Scrivener

Nothing Beats Scrivener for Writers

Fordeler:

Scrivener is endlessly flexible, fitting any way you can think of to help you write the best prose you possibly can and print it in just about any way you may need, including producing files suitable for publication in online bookstores such as Amazon. The complexity does, however, make the program intimidating to beginning users. It helps if a user makes a conscious decision to learn and use only the bare bones at first, but it can be difficult to figure out what bare bones to use and where they are. It helps a lot, though, that Googling Scrivener along with a function of the program will produce dozens of how-to articles. After all, Scrivener is designed for writers, and a good number of them write about Scrivener!

Ulemper:

I reluctantly admit that I haven't yet talked myself into tackling the learning curve on printing out anything but the simplest of documents from Scrivener. I'm sure it was worth it to many writers in the past who needed to produce publication-ready manuscripts, but these days Vellum is available for the Mac and Atticus can be bought for either Apple or Windows computers. Both are much easier to use.

The Only Thing You Need to Write a Novel with.

Kommentarer: I love Scrivener. Been using it for a long time, at least seven years. I could never go back to Word or contemplate using Google docs. The software is a beast for authors. Based on the price point, the free upgrades, and zero subscription fees is worth it alone.

Fordeler:

Scrivener makes it easy to write a full length novel. It was next to impossible for me to not just keep track of my manuscript in Word but to jump around the document to random scenes. I love the binder and the inspector features. The way the software is designed it's an all-inclusive word process with tools to help me keep my manuscript organized which means more time spent on writing.

Ulemper:

The only con is that it takes a quite a bit of a learning curve. If you want to use the simple word processing features then no added lessons needed. However, if you want to use the other features, which aren't necessarily obvious, be prepared to take a course in how to use the software. It's the only way I was able to unlock/figure out all the features I love using currently.

Okay for Writing, Not Good for Worldbuilding

Kommentarer: I've spent a lot of time using Scrivener to organize my stories and worldbuilding. Although I did appreciate the layout in terms of being able to readily access written documents, I got frustrated with the formatting abilities and eventually chose to use Evernote. Another drawback with Scrivener is the lack of cloud syncing. Because I only could access the file on one computer, I had to transfer ideas from other sources, such as Google Tasks, into the scrivener file on that specific computer. It would have been easier if I could access Scrivener online, so I didn't have to keep transferring notes over to the file.

Fordeler:

My favorite part about Scrivener is that you can access your notes side by side. It's easy to put your different notes in folders and easy to organize the different pages. This makes it a better choice than Microsoft Word or a similar program for writing stories.

Ulemper:

I did not like the formatting at all in Scrivener. I had used Scrivener for writing for a while, but I stopped because the ability to format text was strange. I wanted to use it for world-building documents, which requires a variety of text (bold, underline, bullet points, etc.). However, in Scrivener, the indents were off and the inserted tables hard to work with. The bullet points would line up with the left side of the title text which didn't look right. The final product didn't look as good as it does in other programs such as Microsoft Word or Evernote.

Every writer needs this software

Kommentarer: I love it. It’s so helpful once you get the hang of it.

Fordeler:

I was having trouble with the pace of my books and this software has helped me so much. I’m always top ten in my genre with every release now.

Ulemper:

I wish the proofreading was more thorough. It catches misspelling but not grammar. I wish it had that so I don’t have to scan my document with additional software.

Scrivener... A Work Library for All My Masterpieces

Kommentarer: I have tried other writing tools, but I keep going back to Scrivener. Once I learned how to maximize the platform there hasn't been another tool l've liked more!

Fordeler:

Scrivener makes keeping my writing organized super easy! I love the fact that I can use it both on my computer and my phone.

Ulemper:

It took a while to get the hang of some of the features, but it was worth the work!

Don't Believe the Hype: Scrivener is Awful and You Will Hate it - Avoid It and You Will Thank Me!

Kommentarer: There are no functions for increasing or decreasing indent unless you want to go back to using the tab key constantly and if you do this in a list? Fugitaboutit. Scrivener 3 will remove the line from your list altogether as it assumes you didn't there anyway. It is awful software. Try to set the margins on Scrivener like you would on ANY free or paid word processing software. Go ahead, I'll wait...can't figure it out? That's because you can't do it. Scrivener 3 will set your margins as it sees fit and you will like it. Yes, the YouTube ladies will tell you that you can but good luck getting Scrivener to consistently set them and leave them. You'll be fighting page setup constantly with this software. How about leading on the text or "line spacing" as many word processors call it? Can't do that either. The whole document defaults to this weird 1.5 line spacing which is nearly impossible to change and keep changed. You'll be fighting line spacing for your entire document. This is an absolute travesty of an experience, Scrivener is trying to be smart about all the ridiculous carnival features it thinks you would actually use and in reality, none of its developers have ever tried to write a long form project using their own software...that is obvious. I could go on and on about the failure to process inserts like tables and pics and how these are a nightmare to format in your work or how you can't just add page breaks in a given paperback format or how you have to "complie"

Fordeler:

Project management allows you to break down the document into various sections which act as separate files. This is great for project management or storyboarding but an absolute nightmare for writing a long form document like a book or thesis paper.

Ulemper:

I have used this software for a couple months now and I absolutely hate it and for good reason. You cannot format text like you can in a free word processor like Open Office or in paid software like Word. They like to say you can but I'm here to tell you that you can't. Forget formatting lists in this garbageware. Scrivener 3 will format it as it sees fit and you will like it and just for fun, Scrivener will format it completely different under the exact same settings the next time you want a list. The format font is courier or Times and good luck trying to change that. Oh, you can change it alright, but it won't matter as every new line you type will be in the Scriver 3 font - not the one that that rest of the document OR in the defaults settings which you changed originally. No, Scrivener 3 will type in the font it chooses - either Courier or Times and you will like it. Fake reviews and YouTube videos tell you to set up your styles in the "styles" pallet but good luck getting Scrivener to actually set the style consistently in the style you saved in the palette. Ultimately, you will be fighting formatting constantly.

Writing's on the Wall

Kommentarer: I generally love it. It's my go to software for writing and compiling documents for books, presentations, trainings, business plans, and SOR, and much more I'm probably forgetting. Overall very positive. And if I recall when I had interactions with support they were responsive and extremely helpfully. I think it was related to installing on a second computer.

Fordeler:

I like that I can map out, plan, write, rearrange, reorder, and edit, documents easily. In my case this is presentation scripts, books, and also business plans, and SORs. It's so nice to just be able to move sections of writing around easily. Which leaves time for just writing without worrying about the order.

Ulemper:

There's little I didn't like about it. I know I'm only scratching the surface with what I use it for, even as a writer, marketer, and author. So nothing stands out as an 'I don't like' for me.

Best novel-writing software

Fordeler:

I've been using Scrivener for over five years as a fiction writer, and I love having all my materials in one place--outline, character profiles, location info, research and more. And the word processing feature is robust and makes it easy to break my writing up into chapters or scenes. I use it for all my first drafts.

Ulemper:

There's definitely a learning curve if you want to get the most out of its features, but they've gotten better with tutorials and walk-throughs than it was when I first started using it. Other than that, I think it's a fantastic tool for authors.

Scrivener is the gold standard of writing software

Kommentarer: I've been using Scrivener for years. I like that it's flexible in that I can use the features that I find helpful and not worry about ones I don't need.

Fordeler:

Scrivener is as easy or complicated to use as you want it to be. You can get started quickly, then learn more about it's more advanced features as you need them.

Ulemper:

About the only thing I don't like about it is that it's rather dull visually. For some people, however, this might be a plus, as it isn't distracting when you're writing.

If you need to really organize writing projects and not just write them

Kommentarer: Scrivener makes light work of complicated documents and writing projects.

Fordeler:

We use scrivener when we have a writing project with lots of working parts, not just text but other pieces as well that we need to organize. The corkboard feature is the number selling point for us.

Ulemper:

Sometimes it can be a little clunky/slow.

Scrivener is THE writing app

Kommentarer: I've been using Scrivener since 2.0 from about 2016, and have written over a million words using it. I primarily have used it to write blog posts and for all my freelance client work. It has made me so much more organized than having to look through hundreds of documents on my MacBook. While there are a lot of menus and features, it is possible to customize the interface, and also to enable a distraction-free writing mode. When most writing software has now moved to a subscription model, Scrivener still remains a one-time purchase, and is the best value on the market. For writers, Scrivener is the only app you need.

Fordeler:

The organization features. Scrivener has the best organization from any writing software I have ever used. At first the interface looks highly complicated, but after a few hours, it is easy to get used to it. Being able to write long-form projects in different documents and then effortlessly rearrange them has been a game changer. I kept all of my client work inside Scrivener by creating different folders, and then also tagging each document based on the status of completion.

Ulemper:

The only con is the online syncing via Dropbox. It is not as user-friendly and reliable as other software which integrates with iCloud.

Powerful tool to energize your writing efforts

Kommentarer: When I first started using Scrivener, I was skeptical of the enthusiasm of my colleagues for the software, but it allows me to organize so much information in one application, that the benefits couldn't be denied. It serves you throughout the entire writing process, from brainstorming to publishing. And the tracking abilities keep you on your deadline during the entire time.

Fordeler:

1. There's a wide variety of tools available in Scrivener 2. The Binder allows you to have your research and manuscript in the same window 3. The Binder is great for structuring your ideas without resorting to a different app for outlining/corkboard 4. Tools for tracking progress built in 5. Many options for publishing the document into a more standard format 6. The price can't be beat

Ulemper:

1. It's hard to get it to work well with syncing and maintaining format 2. It doesn't support markdown very well 3. It requires some effort to master

Best stable reliable product for writing novels

Kommentarer: Incredibly positive. There is plenty of online competition but nothing is as stable as Scrivener.

Fordeler:

It's a straightforward tool with great editing capabilities. It's easy to rearrange scenes to get your novel in the right order.

Ulemper:

I don't enjoy using the compile feature. It improved with version 3 on Windows but I prefer to produce ebooks outside of Scrivener.

Scrivener

Kommentarer: I love it. It helps me get the writing done in a timely manner.

Fordeler:

I like the way it's organized to make it easier to navigate.

Ulemper:

There's not much that I don't like about Scrivener.

Scrivener is one of the best programs for writers

Kommentarer: Excellent.

Fordeler:

It is a program with multiple functionalities and options that is designed to be used according to the needs that we writers have. Once you start using it, you realize that Word is much worse in this regard. It allows you to organize the books by chapters and scenes, in addition to showing organization cards. Another feature that I love is that it allows you to keep track of daily writing goals. It also allows you to save previous versions and go back to them if necessary. Another of my favorite options, and one that I discovered not so long ago, is the possibility for the program to mark the different versions by color. Thus, when you are with a new version, you can see what you have added. Furthermore, you can always remove this and see the typical black text again. By the way, this option is only for viewing, and not for printing. It is very useful.

Ulemper:

There are few failures or drawbacks that I see in this program. One may be the learning curve to learn to do everything you can do with it. I recommend watching some basic video tutorials and start using it as soon as possible. As you use it more, then it's good to learn new features. Another possible disadvantage that I see to the program is that, at least in Spanish, the spell checker is quite basic. Furthermore, it doesn't have a thesaurus to use as you type. This is the only feature that World is better at.

The writer's best friend

Fordeler:

Scrivener is full of great features for writers since wring a simple ebook to a comic book storyline, the way you can organize all your lines, dialogues, and characters make it easier to read proof, and amend anything you need.

Ulemper:

In the beginning, the software tools are not very intuitive especially if you are used to using another software, but nothing extreme you can't learn in a few days of using it.

Scrivener--Perhaps the Perfect Software for Writers

Kommentarer: After initially struggling to understand the software, I've come to love it. While there are many imitators, Scrivener remains the king of the hill and is quite inexpensive, relatively speaking.

Fordeler:

Scrivener allows authors to organize a project into pieces, such as chapters, scenes, etc., and includes a "corkboard" which allows authors to organize all the moving parts of that project into an easy-to-follow structure. Furthermore, Scrivener provides a plethora of options for exporting your Scrivener project into other formats (ebooks, Word documents, text files, and much more). Also, I like that Scrivener is a one-time purchase with the software loaded on to your computer (not an online, monthly subscription).

Ulemper:

Scrivener has a steep learning curve. However, there are hundreds--if not thousands--of tutorials available online from the company and other users.

Best book drafting software out there

Kommentarer: The moment I switched to Scrivener to draft my fiction books, I never looked back. It's perfect to outline, draft, and do an initial edit, and it saves every keystroke which was very important for me. I use it almost every day and I never considered switching to anything else.

Fordeler:

Scrivener makes it easy to structure your project, it saves automatically whenever you type anything, and the word count per project and section make it easy to track your progress.

Ulemper:

It seemed daunting at first, before I figured out which features would work for me. There's a lot in Scivener that you you can get lost into, but about 20% of the features are what make it great to work, the rest is just clutter to me.

Doing research with Scrivener

Kommentarer: I am using it for collecting information for my research and writing drafts. It helps me to be better organised. However, its licensing terms and compatibility issues between Mac and Windows version are off-putting.

Fordeler:

I do like many things in Scrivener. Even though it is meant mainly for writers, it has so many features and I am not using all of them. For me, it is usually the tool that I am often coming back to when I want to start some new research, collect information, store excerpts from secondary literature and write drafts. And it does it very well! I love especially the split view for documents and how easy it is to create new subdocuments and folders and move everything around. I love it. Also, it is great that one can add various icons to folders and documents. I also like a very generous trial version which allows you to use it for 30 non-consecutive days of use!

Ulemper:

Firstly, it would be great if there would be just one personal license that I could use both on Mac and Windows. I bought the version 2 for Mac but I am still hesitating to put money into the Windows version. The reason is that it would not be just one-time purchase but I would have to do a similar thing with every major update (they are, however, rare). Another issue for users of multiple platforms is that Mac version 3 is currently not compatible with the stable Windows version 1, only with the beta version 3 for Windows (there is no version 2 for Windows). And the beta version 3 is still not perfect and I experienced multiple (although smaller) issues with it. I perfectly understand that the team of Scrivener programmers is extremely small and that they are doing an unbelievable amount of work, however, this is still an issue for me and the waiting for the Windows version 3 is just long. There is iOS version but now Android version. (And yeas, Linux version would be also nice but it is probably essential.) Finally, there are a couple of minor complaints: - Handling of images could be much improved, especially their resizing is cumbersome. - Better integration of Scapple would be great. - Better compatibility between Windows and Mac version (hopefully it will be done with the final version of the Windows app) The main reason why I am not using Scrivener all the time is, in the end, its license and the lack of better mind mapping functions (like Scapple).

Convenient tool for the last stage of your writing process

Kommentarer: I was writing a book (a compilation of articles) and was looking for software to help me assemble the whole manuscript. Microsoft Word, my usual writing app, was not convenient because I needed the flexibility to "play" with the order of the chapters. Scrivener provided just that. I did not need to open dozens of files (as in MS Word), but I could reorder them in one document with Scrivener. In addition, the label and metadata system saved me a lot of time and stress because I could easily map how my whole compilation was evolving.

Fordeler:

I enjoyed how it lets you play around with the structure of your manuscript. For example, you can move parts of your manuscript to see how they fit into the overall design. It also lets you categorize, filter, and summarize every chapter so you can have an accessible overview of the whole project. It is incredibly cheap: you buy it once and have it forever. And the developers trust both their product and their customers: in the case of Windows, in 2020, they allowed you to buy the 2.0 version and upgrade for free to 3.0 (released at the end of 2021).

Ulemper:

The learning curve seems overwhelming initially; nonetheless, there is a good tutorial within the program. If you are a little patient, you can master it eventually. Also, it could benefit from a more innovative interface, visually speaking, at least for the Windows version. It is enough for getting the work done, but it is not as appealing to the eye as other writing software.

Scrivener is the best word editor for copywriters, bloggers, authors, and solopreneurs

Kommentarer: The problem I'm using Scrivener to solve is I had a need to hold all of my writing work in one place for my business. I do not want to lose documents over time. I also use Scrivener to write more complex pieces of content such as Soap Opera Sequences, or books. When I open my Scrivener I see all of my projects going back from 2014, perfectly organized by folders. I open a project folder and see all of the word documents dedicated to that project. If I need to find something, I can easily search for it inside Scrivener and find it in no time.

Fordeler:

What I like most about Scrivener is how easy it makes the process of writing something as complex as an entire book. Yet, it doesn't make the process of writing more simple documents any more difficult than using word. I've used scrivener to write dozens of Soap Opera Sequences (serialized drip email campaigns that use nested and open loops), sales letters, Instagram posts, proposals, and my first book. It's like using an enhanced version Microsoft Word , or Apple's Pages.

Ulemper:

What I dislike most about the software is how the Microsoft version is a major update behind the Mac version. I wish they would release both versions within 3 months of each other. Right now I can't find a way to use emoji's in my writing on the Microsoft version. And that is a major letdown as using emojis is a very strong copywriting technique in 2021.

Scrivener review

Kommentarer: Scrivener is a great tool that has helped to improve my productivity while writing.

Fordeler:

Scrivener's use of folders and pages makes it easy to break down a piece of writing into its composite parts. Its drag-and-drop support also allows for easy editing.

Ulemper:

The learning curve is a little steep, and it took me a while to get used to the software.

Extremely powerful software for novel-writing

Kommentarer: It's great for tracking daily word counts, as well as setting daily/project word goals. The ease of use is extremely handy, and it formats projects in such a way to keep all my outlines, notes, images, etc. all in one place. I'll never use another writing software again.

Fordeler:

What I love about Scrivener is that it molds to the user. If a user is a lightweight when it comes to technology, they can still use the software to meet their needs. But if the user expands to use the software to its full capabilities, they won't need to utilize other software to complete projects and export solid-looking books.

Ulemper:

The Kindle plugin is buggy. A lot of times I have to export my books to an ePub file, then use 3rd party software to convert the file to mobi.

Great writer's tool

Kommentarer: While there is a huge learning curve with this software, I love that it keeps everything I need in one document for my novels. Gone are the days of multiple documents and worrying about keeping things organized. This software keeps everything in one document which is amazing. Once I have more time to actually sit down and watch the various tutorials, I hope to be able to utilize even more of the software's features. I think if there were better tutorials to help people get started, it would help a lot. I originally used the tutorial and almost gave up on the software until I found some better tutorials online and through Youtube.

Fordeler:

I love that it allows me to not only section out chapters, but also scenes within the chapter. It also gives me the option to keep characters, locations, and all sorts of notes in one document.

Ulemper:

Compiling correctly can be a giant pain. It took a lot of time to get the basics down. I have yet to master all the options that the software offers because of the complexity. It also offers various formatting options, but again, learning all of these options takes a lot of time and effort.

Writing Made Easier

Kommentarer: Overall, I am having a good experience with Scrivener. However, since I am not at the final stages of my current manuscript, I haven't been able to take full advantage of what it has to offer yet.

Fordeler:

What I love about this software is that is was made with the writer in mind. One of my favorite features is the Toggle Split that makes it possible to see two files side by side. I also love the flexibility of being able to turn files into folders and vice versa. It also helps to be able to attach other documents in one place.

Ulemper:

Since I'm a more visual person, not being able to move files around more fluidly is a bit of a problem for me.