EVENT REPORT Scrivener 101

Everyone agreed it was the sunniest day of the year so far, as 15 people filed into a room in Edinburgh Central Library on the 21st April, Miranda Moore reports. But we were there to learn about Scrivener and we were determined that glorious sunshine was going to be a sacrifice worth making. 

Our workshop host, SCWBI Southeast Scotland member Caroline Deacon, explained most word processors create a linear document, which, as your novel gets longer, can become tricky to navigate. You also end up with additional files, for research, outline, synopsis etc. In Scrivener, your story, subdivided into scenes, together with all your background material, is in one place.

It’s a different way of organising your work, and a different way of thinking about it. Working in scenes seems to make sense – each scene has its own file, but each of those is simply a sub-file of the umbrella work. If that’s confusing, that’s probably because we’re all so used to working in Word, anything radically different challenges our approach.

Scrivener workshop attendees in Edinburgh Central Library.

Character profiles, story outline and research are all in one place – all part of your umbrella document, which is why Scrivener converts insist it’s a more user-friendly way to organise our work, once we’ve got to grips with it. You can import files, write scene summaries or notes, like index cards, and view them together or toggle between different views.

Character profiles, story outline and research are all in one place – all part of your umbrella document, which is why Scrivener converts insist it’s a more user-friendly way to organise our work

Another major benefit is the facility to shift scenes. You can simply drag and drop scenes and chapters rather than having to cut and paste, which can become laborious in a lengthy manuscript. Meanwhile, the Split Screen function enables you to look at your current scene alongside another element, such as a character profile or the scene that precedes or follows it.

Scrivener also has a Meta-Data facility which can be customised to show any number of elements, such as every time your document features, for example, flashback or food, while the Targets feature enables you to set overall and daily word count targets.

The only way to really understand how to use Scrivener in all its glory is to play about with it

I was sandwiched between a non-SCBWI member and a SCBWI member who’d been using Scrivener for several years between them. Both felt they weren’t using it to its full potential, while a few present, myself included, were fairly new to the software.

Caroline Deacon helps everyone get to grips with Scrivener.

Jim Fraser has been using Scrivener for 18 months: ‘It has reminded me of things it can do that I’d forgotten about and it’s confirmed to me that it’s definitely the tool that I want to use but I need to invest some time in it. It’s a bit like learning a language as an adult compared to learning a language as a child.’

As Caroline concluded, ‘The only way to really understand how to use Scrivener in all its glory is to play about with it.’

I came away from the workshop armed with a clearer understanding of Scrivener’s essential advantages and a renewed resolve to switch over to it to tackle my WIP. It’s not something you pick up in a day but I’m convinced it will be worth the effort.

*All images: Sarah Broadley

                                                                                                                                                                     



Miranda Moore worked as a newspaper journalist and editor before turning to fiction writing. She runs a choir, fronts a covers band and loves the outdoors. She can often be found sitting under a tree in her garden, a hot water bottle stuffed under her jumper, typing her stories and contemplating life. She has a degree in English and Philosophy and a Masters in International Peace Studies. Miranda is currently writing YA/crossover.
                                                                                                                                                                  

Fran Price is Events Editor for Words & Pictures magazine and writes picture books and middle grade stories. If you have a SCBWI event to promote or report, do contact her at events@britishscbwi.org