I learned new stuff as I needed.  Went very easy.  I do have the license for the Mac version (will be getting a Mac this spring : ), but if all I had was the Window's version, I'd be tickled pink'ish.

From what I've seen, and personally experienced, support is awesome (and I've been in IT support for decades). Their support boards, and some internet searching, have taken care of all my questions.  I admit, it did take a bit of time to learn how to compile, but once I got over the "oh no, I might break something (I back up like crazy : ), I just went and made a change, take a minute to check the results, make another change, repeat until it was figured out.

Note, the software is NOT perfect.  But, no software is.  It lacks a few refinements that can be found in the Mac version.  But I will say that, for me, it has been almost 100% bug free.  Which is great.  

It also, if used correctly, is very good about backups (but, you need to archive to other devices, obviously).  It auto backups to a separate folder (which you can, if desired, locate on a different disk than the application).  But then I copy the project folder and the backups folder to a separate external harddrive.  And, to 3 separate thumb drives that I have placed in different locations.  AND, I periodically compile the entire book to a rtf file and email that to me : )

GeoffW


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## DARION (Sep 3, 2014)

Wow! Thank you very much guys for the info! I will definitely purchase Scrivener. But, I have one last inquiry, I saw there are also courses in using Scrivener(learnsrivenerfast.com, gwenhernandez.com) but I recently downloaded an ebook. also about it. Is worth it to purchase these courses? Or stick to ebooks?


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## GeoffW (Dec 14, 2014)

KG Digman said:


> Wow! Thank you very much guys for the info! I will definitely purchase Scrivener. But, I have one last inquiry, I saw there are also courses in using Scrivener(learnsrivenerfast.com, gwenhernandez.com) but I recently downloaded an ebook. also about it. Is worth it to purchase these courses? Or stick to ebooks?


There is no right answer to that (very good) question. Everyone is different and learns differently.

That said, "for me", I found it worked best just to jump in and start using the program. There is an excellent tutorial that comes with the program. I encourage you to do that. Then just create a new project for your book, create your folder structure in the binder (it comes with "templates" for simple folder structures that you can use/adapt), and start typing. When you want to do something (like, how to split a chapter into two chapters, etc.), look it up in the good help manual that comes with the program, or go to the Latte support boards, or search the internet.

It's at this point, when you get educated enough in the program that you at least know what questions to ask, that you might consider taking a course or getting a book (I did neither, but like I said, different strokes, etc.). I did check out LOTS of Gwen's extremely helpful posts (along with other sites), so I assume her training courses would be good, but can't vouch for them personally. I know some of the eBooks on how to use Scrivener are very cheap (and supposedly very good), so those may be a "why not?" decision.

The big issue for me was that Scrivener is a BIG program, so it was easy to get buried in minutiae (stuff I wouldn't ever use and/or only occasionally). I think that's what I liked about their tutorial, it just showed you enough basics to get started on a project.

Hope that was of some help.

Thanks,

GeoffW


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## Chance (Jul 2, 2014)

All about preference here.

I was originally a Word guy while organizing my files through folders as sub-categories. Then I found out about Scrivener and have used it primarily since.

It really depends how you operate. For some they like to have everything easily accessible under one program, or others wouldn't mind the other way. The main con for me to use Scrivener is that, for the time being, there is no Android alternative. But I do have a lightweight Windows tablet now, so that con isn't really relevant.

Regardless, it has its uses. Like others have said, Scrivener isn't necessarily a "must-get" program.


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## Indecisive (Jun 17, 2013)

I tried it for a month or so, and had no difficulty with its features, but I didn't like the way it managed documents (no way to open one scene without opening the whole project, hard to do find files when the program wasn't open, for backup or emailing to myself, and yes I know I am not up with the technological times). I also didn't like the look of the program. It was too busy for me. I like to keep my outlining separate from my scene writing.

Recently, I've figured out how to use macro documents in Open Office, which a person could use for randomly moving scenes around if they were into that kind of thing (I've never understood how people do that without totally trashing their story's continuity).

But lots of people love it, as you can see. Just check out the free trial, but don't feel like you _have to_ like it.


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## Fishbowl Helmet (Jan 12, 2014)

KG Digman said:


> Wow! Thank you very much guys for the info! I will definitely purchase Scrivener. But, I have one last inquiry, I saw there are also courses in using Scrivener(learnsrivenerfast.com, gwenhernandez.com) but I recently downloaded an ebook. also about it. Is worth it to purchase these courses? Or stick to ebooks?


As far as I can tell, most or all the information you need to use Scrivener is available for free on the web or in a few cheap ebooks. Get good at Googling and have a bit of patience and you'll be able to sort out the few hard edges of Scrivener just fine.


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## Michael J Elliott (Dec 18, 2014)

I downloaded Scrivener after posing the question "What's the Best program for writers?" on Twitter. I read practically all the instruction tutorial and thought I'd gotten most of it down pat but it's amazing how quickly you forget things! Since I was just about ready to publish my first short story I decided to purchase it. I like the fact that you can select a template to suit your current project such as short story, novel, screenplay etc and that it also takes away some of the drudgery such as double spacing and auto indent.
It does have a steep learning curve but on the positive side there are lots of tutorial videos on You Tube and a book called Scrivener for Dummies (which I definitely intend to buy lol.)
Try it for 30 days and perhaps practice using an old story or a short piece to decide if it's right for you.


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## JeffAmbrose (Dec 11, 2014)

I've used Scrivener for years, but have backed away from it because I like to keep the different parts of the business sepearate.

I write in Ulysses III -- which is a lot like Scrivener, but without all of the bells and whistles, and great for pure creation.

I use Scrivener for editing, organization, to create eBooks, and to produce a .doc version of my story I can then dump into InDesign for print.


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## Jena H (Oct 2, 2011)

KG Digman said:


> I saw a few days a ago a software called Scrivener. It has testimonials that it's making the writer's life easier. Is it really true? For me, it's just tool but you still have the decision on how you make your writing life.


Depending on writing style, I understand Scrivener can be very useful. But again depending on writing style, many of the touted features may be tools that you (generic "you," as in _the writer_) may not need to begin with. So potential purchasers may want to check to see if it's worth buying, based on their needs.


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## unkownwriter (Jun 22, 2011)

I'd love to see the PC version become more in line with the Mac version this year. (Hurry, hurry, hurry!) There are some things you can't do (or do as completely) in the PC version. I personally love the program, but I loved yWriter, too. If yWriter could compile, I'd likely still be using it.

I never bought a book or took a course when I started, just went through the included tutorial. I didn't even finish that, to be honest, just started writing and setting things up. I Googled when I had questions, found some step-by-step instructions on how to set up the compile, and I've never looked back. I eventually took a free video course somebody had last year, but with my old computer it was frustrating to watch/listen to, and I don't feel I learned anything new from it.

I'm not a very technical person, either, but I love things that make my life easier. I've made my own templates, and altered the ones I've gotten elsewhere, to suit my style of writing.

There's a Google+ group that's pretty good: https://plus.google.com/communities/109597039874015233580


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## Drake (Apr 30, 2014)

The compiler alone is worth the cost.  I struggled with making files e-book ready before Scrivener, but not anymore.


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## 75814 (Mar 12, 2014)

KG Digman said:


> Wow! Thank you very much guys for the info! I will definitely purchase Scrivener. But, I have one last inquiry, I saw there are also courses in using Scrivener(learnsrivenerfast.com, gwenhernandez.com) but I recently downloaded an ebook. also about it. Is worth it to purchase these courses? Or stick to ebooks?


It's all about what works best for you. For me, I like playing around with things and then later I'll ask the Interwebs for tips regarding Scrivener. I've mostly stuck to the free information available on various blogs and forums, haven't yet bought any of the courses or ebooks.


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## Briteka (Mar 5, 2012)

KG Digman said:


> Wow! Thank you very much guys for the info! I will definitely purchase Scrivener. But, I have one last inquiry, I saw there are also courses in using Scrivener(learnsrivenerfast.com, gwenhernandez.com) but I recently downloaded an ebook. also about it. Is worth it to purchase these courses? Or stick to ebooks?


I just felt my way around, but I'm also pretty good with technology. I probably use less than ten percent of Scrivener's features, but if all you're doing is writing in the processor and compiling to different formats, you should be able to do it without too much research.


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## eleanorberesford (Dec 22, 2014)

I didn't feel the need for any courses--or books! One thing I will say is helpful is following the Google+ and Facebook communities. They link to blog posts about Scrivener, and I've picked up some awesome tips.

Scrivener for Dummies is on Scribd,  added it to my library but haven't looked yet.

(I have Scrivener on both Windows and Mac, thinking about doing the trips to get it on Linux, too.)


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