How I Use Scrivener For Fiction And Non-Fiction Books

[@mageprometheus]

Thank you. I have too many expensive hobbies! A home recording studio, video production, guitars and keyboards to name a few. Luckily writing is relatively inexpensive. Scrivener, Aeon Timeline, MindManager, Obsidian for knowledge management and you're away. 😄

[@MichaelMeotti]

Excellent overview for starting in Scrivener. I first watched someone else's tutorial and it was far too detailed and lecutre oriented. This is much more "show and tell" and gets to the heart of what a beginner would want to know to start. As with any feature-rich software, the user learns by using over time -- not by being told or reading about the myriad of functions to start

[@thecreativepenn]

Glad it was helpful! And yes, I still only use a fraction of Scrivener, but I also still use it for every book!

[@MarkBusse-b7q]

A really nice introduction. I learned new features that will help me use Scrivener better. Thanks.

[@VincenzoNardelli]

Follow you in EVERY podcast! Lovely to see you here! Scrivener is such an amazong tool, forever grateful !

[@RichRayBeatsnFilms]

Thank you. Got Scrivener 3 weeks ago. About to write my first chapter, thanks to this video 👍🏾

[@thecreativepenn]

I hope you find it useful.

[@geomorph]

Excellent short tutorial.

[@miriamgiles4734]

As usual Joanna you have come up trumps. I've been using Scrivener for a couple of years now but never enjoyed it because I felt I wasn't using it correctly. I've tried a number of tutorials that went through each feature, but struggled to stay awake, and resented the amount of time I was using. And now here you are, in under 20 minutes, telling me all I need to know - why has it taken me sooo long to check out this tutorial (idiot!!). Anyway, now I know all I need to know, and I can surge forward with confidence and maybe even finish my ruddy book! Huge thanks as always 🙂

[@thecreativepenn]

Great! All the best with it!

[@johnharker_author]

Terrific video. I've been using Scrivener for years for my non-fiction books. Can't imagine using anything else. I was happy to see your organization is similar to mine (controlled chaos, in my case, to the casual observer), as is your writing method ("discovery"). I also format outside of Scrivener, using a combination of Atlantis word processor and Sigil. If I was a Mac person, I'd definitely use Vellum. It produces lovely books. Thanks for sharing from your personal files. Very interesting.

[@thecreativepenn]

Glad it was helpful! And I just don't know how I would 'tame the chaos' without Scrivener!

[@Jeremy-am]

I’m using Scrivener to confront the darkest, most painful chapters of my life in a novel. The journey is overwhelming, but Scrivener's tools are giving me the structure and strength to face these memories head-on. So far, it's been a lifeline in turning trauma into storytelling.

[@thecreativepenn]

Glad it's helping!

[@SenorGancho]

A very effective overview to help one take that dreaded first step. Thank you I enjoyed the session and found it time well spent!

[@thecreativepenn]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Abqscanner]

Thanks for the great video! I really appreciate the walk-through on how you organize your thoughts, resources, and book sections whether fiction or non-fiction. Very helpful!

[@thecreativepenn]

Glad it was helpful!

[@glensavory11]

A really digestible video. Love the idea of writing a ‘Value Shift’ in the notes to check the scene is moving the story forwards. If I didn’t have Scrivener already, you would have sold it to me. I also have PWA, Vellum- and they are all a fantastic combo, that sync nicely. Currently listening to How to Write a Novel, and your take on the process and life is great as always.

[@thecreativepenn]

Glad it was helpful!

[@ericguebin5874]

You finished convicing me. Just bought it today, thanks !

[@hans935]

0:35 This is exactly what I need to look for: a book on how to self-publish and how to write a novel. Just one of each is fine. I don’t want to be stuck in a loop without actually doing the writing. But that’s definitely the piece I’m missing. So far I’ve only looked up for references by reading more and more novel that might help me become familiar with what does the end product should look like. Usually, it always crosses my mind to look up a book on the exact issue I’m dealing with. Thank you so much for posting this. I just decide to start my journey on becoming an author and only found your channel today. So far, it’s been super helpful, and I immediately subscribed.

[@thecreativepenn]

Great! You can find all my books here - www.thecreativepenn.com/books/

[@thedailyheat]

I absolutely adore your video. It helped me so much. Thank you!

[@thecreativepenn]

Glad it was helpful!

[@roystonstone]

Love it. Writing and composing in Scrivener is game-changing. Pros: Instead of wrangling separate documents in computer folders, you can see it all on one screen. Drag-and-drop functionality and the "corkboard" feature are super helpful. Recommend. Cons: Agree that formatting in Scrivener is challenging. It is doable... but non-intuitive.

[@thecreativepenn]

Glad you found the tutorial useful!

[@Thunder-ny5yh]

Thank you for your time and consideration. I have started writing, drawing, singing and watching movies to create a novel, screenplay, storyboard and soundtrack for my first movie. Then, I had some dreams and began creating two more movies. As you probably guessed, I could really use Scrivener for songwriting, too! Just make, drag and drop sections of lyrics, beat, and melody notes. Again, thank you.

[@thecreativepenn]

Great! and yes, you can use it for so many things!

[@simonpert2485]

Really useful video thank you, I have scrivener and have yet to use it in anger but with my current project aim to do so, so that was really good, thanks

[@cjpreach]

Since my years with Scrivener have been frustrating and fruitless, this video is very helpful. I am now pulling together the 2nd draft of my current novel WIP, and I'd love to take advantage of the benefits of Scrivener. Looks like a "this week" project, before I move on to drafts 3-13. Thanks, Joanna.

[@shePhoenyx]

I'm currently reading your 'How to Write a Novel' and it's so helpful! I read the part where you recommend Sudowrite and I LOVE it. It's great for poetry! And its images are both hilarious and slightly frightening, while still being relevant. My problems when writing are getting started and nailing down a topic. I write a lot of content online (multiple blogs, Quora content, extremely in-depth comments with references [lol], etc) but it's nonfiction, with the exception of the poetry I've been writing since I was 12 (26 years ago!) which can't really be called fiction, either. Switching from those to fiction is so much harder than anyone mentions. I stumble every time I try and it's very discouraging. I'll write or dictate a summation of my idea, what I want my novel to be, but when I revisit those notes to start writing, I draw a complete blank. I have no idea how to get from idea to characters to dialogue to plot. It's like my ideas are finished before I start, with their 1000-ish-word summaries. It doesn't work like a movie in my head, the way reading, and even sometimes writing poetry, do. I feel like an utter failure and it doesn't help that I have almost no professional education. I've wanted to be a writer my whole life and I feel like a fraud when I call myself one because I'm barely published (exceptions being high school publications and one art textbook in which I'm misquoted). I guess I'm writing all this to ask if anyone, especially you, Joanna, have any suggestions that might help me. Please? And thank you.

[@thecreativepenn]

Everything I know is in 'How to Write a Novel,' so hopefully as you progress you will figure out a process that works for you. Stumbling is normal and you have to learn different skills, but you can learn by writing and reading more. Maybe check out www.Nanowrimo.org and get past your blocks by writing fast, even if it's a load of crap, you can edit it later. That's what I did back in 2009 - www.thecreativepenn.com/firstnovel/ All the best!

[@shePhoenyx]

@@thecreativepenn Awesome, thank you!

[@DrSimonBignell]

Very good. Thanks.

[@musicnotes4755]

Thank you, wonderful explanation. I just purchased your book, "How to Write a Novel".

[@thecreativepenn]

Thanks, I hope you find it useful :)

[@LedgerAndLace]

This is FANTASTIC, Joanna! And CONGRATULATIONS on the new book. I'm looking forward to reading it! :-)

[@thecreativepenn]

Thank you so much!

[@LisaHvitstein-2023]

Thank you so much for this video! It has helped me a lot!

[@naomidarlington1066]

You can actually use Microsoft Word with headings and the navigation pane in much the same way (you can drag and drop sections and move them around in the LH navigation pane, you just need to switch it on by clicking on Ctrl + F and selecting 'Headings').

[@thecreativepenn]

Everyone has their preference :) If Word works for you, great!

[@fawnfindslove]

Thank you so much.

[@thecreativepenn]

Glad it was useful!

[@RobbsHomemadeLife]

Thanks Joanna. Have you ever used Dragon NaturallySpeaking with Scrivener will ?

[@thecreativepenn]

I did use it a while back. I am actually finding Google is great right now, just dictating into Gmail. The AI speech to text options just get better and better!

[@shePhoenyx]

@@thecreativepenn if you use an Android phone and either Android Auto or Assistant's Driving Mode, you can also dictate while you're driving. Just say "Hey Google", "note to self", and start talking. If there's a lapse in your speech, you will have to start a new note. It waits until you're done talking to stop and "thinks" any pause is the end. However, you can just repeat the first step and continue. The notes are emailed to you and you can also tell Assistant to "remind me to check notes in email at 5:30". It's features like these that keep me from buying an iPhone despite wanting one every year. The Pixel Pros are very good, but I feel like a "fake artist" without one.

[@m.f.8752]

Thank you so much for the video. Very helpful. Can I ask you (I don’t mean to sound rude) but what age group were you in when you wrote that novel in 2009? I myself am nudging my mid-fifties and the biggest struggle for me right now is the thought that I’m too old to be taken seriously.

[@thecreativepenn]

I was in my mid 30s, but I am now 47 - and my mum wrote a self-published her first book in her 70s. No one needs to know how old you are, especially if you self-publish. It might be more of an issue if you want an agent and a publisher, but otherwise, it's never too late to start.

[@Oldhouseguy]

Scrivner does not do footnotes?

[@StacyODell]

I would be curious to understand what you find lacking in Scrivener that necessitates the use of Vellum

[@thecreativepenn]

Scrivener is for writing, Vellum is for formatting beautiful books. I use both in my process. While Scrivener can be used for formatting ebooks, it is not great at it.

[@samuelcollie2050]

Curious if anyone has gone from Windows 10 to 11 and how that has affected Scrivener. I have Windows 10, have not yet changed to 11.

[@starseeddeluxe]

You should edit this video and select "not made for kids." Since this is a "made for kids" video there's no way to save this video a KZbin playlist for viewing later. It also won't allow me to download the video through KZbin's download feature for viewing later.

[@thecreativepenn]

I always select 'Not made for Kids' - and this has the correct setting, I just checked. So I'm not sure why you're getting that issue.

[@frederickklarman1942]

Scrivener is too convoluted and confusing to be bothered with it any longer.

[@thecreativepenn]

Everyone has to find their own process.

[@ghost-user559]

I felt the same way originally several years ago. Scrivener is a tool best used with a lot of research into how to use all its features in depth, or else an amazing tool to use like whatever you are already used to. You can just use it like Pages or Word for a few years, or you can learn the ins and outs. Now its a very important tool to me, but originally it was obnoxiously complex. Just worry about writing, and definitely don’t try to learn Scrivener at the same time you are actually trying to write. Eventually you’ll find it just “clicks”.