Backstory: It’s been a fallow year for my novel-writing career (intentional rhyme) but a delightful twelve months at the day job. I’m learning, creating and indulging my passions for consonance, rhyme and catchy turns-of-phrase.

All of that above paragraph has been filed under notes in – yes – Scrivener to which I’ve returned after much avoidance and denial for my new young adult writing project.

I’ve tried Scrivener before, largely inspired by Justine Larbalestier’s comments about writing her amazing novel, LIAR, in Scrivener.  Other amazing YA authors, including April Henry, Daisy Whitney, Maureen Johnson and Lisa Yee can all be found gushing on Scrivener’s “Testimonials” pages.

A few observations I made the last time I tried Scrivener, a few years back…

  • Its components are fairly intuitive or easy to learn.
  • It is useful having organized repositories for backstory, primary and secondary character worksheets, setting pages, and subplot ideas.
  • I enjoy seeing a word count build for a given chapter or section, which feels satisfying.
  • Being able to move chapters around in a more graphic format (instead of the old cut-and-paste) helps me avoid becoming mired in micro-edits which I know I should really save for later.
  • It’s a little bit just…fun!
  • So, once again, I find myself

    A scrivener using Scrivener

    Admittedly, last time, life got in the way and that manuscript is still a work-in-progress. But I’m feeling that need for order and accountability in the writing process as I try to work novel-writing back into my happy-yet-hectic life. Here’s hoping…!

    If you’ve tried Scrivener, let me know. I’d love to hear about your experiences!

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