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Including a log line for each Subdocument can act as helpful reminders when returning to a waypoint. There are a lot of great options to play with. Right-click on any column name and check the boxes you’d like to include. I like to add Target, Word, and Progress.

Outline items can display a number of useful columns. I like to keep a strict limit to 2-3 levels at most. Treat nesting with caution as too many levels can lead to a confusing document. root level documents might be formatted as chapters and their children as numbered scenes. Scrivener can then designate a document’s level and assign it a format, i.e. These form your narrative skeleton that will go a long way to meeting reader’s expectations.ĭragging a document onto another in any “Group Mode” nests Subdocuments. If you are a fan of The Story Grid, or another book on narrative structure, you will immediately recognize how quickly you can jot down obligatory scenes. Just create a Subdocument in outline mode for each. Go ahead and click the + button and see what happens.Ī new subdocument will appear in the table and in your binder! Holy moly they are the same items. You will see your Subdocuments arranged in a table with several columns. Select Draft in Scrivener’s binder and choose the Outline mode in the top toolbar. Sketching your narrative is a quick way to fumigate. The quicker you can burn these darlings, the better. Good writing arises from the ashes of bad ideas. You can use it to write a synopsis, designate a label, include metadata, keywords and much more. The Inspector applies itself to whatever is selected in the Binder and provides a load of nifty tools to organize your manuscript. You will write in Subdocument mode, you will rearrange in Corkboard mode, and you will outline in-yes- Outline mode. “Group Mode” gives you different viewpoints from which to analyze your writings ( Subdocuments).įrom left to right, we have Subdocument, Corkboard and Outline. Hint: If you don’t see the Binder, make sure the “Binder” button in the upper left is toggled on. These writing scraps act as building blocks and can be grouped in different ways. Select the highest parent (in this case Draft) and then the first “Group Mode” (see below) to view your manuscript in one continuous flow! Linear, yay! Write in one or one hundred of them! Select Draft and create a few with the + button. Scrivener lets you choose which of these make the manuscript cut and will format them according to your desired output, be it PDF, ePub, HTML, etc. We refer to these writings as Subdocuments, and they can be chapters, sections, beats or whatever you like. It’s simply a folder of writings-Scrivener nicknames them “ scrivenings”-that will be combined into a manuscript.

Writers who come from Word or a linear word processor struggle with the Binder. Open Scrivener and create a “Blank” project. If you are unfamiliar with Scrivener’s interface, fear not! There are three features you need to know before churning our your master outline. Scrivener give us tools to please both mindsets. Plotters use outlines to sketch out these waypoints-and pansters discover as they write their characters. Your muse may then sing toward the next map marker, and then the next and next until you have completed your manuscript. The key is to leave room for epiphany when heading to the next waypoint.

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Both approaches are lovely and need not be exclusive-this article will teach you how to ride a unicorn over charted terrain. Plotters are cartographers, etching every narrative detail into a map before bleeding ink. Some writers swear they cannot write if they know where they are headed and write by the seat of their pants. There’s the age-old distinction between two writing styles: plotting and pantsing. What she didn’t know is that she could have saddled that magical beast. Epiphany like this is a unicorn: rare, unruly, essential to remarkable prose, and often incompatible with long-form writing. She suffered from a case of “pantsing gone wrong.” You’ve been there, helpless to an idea that abandoned you as quickly as it took hold. With elated fingers her inner muse fueled every word, singing for three pages-and then silence. Three weeks ago, a friend of mine had plunked down to write her next novel.

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Our own Ferol Vernon was recently featured on the podcast – check out the interview and enter to win a free Freebooksy or Bargain Booksy feature.

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Leonard is the author of the Modern Rituals urban fantasy series and hosts/produces Bleeding Ink, a podcast for indie authors.

Scrivener outline