Nuts and Bolts Aspects of Writing: Why Scrivener Rocks

I've been using Scrivener to write my novel, and it has proven to be not only economical, but also absolutely perfect for my needs.

Storyboarding

As a visual learner, I love the storyboarding aspect (seen below).

 

I now have the first 20 chapters written with three more chapters left to go before I begin Part II. That section has been planned now for 20 more chapters. I love the visual aspect of storyboarding, and Scrivener allows me total freedom.

Flexibility

Scrivener allows me to format and save files in a wide variety of ways. Just with ebook formats alone, I can save my book for Kindle, Nook, or iBook and can even make it a .pdf file as well. I can also easily change the format of my book from ebook to paperback. I can also create a screenplay based on my novel using Scrivener's templates.

 

Portability

My favorite aspect of Scrivener is the portability of the content. I can back up my entire project to Dropbox and then work on each individual chapter file on my iPad. I use the Notebook app for iPad, though other writing apps would be fine as long as they will synch with Dropbox. It's easy to import the files to my iPad, work, then save those iPad changes to Dropbox and import them right into Scrivener when I get home. That means I can write wherever I am and not risk compatibility issues changing from one machine to the next. I can also then share those files with editors.

Make the Switch

I had previously always worked in Word, but Scrivener is so powerful, I will never go back. It's quite honestly the best software I can imagine for what I do. I cannot recommend it highly enough for writers, no matter what genre or medium.

Wrote 4,259 words between yesterday and today, in spite of being in bed with my crushing headache for part of it. Even if I end up editing it to bits, I'm still proud. And still writing. :D I didn't think I'd done so much till I just stopped to calculate it up. Gives me confidence. I worked in 5-10 minute bursts with breaks inbetween, but it all adds up. Even if I can't get long stretches of quiet time, if I can get a break without interruptions, even if it's just ten minutes, then it's still moving the story forward.

I've also figured out how to use my iPad to write without having so many errors that autocorrect creates for me, and that is a HUGE relief. That means I can write in bed or during my dinner break or while I'm in a waiting room...the possibilities are endless, so long as I can keep my head in the story.
In addition, I've set myself a schedule and I'm determined to stick to it come hell or high water. I'm using the time I would have been teaching or grading or holding office hours as writing time. It adds up to a lot of time.

It's been a pretty lousy few days for me personally, but I'm happy with my writing and I've decided that when all else fails, Nutella is still awesome.