This is a shout-out to K. M. Weiland, author and writing coach, and Joseph Michael, Scrivener ninja, for hosting their live webinar, Learn Scrivener Fast, on July 13. They presented an amazing tutorial to help writers master Scrivener without tears. Are you a writer under pressure? Start crushing Scrivener here.
The Writer’s Challenge
Technology has revolutionised the way we writers work. We can now manage research and content, the process of writing and development of our material in digital formats, all in one place, but the downside can be a steep learning curve. Anxious writers often skip the important part, under the heading of, read the manual, which is a special form of purgatory Gutenberg probably never imagined. Writing and learning both drain the emotions because they are stressful to do. A writer is already stressed by the creative process and possibly can’t draw on the extra mental and emotional resources to undertake learning alongside producing their own work.
Crushing Scrivener
The Scrivener manual is one of the most detailed I’ve ever seen. You open it, and you just want to, well, close it again. I don’t want to criticise the manual, because every aspect of Scrivener is beautifully designed, but writers are under pressure, and their minds are simply not geared to climbing a self-help mountain when they need to start work. Joseph Michael’s course teaches visually. Most of all, I liked his screenshots and the walk-throughs with the highlighter. because you learn how to map the functionality in your mind so you can master the software with less effort.
Why Use Scrivener?
Scrivener covers every aspect of the writing process, from research and outlines, drafts and saving versions, to compiling and export. Here’s what Michael covered in his Learn Scrivener Fast Webinar:
- The Binder, and 3 main folders – Manuscript, Research, Trash (This is no ordinary trash bin)
- Hierarchies within the Binder
- Importing from another word processor (e.g. MS Word)
- 3 Main Views – Scrivenings, Corkboard, and Outline
- Colour coding, labels, status, word count, targets and more.
Are you crushing Scrivener to improve your productivity?
In summary, here are the links again.
Learn Scrivener Fast by Joseph Michael
Scrivener Template by K.M. Weiland on her Helping Writers Become Authors Blog
Scrivener is created by two genius guys based in Truro, Cornwall in the UK. You can purchase it here. There’s also a flexible trial option. Check out their site, Literature and Latte, because there is a lot more on it besides Scrivener.
I have Scrivener for Mac and for Windows, but not tried the iPad version yet. I store my work in the cloud, which means I can access it from whichever machine I’m using at the time. If you are a busy writer who is not crushing Scrivener already, do yourself a favour and check it out.
Thanks again for the generosity of K.M. Weiland and Joseph Michael who made their time and resources available. I understand the webinar was a huge success with over 1000 participants worldwide, me being one of them.
Happy writing!
Declaration: I have not been paid to write this and receive no cash or compensation in kind.
Credits: Scrivener screenshot by Literature and Latte.
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