While Scrivener has a lot more options available, I found that for simple things like a school paper less than 10 pages long, MS Word still sufficed. The simplicity of Word was actually preferable for a few specific reasons, though I’ve recently made some changes that are making me rethink it entirely. Then there’s Google Docs, which is a whole different monster. In order to go over my current thoughts on all three programs, I’m going to give a basic summary of each, along with the pros and cons.

More Here – Scrivener, Microsoft Word, and Google Docs

A piece of software isn’t going to make you into a great writer but the right software might improve the writing experience. Scrivener is a $40 software application that boasts plenty of features that writers should appreciate. With functions to assist both writers of fiction and non-fiction, Scrivener should be highly sought after.

I have had the chance to hear from a few writers and ask how they write their books. They each seem to have different methods, some just keep it all in their heads while others use index cards and physical notes. For me, sitting in front of Microsoft Word and typing out a novel just seems like a daunting task. With the complexity of a story, it seems like you have to have a system. Since I’m not a practiced (nor published) long form writer, I figure I might as well learn a new system and see what it can do for me.

This is where Scrivener comes in and separates itself from your standard word processor…

More Here – Scrivener, a specialized word processor for writers

Yesterday I fired up Scrivener for the first time. I read all the way through the tutorial, then uploaded a novella (32K) into it, and started to mess around with the program.

Now, to preface things here, I’ll say that I’m pretty good with figuring out what computer programs do, figuring out work-arounds, and getting them to do what I want. Most programs don’t present a challenge for me. Therefore, whatever I say here may not apply to you.

After loading in my novella, I broke it up into Parts and Scenes, added a few items to the ‘Research’ area, and created an outline on the program’s Corkboard (a very handy feature for someone who quickly tires of writing index cards.) All of that was simple after reading the tutorials. And when I got through that, I already had a good idea when the program would be useful for me.

More Here – Scrivener, Day 1