#scrivener tips

[artsietango]

Hey writers with Scrivener, IDK if anyone has posted this yet, but Scrivener actually has a pretty helpful guide on how to import all your work from Google Docs that makes it way easier than just copying and pasting everything. I only just found this today, so I wanted to share!

[nanowrimo]

10 Tips for Developing a Daily Writing Practice

Every year, we’re lucky to have great sponsors for our nonprofit events. Scrivener, a 2023 Camp NaNoWriMo sponsor, is an award-winning writing app designed to help you get writing and keep writing. Here, Scrivener user and first time Camper, Bookstagrammer, aspiring author, and visual storyteller Yeldah Yousfi shares her tips on how to write consistently:

Writing consistently is one of the most important habits to cultivate if you want to become a better writer and reach your Camp NaNoWriMo target. However, while developing a habit of daily writing practice is useful for exercising your writing skills, it can be difficult to maintain.

Here are ten tips that I personally use for developing a habit of writing consistently every day:

1. Set a schedule. 

One of the most important steps to developing a consistent writing habit is to set a schedule. Set aside a specific time every day that you can dedicate to writing—even if you just try this during Camp. This will help you to make writing a routine part of your day, and it will also make it easier to stay motivated and avoid procrastination.

2. Create a writing space.

It’s important to have a designated space that is comfortable and conducive to writing. This could be a home office, a library, or even a cafe. Whatever you choose, make sure it is comfortable and free of distractions so that you can focus on your writing.

3. Track your progress.

Keeping track of your writing progress can help keep you motivated and on track. This could be as simple as making a checklist of goals for each day or tracking your word count so you can see how much you’ve written each day. 

4. Set achievable goals.

Having realistic goals is essential for staying motivated. It’s best to set smaller goals that are achievable in the short-term, such as writing 500 words a day, rather than trying to tackle a huge project all at once.

5. Take breaks.

Taking breaks (no matter how short) can help you stay focused, energized, and allows for the mind to rest and to process the material that was just written. Taking a short break every two hours or so will help you to stay productive and prevent burnout. Walking outside always makes me feel better, and I find it helps generate more ideas.

6. Read, read, read.

One of the best ways to become a better writer is to read, especially reading books in the genre you are writing in. Reading helps to open the mind to new ideas, concepts, and possibilities. You can also use the work of other authors to learn more about the craft of writing and to help you come up with ideas for your own work.

7. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes.

Making mistakes is a part of the writing process. When you start writing, keep writing, even if it’s only for ten minutes. It probably won’t be perfect (or even good if it’s your first-time writing), but that’s okay—the more you write, the better you will become. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes and learn from them as you go.

8. Have a support system and a writing partner.

Having a support system that you can reply on can be a great help in staying motivated and on track with your daily writing goals. This could be a friend or family member, or pick a Camp Counselor or writing group from the Camp forums. They can provide encouragement and help to keep you accountable. Additionally, having someone who is willing to read and give feedback on pieces of writing can be invaluable. 

9. Reward yourself.

Celebrate your successes and reward yourself for your progress. Whether it’s a special treat or just a pat on the back, make sure to recognize your achievements and reward yourself for reaching your goals.

10. Take it one step at a time.

Writing is a process, and it takes time to develop a consistent writing habit. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t make progress right away. Just keep going and take it one step at a time.

Developing a consistent writing habit is essential for improving your writing skills and becoming a better writer. By following these ten tips, you can develop a habit of writing every day and make it a routine part of your life. Try it through July and see!

Yeldah Yousfi is a reader, aspiring author and visual storyteller. Check out Yeldah’s Instagram.

Top photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash.  

[filmcourage]

Author Reveals How Scrivener Speeds Up Her Writing Process - Lux Raven

Watch the video interview on Youtube here.

[thepedanticbohemian]

I use Apache OpenOffice, but I'm switching to Scrivener for BLACK & BLUE. I purchased it this past week and can't wait to take a high dive into it!

[deepslumbrrr]

What program do you use to write ? ?

I use Scrivener, and I highly recommend it!

Below are a couple of sample images of the program and how it might look in its default theme:

It's a paid app, and it's designed for professional-level writing and publishing. It's what I'll be using for my book(s) since there's a whole suite of tools that make it easy to write, edit, and publish all from the app itself.

Because there's a lot you can do in and with Scrivener, there's a bit of a learning curve that comes with it. Fortunately, there's plenty of documentation (in-app and online, like the subreddit, for instance) to help newbies get their footing.

There's a free trial if you want to try the app before buying, which I gently recommend! There's a lot more I can say about Scrivener since it's been so useful to me on a daily basis, but here's a link to the website which can show and tell you most everything about it!

[zeawesomebirdie]

Oh my god okay hi i havent been online bc ive been reading On Writing by Stephen King and omg okay, i feel so much better about my drafts now

[cam-the-orange-cat]

Okay, gotta say this: do not follow these instructions:

File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Privacy Options > Privacy Settings > Optional Connected Experiences > Uncheck box: “Turn on optional connected experiences”

DO NOT DO THAT. If you want to use Word, doing the above will break Word. It turns off 50+ features including things like read aloud and grammar checker.

Secondly, there's no evidence that Microsoft is AI scraping your work. Nor is there some secret opt-out feature. If you use Copilot, then that's an entirely different conversation. However, turning off connected experiences—this is not the answer. It creates far more problems than it solves.

If you're not comfortable using Microsoft's Office Suite products, then by all means (as OP says above) use LibreOffice or Scrivener, or some other word processor. That's far more effective and won't have detrimental consequences on your user experience like turning off your user experience.

Microsoft Office, like many companies in recent months, has slyly turned on an “opt-out” feature that scrapes your Word and Excel documents to train its internal AI systems. This setting is turned on by default, and you have to manually uncheck a box in order to opt out.

If you are a writer who uses MS Word to write any proprietary content (blog posts, novels, or any work you intend to protect with copyright and/or sell), you’re going to want to turn this feature off immediately.How to Turn off Word’s AI Access To Your Content

I won’t beat around the bush. Microsoft Office doesn’t make it easy to opt out of this new AI privacy agreement, as the feature is hidden through a series of popup menus in your settings:On a Windows computer, follow these steps to turn off “Connected Experiences”:

File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Privacy Options > Privacy Settings > Optional Connected Experiences > Uncheck box: “Turn on optional connected experiences”

[georgelthomas]

Working with Scrivener

Working with Scrivener #writing #amwriting #writerslife #scrivener #writingsoftware #novelwriting #WritingApps #WritingCommunity #WriterCommunity

Scrivener, for those who don’t know, is a fantastic bit of software that helps writers to write. It is designed, as far as I am able to tell, for ease of use and for all types of writers from novelists and short story writers to essayists and scriptwriters. One reason I love Scrivener so much is that it allows you to see everything all in one place. Notes, character and setting outlines (of which…

[skyfallscotland]

Writing Advice: tips, tricks & helpful links, from your friendly neighbourhood fanfic author ✨ (part two—the resources)

see part one—the advice here

verbiage: • show, don't tell—a guide by @lyralit • this crazy big list of dialogue tags from @slayingfiction

diversity & inclusive writing: • a collection of helpful posts about BIPOC, gender, and body neutral inclusion in writing collated by @lavenderursa • this post on writing disabled characters by @cripplecharacters if you're not writing from experience

adding depth to your characters: • exploring character backstory and good traits gone bad by @saraswritingtipps • dark past ideas from @sas-soulwriter • @lyralit's list of things to think about when crafting a character

story structure and depth: • plot structures and this story planning template from @wordsnstuff • this collection of links from @oflights including fantasy name generators, child development guides, and height comparison visuals • finally, @writingquestionsanswered full stop, they have some fantastic guides and advice on things like this post on how to deal with writer's block and this one on how to start a story.

smut (i'm not gonna lie, there's a lot of smut resources): • the classic—quinnanderson's 'ultimate guide to writing smut fic' on AO3 • smut synonyms from @plaidstiel-wormstache • @maybeeatspaghetti's smutty dictionary • another smut thesaurus from @prurientpuddlejumper • this list of praise kink dialogue, also a good site for sex positions • sex positions for deep penetration (with diagrams) • this guide by @void-my-warranty • and not quite smut, but this post on how to write a kiss scene from @youneedsomeprompts

writing software: • a collection of alternatives to google docs, by @the960writers • here is @yekokataa's AO3 template for scrivener

prompts, for when you want to write but need a nudge: • @creativepromptsforwriting • @deity-prompts (who also has an excellent masterlist of writer's advice)

I may update this list occasionally who knows, but for now I hope some of you find it helpful 💗

[deception-united]

Writing Software I Use & Recommend

Brainstorming:

Campfire: Great for organising your thoughts and making detailed character profiles, customised maps, worldbuilding, plot organisation—amongst other features. You can write your manuscript here and post it; and they have many helpful writing tips on their blog. Here's a general overview (customisable):

Notion: Although not conventionally a writing software, I find it immensely helpful for getting my thoughts sorted out. It's organised and easy to navigate, and the interface is manageable and uncluttered. (Keep in mind it's hard to cowrite on Notion—if you're planning to, I suggest making a separate Gmail account and both logging in with that.)

Microsoft Word, with spellcheck off, in Comic Sans (I saw the font thing somewhere and hate that it works). This is what I use when writing excerpts or spontaneous ideas, and it's actually quite effective, though I couldn't tell you why.

Writing/Editing:

Reedsy: The manuscript editor is organised and lets you set writing goals, split chapters, and jot down notes for later. I highly recommend it for authors looking to self-publish—once you're done, you can format and export your book as an eBook or PDF; and you can connect with various editors and find the one that's right for your novel.

Scrivener: Although, unlike the others I've mentioned so far, this software isn't free, the formatting is great for making an outline, collecting any research and notes, and writing your manuscript.

Feel free to add on any more you know of! Hope this was helpful ❤

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[imaginaryelle]

What I've used is this: I keep my main folders in Dropbox so I can easily access the files from two computers, and I also have a scrivener-file back-up on each computer, which is autosaved based on my configuration of scrivener's back-up function (it's on automatically and you can choose when it makes a back-up and how many of the most recent back-ups you want it to save). As I complete parts/when I remember, I also compile the file into a word doc (or rtf, pdf, etc.) to save a back-up in another location that is not a scrivener-specific file type.

You can also choose a back-up in a specific folder whenever you want. There's more about the options here: https://www.literatureandlatte.com/blog/how-to-back-up-your-scrivener-projects

I'm not sure about methods for saving a file as a .doc/rtf/etc., making changes, and then re-opening in scrivener. If I write outside of scrivener I generally copy and paste the new words or edits into the scrivener doc the next time I have it open, but I may just have not figured out tool that the software does have.

@ writers, just out of curiosity.... when you write multichapter fics, do you have each chapter in a separate doc or have everything on one big doc?

[allastoredeer]

My Hellaverse Writing & Drawing Resources (Masterpost) & Blog Tags

(A lot of this is for me, but feel free to use if you want.)

(Is updated as I stumble across more or make my own resources)

Blog Tags

#Undercover Angel AU (for my Angel Alastor au)

#allastoredoodles (my art tag)

My World-Building, Character Analysis, and Lore

The Hierarchal Power Structure in Pentagram City + Royal Family Character Analysis

Lucifer's Religious Trauma - Character Analysis

Why I Don't Include Dante's 9 Circles of Hell in my Hellaverse World-Building Lore

More About Dante's 9 Circles + Imp City and the Goetia

Hellborn and Sinner Similarities and Differences + Classism

Helluva Boss Canon Lore Tidbits

Note: Some posts may have repeated canon lore

Post 1

Post 2

Post 3

Art Resources

Alastor

Alastor Drawing Guide

Alastor Cane Drawing Guide & Hand Reference Sheet

Alastor 3/4 (right) Expression Sheet

Alastor Side Profile Breakdown

Full Body Breakdown/Poses

Lucifer

Lucifer Drawing Guide

Vox

Vox Drawing Guide

Husk

Husk Drawing Guide

Rosie

Rosie Drawing Guide

Character Designs

Sinners From the Show (Collection 1)

Backgrounds

Heaven Embassy (Exterior)

Post-Extermination City-Scape

Writing Resources

The 5 Senses

75 Words That Describe Smell

Descriptive Words for Scents: List of Smell Adjectives

200+ Words to Describe a Voice

How to Describe a Smile in Different Ways

600+ Words to Describe Smiles

What a Decomposing Body Smells Like

General Writing Help

How to Write Immersive Stories Using Description

World Building Tips: Writing Engaging Settings

Writing Action Scenes

Adjectives for Description

Dialogue Tags to Use Instead of Said

6 Seconds, 6 Months - Writing Advice/Challenge

Miscellaneous

How to Write Realistic Injuries

Explosives and Blasting Agents

BOM: The Next Generation of High Performance Explosives

Burning Points of Various Fabrics

English to Shakespearean (Perfect for Zestial! Thank you @witch-of-the-writing-desk)

English to Old English (Perfect for Zestial! Thank you @witch-of-the-writing-desk)

Fantastic Post About Louisiana and New Orleans (Great for writing Alastor!)

Helpful Websites and Writing Programs

Random Character Generators

Websites For Writers (Collection)

Pacemaker Planner

Hiveword: The Search Engine For Writers

StimuWrite Desktop

OneStopForWriters

LibreOffice (Free Microsoft Word Alternative)

Scrivener

My Ko-Fi

You know. If you wanna (◕‿◕✿)

[writeblrcafe]

A Comprehensive Guide for Writing Advice

Sometimes, despite enjoying writing so much, something is not working for you. Maybe your well of ideas has run dry. Or your WIP has hit a corner and you can't find your way out to the end of the story. Or you need to go back to your finished draft and see if there are any kinks to clear up.

Fortunately, everyone at Writeblrcafé has experienced such, and to help you out, we have a bunch of links to helpful posts by fellow writers to help you along on your writing journey as well as some helpful links to other websites, resources and software.

General:

WHY IS WRITING IS SO FUCKING HARD? (@writers-hq)

Writer Block First Aid Kit (@isabellestone)

Websites for writers (masterpost @2soulscollide)

Writing advice (masterpost @theliteraryarchitect)

Writing resources (masterpost @stinastar)

One look thesaurus (a reverse dictionary where you can enter words or concepts)

Coming Up with Ideas:

97 Character Motivations (@theplottery)

Character Flaws (@fantasyfillsmysoul)

Character Profile (@mistblossomdesigns)

Characters Unflawed (@emptymanuscript)

Why Theme is More Important than Plot (@theplottery)

Weekly writing prompts on Reedsy

Drafting:

3 of the worst story beginnings (and how to fix them) (@theplottery)

Cheat Sheet for Writing Emotion (@myhoniahaka)

Creative Writing for Writers (@writerscreed)

Describing Physical Things (@wordsnstuff)

How to Craft a Natural Plot (@theplottery)

How to Write a Story? (masterpost @creativepromptsforwriting)

How to write: ethnicity & skin colour (@youneedsomeprompts)

What the F is Show Not Tell (@theplottery)

Writing advice from my uni teachers (@thewritingumbrellas)

First Draft: story outlining template meant to help with planning your next big writing project (@fauxriot)

The wonder/ discovery arc (@evelynmlewis)

How to structure a chapter (@theplottery)

How to pace your storytelling (@charlesoberonn)

How to write and research mental illness (@hayatheauthor)

Seven Blogs You Need To Read As An Author (@hayatheauthor)

Editing/Revising:

Eight steps in making the editing process of your book easier (@joaneunknown)

Kill Your Darlings (@tibodine)

Self editing tips (first pass) (@projecttreehouse)

Publishing:

Chill Subs: biggest database for literary magazines and small presses; track your submissions and get your writing published!

5 steps to get your novel ready to self-publish (by @nanowrimo)

Resources for finishing and publishing your novel (masterpost by @nanowrimo)

For self-publishing: this page gives you the exact pixel count of a book spine based on its page count, and/or a template you can use for the correct width/height ratio.

Software:

Scrivener: one time payment of $60 or 70€ (macOS/windows), $24 (iOS; no Euro listed for iOS); used by professionals, many tools to write and organize your novel

Bibisco: free and "pay what you want" version; multilingual, world building, character profiles, writing goals, story timeline, mind maps, notes and more templates to write a novel.

Manuskript: free open source-tool; outliner, novel assistant, distraction-free mode

Ghostwriter: a free and open alternative which has a decent interface with some interesting features, like Hemingway Mode, which disables one's backspace and delete keys, emulating a typewriter.

NaNoWriMo: an international contest to encourage writers to finish writing their novel with many events, groups for exchange with fellow writers, helpful writing advice and help for self-publishing and publishing traditionally.

Campfire Writing: website, desktop app, and mobile app, with tools built in to help manage characters, magic systems, research, etc. It has a great free option, plus monthly, annual, and lifetime purchase options. It also has built-in NaNoWriMo compatibility and a catalogue of tutorials and writing advice videos (suggestion by @harfblarf)

Websites And Writing Apps Every Author Needs In 2023 (@hayatheauthor)

Let us know in the comments if there are any links we could add to it! Reblog this post to help a fellow writer.

Support our work by buying a cup of coffee on KoFi.

[beatlesandbards]

Scrivener crowd represent! I switched to scrivener from word after learning & despising Google docs, and I have NEVER looked back.

The organizational, storyboarding, and project tracking tools are just unbeatable.

Plus it's pretty lightweight and it's cheap (especially if you do NaNo and get the half-off coupon!). And AUTOSAVES, people, can't stress that enough. Scrivener has never lost a thing on me in the 9 years I've used it.

writer survey question time:

inspired by seeing screencaps where the software is offering (terrible) style advice because I haven't used a software that has a grammar checker for my stories in like a decade

if you use multiple applications, pick the one you use most often.

[desertfangs]

Since you write a lot do you have tips for people who want to write more?

Hi, anon! I can sure try and tell you some of what works for me!

Ignore advice that you don’t find helpful (that includes these tips!)

Writing is a process, but your writing process is always going to be unique to you, so if something doesn’t work for you, trying to implement it is only going to make you miserable. Like some people will tell you to write every day, but sometimes the pressure of that is going to be too much. Basically anything that doesn’t work for you, chuck it in the bin. You don’t need it.

Put your word processor in full screen

I write in Scrivener, which has a “composition mode” but you can also just put your document on full screen to minimize distractions. That way it’s harder to flip over to check Discord or Tumblr or whatever. Of course, I still exit out of full screen every time I need to look something up in the thesaurus and then I end up spending 15 minutes screwing around on the internet so you know, it's not a perfect system.

Work on several things at once and don’t be afraid to step away if a story isn’t working

Granted, my writing method is like throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks, so I tend to start a lot of stuff that fizzles out after a few paragraphs (or a few thousand words 😭😭) and I know juggling multiple things does not work for everyone.

I personally usually need at least 2 current WIPs, so I can switch to the second when I get stuck on the first. This means even while I’m ruminating on one fic, I’m writing another. But I have friends who literally can’t write on more than one project at a time or their brains will explode, so again, it’s just about what works best for you.

[BRACKETS]

If you’re stuck on something like a detail or a fact you need to look up or a piece of dialogue (“How the fuck would Lestat respond to THAT?” is my constant refrain, my cats are tired of hearing it), just put something in brackets like [Lestat replies with something flirty or witty] or [Fact check if X] or whatever it is, and then you can move on and keep going and not lose your momentum.

Set a Timer

If you're struggling to make yourself focus and write, set a timer for 10, 15, 25 minutes (whatever increment of time works for you!) and write until it goes off. You can keep going after if you're on a roll, or your can stop for a while, but it will get you into the mindset of writing. And even if that's all you do that day, hey, you wrote for 10 minutes!

Kill your need for perfection and that critic in your brain

I am still working on this but it’s true! You can make your WIP more perfect in editing. The old adage that you can’t fix a blank page is correct. And honestly, a lot of times I will write something and think ‘ugh this is no good’ and then go back and read it weeks later and really dig it. Or I figure out what it needs to make it better. (Or sometimes it still sucks and we just pretend it never happened.) But no one else has to see your first drafts! So don’t stress about making the first draft super good or agonize too much over word choice. Just get words on the page and worry about making it better later.

I hope you find some of that helpful, Anon!