scrivener

If you are a writer using the Macintosh then you might want to give Scrivener a try (or at least watch the demo video). Scrivener is “a word processor and project management tool created specifically for writers of long texts such as novels and research papers.” But if you are visiting this blog then you might one who dabbles in screenwriting. Well Scrivener can handle that too.

Sure there is the ever powerful Final Draft for screenwriting, or the free program CeltX or even the newest addition to screenwriting on the Macintosh, Montage, but Scrivener looks to take things a bit further. Just look at a few of Scrivener‘s features (from the Scrivener website):

  • Edit Multiple Documents: Create limitless documents in the same project and edit them separately or merge them dynamically and edit them as a whole.
  • Corkboard: Virtual index cards store a synopsis for every document you create. Storyboard and rearrange your project by moving them around on the corkboard.
  • Outlining: A fully-featured outliner helps you take control of the structure of your work.
  • Keywords: Use a powerful keywords system to keep track of characters, themes or ideas.
  • Full Screen Editing: View your text in full screen for distraction-free composition.
  • Export:Export your finished draft to your favourite word processor for final formatting, including support for footnotes, annotations and images.

Scrivener is not for screenplays only though there is a scriptwriting mode. You can even write you script in Scrivner and export it to Final Draft for the ultimate polish.

One of  my favorite things about Scrivener is the Research area in the binder. In the research area you can save a number of different file formats for quick and easy viewing but the best feature is that you can also save a web page. Just cut and paste the URL from a browser and Scrivner uses its own mini-browser to display the page. It’s a very handy way to keep information about your topic close at hand. I’ve often found that when I step out into a browser to look something up it often takes a while to get back to work. There’s also a distraction free full-screen mode to help with that too. In fact there’s so much in Scrivener that a test drive of the software is available for free for 30 days. If you like it then buy a license for $39.95.

One thing worth noting is this: “Because Scrivener is about shaping chunks of text into a final typescript, Scrivener knows nothing of pages until it comes to exporting or printing and therefore does not have the page layout viewing features of modern word processor applications.” It’s not a replacement for Word or Pages but rather its own, unique application for the serious writer. If that’s you then give Scrivener a try.