Any Scrivener Tip or Tricks?
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I'm a Scrivener fan too. I don't use the ios yet. I probably underuse it--there is so much in there. I used it mostly for my novel bible, which is awesome. This doesn't answer your question, but I wanted to track the thread.
I'm going to move this to our Tech forum, where you'll find previous threads, and many more people to respond.
In April I'm going to try a new Scrivener approach; I've been using Scrivener for years, but this time, for the month of April, I'll be using Scrivener to compile research, brainstorm, track research, draft, revise, and produce the final output.
There are a lot of tools I've never used. I'll be working on Scrivener for macOS and iOS.
I'm using the Take Control of Scrivener 2* book, and the tutorials and videos and support on the Literature and Latte site.
I'm looking at using the Corkboard and Outline feature to plan the piece, and setting up the Binder for research, before I start drafting.
I haven't used either much. I've also never used the Scratchpad, and that might be useful to stash ideas to flesh out.
And this list of Scrivener iOS shortcuts has already been very helpful.
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In April I'm going to try a new Scrivener approach; I've been using Scrivener for years, but this time, for the month of April, I'll be using Scrivener to compile research, brainstorm, track research, draft, revise, and produce the final output.
There are a lot of tools I've never used. I'll be working on Scrivener for macOS and iOS.
I'm using the Take Control of Scrivener 2* book, and the tutorials and videos and support on the Literature and Latte site.
I'm looking at using the Corkboard and Outline feature to plan the piece, and setting up the Binder for research, before I start drafting.
I haven't used either much. I've also never used the Scratchpad, and that might be useful to stash ideas to flesh out.
And this list of Scrivener iOS shortcuts has already been very helpful.
*AW Affiliate link
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Silly enough as it might sounds - I like the fact that it autosaves. Seriously - I've lost too many documents by mistake or cut words out or whatever that the autosave is really, REALLY nice.
I also enjoy cutting things up into chapters and then to text bits - it's easy to flip back and forth if I need to redo something in one scene to match up another further down the line. With Word you have to scroll up and then down and it takes time to find your spot again - with Scrivener it's easy to get up and down the document without losing your place.
I don't use a lot of the bells and whistles, but it's working for me.
I also enjoy cutting things up into chapters and then to text bits - it's easy to flip back and forth if I need to redo something in one scene to match up another further down the line. With Word you have to scroll up and then down and it takes time to find your spot again - with Scrivener it's easy to get up and down the document without losing your place.
I don't use a lot of the bells and whistles, but it's working for me.
I had to slow down the autosave on Scrivener, it's to quick, too frequent. I still use Word for the writing the draft. It's just less distracting for me (so go AW Admin). I have the autosave on Word turned on.
I am a big Scrivener fan and I think the snapshot and keywords functions are some of the best features. I also like project and session targets. Scrivener comes with plenty of bells and whistles, but IMHO they can be a terrible distraction to the business of getting words down. I should know.
I know that I don't use it as it's intended. I have a file for my blog writing, a file for marketing information to keep track of submissions, a file for all my personal writing with different folders to differentiate my series, and a file for my freelance writing. That always made things easier for me, especially since some of the research that I saved could be used across different series, so it was easier having it all in one spot. I just occasionally come across youtube, and I'm blown away by how much I don't know about Scrivener. I should totally dedicate a day to just watching these video and committing everything to memory!
You may already be aware of this, but just in case, the videos were created with the focus on the Mac version. Some bells and whistles have not yet been implemented in Windows. In due course, there should be parity between both versions.
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I love scrivener. One of my favorite features has been being able to set a target word count for each session under tools. It's also nice that I can keep the documents separate from the project word count and see a list of all the character names in a collapsable tree as I'm writing. Assigning icons to the folders and files is also a nice feature.
But I'd say my most used feature is the full screen mode that lets me block out everything else and focus on the text.
But I'd say my most used feature is the full screen mode that lets me block out everything else and focus on the text.
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I love Scrivener. For outlining, editing, word count tracker, auto-save, pics and research pages, just so many things.
But, one thing I am wondering about is second draft. I wanted to start a new project, since the mess of outlining and research really junked up the first draft's project. So I started a brand new project, complete with my new outline. However, I now have to toggle back and forth between the two pages to reference the first draft as I'm rewriting. So far, I haven't come up with an easy way to do this. Since I like the full screen mode as well, I have to first esc from that and then click back back to that first draft window in the back. Is there an easier way to do this?
I know I could've done the split screen mode if I'd kept the 2nd draft within the 1st draft's project, but like I said, that project was getting so full it was taking awhile to load and I didn't want to add to it.
How do you Scrivener ppl normally handle 2nd drafts?
But, one thing I am wondering about is second draft. I wanted to start a new project, since the mess of outlining and research really junked up the first draft's project. So I started a brand new project, complete with my new outline. However, I now have to toggle back and forth between the two pages to reference the first draft as I'm rewriting. So far, I haven't come up with an easy way to do this. Since I like the full screen mode as well, I have to first esc from that and then click back back to that first draft window in the back. Is there an easier way to do this?
I know I could've done the split screen mode if I'd kept the 2nd draft within the 1st draft's project, but like I said, that project was getting so full it was taking awhile to load and I didn't want to add to it.
How do you Scrivener ppl normally handle 2nd drafts?
What I do, is have both projects open, close the info/finder/etc, and make my own split screens. Clunky, but it does work.
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Yes, but it would work better if you weren't in full screen mode. I also have my text size pretty large (since I sit away from the screen) so that means hitting esc. and clicking over to scroll down every few hundred words on the other draft. Clunky for sure.
I move the first draft down to the research folder. Not sure what I'd do if it were taking ages to load, though.
If you're just referencing, rather than cut and pasting -- Publish as PDF, maybe, and then embed the PDF?
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Another Scrivener tip (this is on Windows, but pretty sure it's similarly situated on the Mac - haven't tried in iOS for iPad yet):
1. Go to Tools | Options (F12)
2. Go to Corrections, check the box to "Enable Substitutions", and click the button to Edit Substitutions:
5. Click the plus sign and you can add new ones:
Think of it like a macro - so instead of typing out an unusual name you've developed for your story (or stories) every time, you can just use the shortcut you created here.
So, for instance, instead of typing out "Diphtéra" each and every time (a persian kind of paper or papyrus), I recorded the "macro" as D1:
1. Go to Tools | Options (F12)
2. Go to Corrections, check the box to "Enable Substitutions", and click the button to Edit Substitutions:
5. Click the plus sign and you can add new ones:
Think of it like a macro - so instead of typing out an unusual name you've developed for your story (or stories) every time, you can just use the shortcut you created here.
So, for instance, instead of typing out "Diphtéra" each and every time (a persian kind of paper or papyrus), I recorded the "macro" as D1:
I love the target word count feature, and I was pleased to see it on the app version as well!
Oh wow! That's awesome- thanks
Another Scrivener tip (this is on Windows, but pretty sure it's similarly situated on the Mac - haven't tried in iOS for iPad yet):
1. Go to Tools | Options (F12)
2. Go to Corrections, check the box to "Enable Substitutions", and click the button to Edit Substitutions:
5. Click the plus sign and you can add new ones:
Think of it like a macro - so instead of typing out an unusual name you've developed for your story (or stories) every time, you can just use the shortcut you created here.
So, for instance, instead of typing out "Diphtéra" each and every time (a persian kind of paper or papyrus), I recorded the "macro" as D1: