After researching writing programs available for Mac OS X, I decided to download and register Scrivener. I was impressed with all of the writing programs; they fit the requirements for various novice and professional writers. Maybe someday I’ll own a copy of each one. I am amazed how far the technology has evolved since the personal computer was created. It didn’t take long to decide what I was going to do.
Here is what impressed me the most (from the Literature and Latte website):
Scrivener is a word processor and project management tool created specifically for writers of long texts such as novels and research papers. It won’t try to tell you how to write – it just makes all the tools you have scattered around your desk available in one application.
Scrivener provides access to the full power of the OS X text system: add tables, bullet points and images and format your text however you want. Define ranges of text as footnotes and they become footnotes when you export or print. And because the way you view your text onscreen may not always be how you want to see it in print, Scrivener makes it easy to format the printed or exported text completely differently from what is onscreen – leaving you free to focus on the actual writing.
The cork notice-board is one of the writer’s most familiar tools. Before Scrivener, though, the index cards were not connected to anything (other than ideas, of course); any changes to the order on the corkboard would have to be replicated manually in the draft. In Scrivener, every document is attached to a virtual index card onto which you can jot a synopsis. Use the corkboard to shuffle these index cards around – which is instantly reflected in the structure of your draft.
No more switching between multiple applications to refer to research files: keep all of your research – image files, PDF documents, movies, sound files and web pages – right inside Scrivener. And unlike in other programs that only let you see one document in a window at a time, in Scrivener you can view a research document in one pane and compose your text in another right alongside it. Transcribe an interview, make notes about a picture, or just refer back to another chapter, all from within the same program.
Because sometimes you want to blank out the rest of the world while you write – or at least the rest of the screen. Scrivener boasts the most advanced full screen editing mode out there. Fade the background in and out, choose the width of the “paper” and get writing. Prefer an old-school green-text-on-black look? No problem. Flexible preferences mean you can set up the full screen mode however you want. Change documents, refer to your notes, apply keywords – or just write – in one of the most beautiful distraction-free modes available.
Scrivener is a Mac OS X only application.
I am totally excited about starting my first Scrivener writing project to get hands on experience – Thanks Keith Blount for creating a great Mac writing environment!
Posted by fivereflections 