Scrivener: Writing Program for Macs

[missdanaidae]

Scrivener is writing program for Macintosh computers that several published authors have praised. The price is $39.95 for regular uses and $34.99 for scholars, educators, and students. You only pay once; the updates are free. The program has more great aspects than I can list so I'm just going to talk about the features I use the most.

-The Corkboard: This is my favorite way to brainstorm. The corkboard allows you to create index cards which let you plot out your stories sentence by sentence, scene by scene, etc. Rearrange the cards however you please to find the best flow. Your wall is endless and you'll never run out of cards.

-Keeping all documents in one binder: Scrivener creates "Projects" for each story you write. Projects contain multiple documents in one file so you can have as many drafts and revisions as your please all in a row. There is also a special folder for research that is a great place to keep photos, movies, and sound clips for setting and character reference or whatever else you need.

-Full Screen: If you're easily distracted, but don't want to hole up in an empty room with a notebook and pencil, full screen mode can help you out. In full screen mode you can adjust the opacity to black out your desktop so it will be just you and the open document.

-Compile: Once you've finished your masterpiece, just export into a Word document, save as HTML, or print. The formatting will be done for you. No need to copy/paste and reformat the text manually!

Other things I keep in project binders:
-Lists of publishers and agents who may be interested in the piece
-Query letters
-Record of rejections and acceptances