Scrivener, A Good Place To Store Your Writer's Toolbox.

Scrivener is a word processor designed with the writer in mind. With countless features and functions, its use can be dynamic or static, but won't get in the way of the writing process. Any feature can be used as easily as it is ignored, dismissed as easily as it is brought up.

Here are some great tutorials on how to use Scrivener, but the purpose of this post is to show how Scrivener can help, not explain how to use it. These are the features I've found the most useful.

The Binder: Chapters, POV's, scenes, any size of text can be broken down into sub files, organized, rearranged, and searched. This allows large projects to be broken down into individual sized chucks and the search options prevent any file from becoming lost.

Target Word Count: Allows the writer to set a target word count and pops up a notification when the goal has been reached. Includes a progress bar showing percentage of completion.

Compose View: Allows the writer to tune out all on screen distractions, the screen is filled with a white sheet for text and a customizable backdrop. At the bottom is a popup bar that provides options for adjusting the transparency of the backdrop, the width of the paper sheet, navigating through separate files of text, and text view size. As the writer types, the curser stays in the center of the screen.

Corkboard View: Presents each file in the Binder as a note card. With the option to create a synopsis of what each files contains, Corkboard View makes it easy to see what is in each file and rearrange their order.

Group Mode: Shows groups of files in the binder, along with their individual target word counts and any other information tagged onto them. Great for seeing which parts of the story still need work.

Compile: This is where the real magic happens. Once a story is done, it can be exported in any format, as any file type, through any medium the author wishes. The process is a little complicated, but easy to understand. This makes it simple to share a PDF with one person, create an ePUB for amazon, or a .docx document for a query letter with no need to reformat the root text. Do it all with Scriveners compiler.

There is much much more Scrivener can do. There are custom icons for each file in the binder, meta-data, comments, footnotes, quick reference pop out windows, collections, inspector, labels, notes, scratchpad, name generator, audio notes and dictation, and a unique "Scrivenings" mode.

The best feature of Scrivener is that, while it is a powerful and robust tool, any part of the interface can be ignored as easily as it is implemented. Don't need an inspector? Don't know what "Scrivenings mode" is? Ignore them! The tools you do need are intuitive and will be easy for you to pick up without needing any tutorials to get started.

Scrivener's goal is get out of the way of the writing process and let creativity flow. I've found it to be useful. If you are interested in trying it for yourself, check it out here.

David Wolverton's Kick in the Pants

David Wolverton, David Farland, he's all the same man. He began his career in 1987 after winning a prestigious award from some stuffy contest. Once he got the ball rolling, awards, records, and et cetera soon followed. Case in point: He's a successful author. Aside from his writing career he has played tutor for many authors including Brandon Sanderson, Brandon Mull, and James Dashner, to name some of my favorites. I've established some of his credentials, now let me share what he is doing today to help authors and aspiring authors alike.

"The Daily Kick in the Paints" is an email list/blog anyone can subscribe too. From this blog David Wolverton includes belly thoughts about writing, and the business of writing. Guest bloggers also chime in from time to time with their advice. He also includes important news about market trends, ethics, and moral issues.

David Wolverton runs many Writing Workshops including live workshops, interviews, online courses, lectures, and self-education books available at his website MyStoryDocter.com. The prices are always going on sell and the best way to learn of the deals is to subscribe to the Daily Kick in the Pants email list.

His stories, experiences as a writer, and extensive efforts to share his craft lend great value to the beginning author. But David Wolverton goes beyond that. In recent posts, David has spearheaded, promoted, and driven a campaign to protect a fellow author who was stricken with the bitter plague that is plagiarism. His efforts made a difference in the fight to protect creative rights and writers integrity. To read one of his accounts of the efforts, follow this link. To read the authors account of what happened and/or donate to the effort, follow this link.

In another side note, over a year ago, David Wolverton/Farland's son suffered a traumatic long boarding accident. Medical bills have skyrocketed above 1 million dollars for the Wolverton family. He has been fighting those bills simultaneously with helping the plagiarism campaign. To learn more about his situation and pay it forward for all David does to help fellow writers, visit this link. Even a successful writer needs help sometimes.

David Wolverton provides many resources for the aspiring writer. I hope this post helps you access those resources as well as learn what sort of man David is. May all writers aspire to treat their trade as David does.