Craft Tools Learn the tips and tricks of Scrivener for Writers with Tech Guru and author Pat Haggerty

As writers, we’ve all spent time hunched over a keyboard trying to get our thoughts into some word processor. Word processors such as Word and Pages work ok when it comes to writing fiction but their focus is much more on processing your words (layout, font, headers, footers, etc) than on the creative process. Enter Scrivener.

Scrivener is the premier application for the creation of novels, novellas, and like works. It allows you to write your story the way you want and helps you integrate your research, planning, writing, etc. all into one tool. This course will teach you, the writer, how to best use Scrivener for everything from planning your scenes to generating output for your publisher.

Lectures will be presented using recorded videos so you can hear and see as your instructor explains and demonstrates everything you need to become effective with Scrivener. Each lecture will be announced through the Savvy forums/list and will be accompanied by a brief timeline. Students will then be able to use the same forms/list to ask questions, discuss lectures, etc. In addition the course will have a forum/mailing list to facilitate questions and discussions.
I opened Scrivener and it is absolutely nothing like Word

• Why that’s a good thing
• Getting around the interface
• Learning enough to get writing now
• Starting a new novel
• Editing basics

I can’t just start writing, I need to plan first

• Capturing your plan and synopsis
• Setting up the Corkboard
• Using and organizing notecards
• Outlining

I need to get my chapters and scenes organized, my way

• Organizing and reorganizing with the Binder
• Creating parts, chapters, and scenes
• Sorting things the way you want
• Mapping into a template
• Editing options and views

Whew, my book is ready, now how do I get it out?

• Compiling to the final output
• Controlling formatting
• Compiling to PDF
• Compiling for Kindle
• Revisiting the template and formatting options

I’ve lost work before and now I’m paranoid, how can Scrivener help?

• Configuring Scrivener’s automated backup
• Backing up to the cloud (Dropbox) automatically