How to Outline Your Novel in Scrivener
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- Опубликовано: 2 авг 2024
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I used to be the type to write by the seat of my pants, just get it all down. Until I realized I had written myself into a corner. To fix it, I'd have to go through the entire novel to fix it. Not fun, and sometimes, it frustrated me to the point that I'd put it aside and work on something else. Outlining in Scrivener helps a lot, plus if I color code the "feel" of a chapter or scene, and I'm feeling that way when I sit to write, I go in and work on it, and it tends to help get the feeling down right. Thanks for the tips!
I use Scrivener on a PC; it's hard to find videos about using it on PCs, so thank you.
I remember back when I was 12-13 and I thought writing a book would be easy. Ha. Silly child.
Anyway, this was super helpful! I'll look into getting scrivener!
Funny. When I was a child I thought writing a book seemed like a monumental task that would take half a lifetime. I was the silly one!
It was easy i had more of an imagination and cared less back then now i keep discouraging myself
Well, writing fanfics was easy back then. A book is something VERY different.
writing a book is easy, i wrote a book when i was 8. Now writing a good book, that is difficult
Have outlined all my books in Scrivener. Love!
I discovered Scrivener thanks to you and wow it completely changed the way I do outlining so thanks for another great recommendation :)
These Scrivener videos are really useful, thanks Vivien. I am embarking on NaNo 2017, so doing a lot of planning and outlining.
Thanks for this, again, a lot of help and I appreciate what you did for us.
I have everything divided into chapters in the outlining stage. I decide everything I want to happen in my novel, figure out how everything needs to link together and then assign a purpose to each chapter, when I write it I write by chapter and when each chapter fulfills its purpose I end it. I personally find that a lot easier and more organized than if I just write everything and figure it out later, plus I can better gauge whether or not a scene is dragging and I feel more accomplished when I finish a chapter and can begin the next one. That's just me though of course, everyone works differently.
This sounds similar to how I would do things.
Thanks for admitting everyone works differently. Many people who are very organized and set in their ways believe everyone should be like them and if they're not, then they must be wrong.
I bought Scrivener because of your videos, as well as those of a few other writers who post advice here on RUclips. I'm really glad you made these how to videos, Scrivener can feel a bit foreign to get in to at first, seeing you screencast it how you use it was just what I needed to start using it myself tonight. Yay :)
Super helpful! I can't believe I didn't notice the keywords aspect of the program. I really like the way you broke this down! Thank you!!!!
Thanks! I love your videos your tips are always awesome, keep doing what you do!
Awesome videos! I'm a non-fiction writer but I feel like a lot of these still apply. Thanks for all your wisdom.
this channel is my holy grail!!!! LOVE!
I split each chapter into thirds and built the scenes that way over a general outline. Please do more scriviner vids (if there's more areas that would help). I love your videos, there's always something to help
Brilliant video thank you! lots of tips to take on board. I am still figuring out my own style of outlining and this helped! :)
Thank you for your work. Very helpful. Also, you may know this by now, but you can arrange the cork board window into 'vertical' view (buttons at bottom right) and the cards will show in a vertical view top to bottom then left to right. Again, thank you for the videos. Very well done.
I'm a new writer and wanted to say thank you!!!! Been a huge help!!!!
Thanks, I found the class very informative.💙
Great tips in this new world for some of us. Great videos.
This was really helpful, thank you so much!
You are seriously one of three lady RUclips authors that I watch EVERY DAY as part of my writing ritual. I will watch videos from one or more of you (others are Rachael Stephen and Jenna Moreci) that are relevant to what I'm doing to get me in the mindset. SO thanks for having this channel!
Aww, this makes me so happy to hear!
I like the idea of keeping track of which scenes you think are essential. That's a helpful lens for brainstorming. :+1:
I outline from top to bottom first too :D But I also add color to the text when I add new meta fields. i.e. my character's goals are blue, the setting is orange and the list goes on. That way, I can easily find the colored text I am looking for in my outline -- and it looks pretty too :D
Thank you so much for your good info
This helped a lot. I had lost passion in writing and I found your videos. Thanks for keeping the dream alive. I ended up using bibisco though, cuz it free! 😉
I use Scrivener on my IPad and used this feature only to revise any ideas that pop into my head while I write. Normally I just write what’s in my head. Thanks 😊
Thank you so much!
2:24 this is exactly why I'm always put off Scrivener when I try it! I never consciously realized that
Awesome, thank you!
This is awesome, thank you so much!
Keywords. That sounds GREAT! Thanks, great vid
Well I am definitely going to get Scrivener after watching your videos, 4 of them so far. I have been flipping between Write it Now 5, yWriter and Liquid Binder Story. But now I am fully committed to getting Scrivener. I am looking forward to more videos on becoming a writer, I am planning a sci fi novel and am hoping to do the NaNoWriMo this November. Also, if you love reading science fiction novels, check out B.V. Larson, I have read all 7 books in the Undying Mercenaries series, 12 books in the Starforce series and a couple others. He is an amazing author and I am looking forward to more reading.
My biggest difficulty at this stage is creating my characters, I am going to watch your video on creating characters, but any other tips would be awesome. Thanks Vivien, you are a great inspiration.
This is so helpful! I have scrivener but I always feel a bit lost when trying to use it to do anything other than write! Could you maybe do a video about how to tackle 2nd drafts, I don't even know where to begin? thank you!
Now bought Scrivener, two thumbs up. xS
thank you for doing this in pc as it has been difficult for me to find these kinds of examples
@Bukan Vanessa Angel The OP probably meant that most tutorials available online were for the Mac version.
lol the surprise ending about the "i'm so white" was fabulous! ... it does bring out the blue eyes though. thumbs up!
I love your videos. Also, I've been pronouncing Scrivener wrong for almost a year now.
I found this super helpful, because I loved Scrivener when I got the free trial. I just have to find the courage to drop that $40 on the program now haha
I use PC. I might consider getting Scrivener now.
Creative Writing Prose scrivener is a godsend buy it
Gorgeous dog. lol. Very helpfull, thanks for posting.
Thank You :)
Thank you so much! I'm writing a novel right now, and being in 8th grade, I'm unable to take advanced language arts classes. These videos are really helping me!
Dear Wonderful Lady,
thank you for this.
As I've been looking through this Scrivener craziness for the first time.
My WIP right now in Word is really hairy.
I've been concurrently putting "a list of things to fix folder" as I plod on to write this first draft.
When you said, make an outline, although i did that, i didn't use it in this cork board fashion.
I can add these fixes better from this bird's eye view. I just need to figure out whether to first put in the fixes in Scrivner or place the book into this format first and then go back.
Maybe it doesn't matter. We will see. I've got to finish this peice before NaNoWrimo begins and i can focus my attention on the next first draft.
Basil
Yes - got frustrated watching tutorials on Macs and getting lost.
Also need a plotting timeline to go in a straight line - when it starts bending back on itself I find to confusing.
Cheers.
how do edit your work? do you hire a an editor or use software? if so can you recommend anything or anyone.
Great video, thx! The only thing is don’t use Google docs. They are easily hacked or read by bots or hackers or even Google employees themselves. Find a more secure way to keep your work.
Do you use scrivener to actually write the manuscript? Or can you use Microsoft or Google Docs? Is one better than the other?
7:59 good dog
I'd really love to use Scrivener for all my projects, and did use it briefly, but I use Linux and Scrivener has a tendency to crash seemingly at random, far too often. I lost organization every time, which is a weird bug cuz no actual words were lost, I believe, and I had to spend too much time reorganizing my chapters, notes, etc. It really stopped my creative flow, and after going over the document for an hour to be certain I could continue writing, I found I couldn't get back into it most times. It was too big of a gap each time. So, I gave up on Scrivener and went back to LibreOffice. :(
Was gonna say something about your eyes but that would be creepy. Great video, gonna try to finish something now before it implodes.
I'm a keen writer, and I spend most of my time typing on my iPad. Do you have an opinion on the scrivener for iPad. Is it worth it even tho it's simpler?
Yes, it is worth it on the iPad. You can do all the important stuff with the iOS version.
Like 5% of computers are OSX. You are no where near minority on Windows. Hope that makes you feel less alone.
enginesnblades I think what Vivien was getting at is that Scrivener was written originally by a Mac user for Mac users and thus developed a large following of very loyal Mac users long before the Windows version came out. For lots of technical reasons, the Windows version, as robust as it is, doesn't quite have all the great features of the Mac version. As well, PC users have come a bit late to the Scrivener party and are beginning to see what the fuss is all about, though Mac users have already been raving for years.
True, but most Scrivener users are on Macs. It was written for Mac and is even a little buggy on Windows. I think that was her point.
Most arty types use Macs, which is why Apple gets away with exploiting people's good nature with it's terrible support and business practices
I just wrote it and raced the words with thoughts. After that, I wrote an outline. Revised. Added dynamics. Revised. Then I just kept tweaking.
How can you make it, so that Scrivener checks your grammar?
I have just started to use this software! I really enjoyed your tips. Love your videos. AND WE HAVE THE SAME LAST NAME "REIS" ;D
Can one write a good novel without an outline? Flexing my muscles, I have written twelve books on a fan fictional saga of stories of a crossover of Stargate SG1 & Star Wars. I had a basic concept of what I wanted to write, but I allowed the stories to live on their own.
I used to use any ole word processor, but for a number of years now, I use Scrivener plus a new software by the same people, Scapple. What I do (with my nonfan fictional stories) is write a negotiable outline with Scapple (which things change as I allow these stories to develop themselves too). I look at outlines as jotted ideas than a rigid guide.
Again, are outlines really necessary? Can they be more cumbersome than an asset?
I am still learning but knowing how differently we all learn and process information then I think that we would all plan & write our novels differently. Some of us would have to have an outline some not but each of us would be different as you have mentioned already your outline is different. Whatever works for each of us as long as we get there in the end.
What I’ve noticed for me is that getting outlines out is much more easier than actually writing. Once I know what the story is going to be about, I get bored of the idea. I tried mixing in as many things as I like to make it more fun to write, but always aLWAYS, as soon as I have the complete outline done, I lose interest.
How does everyone else keep interest in a project long enough to actually write it? I really wanna know.
I am thinking about getting Scrivener but wonder if it is a monthly subscription fee or one time fee. but i can't seem to find the answer to my question online.
When I was on the Literature and Latte sight, it looks like a one time fee of 45 dollars, but there is a free trial?
@@CJohnson79 that is what I thought one time fee but it seems too good to be true fire such a powerful program.
It's a one time purchase!
@@VivienReis thank you
the problem I'm having with my manuscript at the moment is actually that I feel it's too jam-packed. There is vital information in every chapter (as it should be), and there is very little breathing room between important information, character building, plot advancement etc. For instance, I just finished the fourteenth chapter, in which I reveal probably the second most important character in the book. She stumbles into the main character's (and his companions') camp bleeding from a wound in her thigh. Boom. Dramatic. In the chapter before that I let the reader get the first taste of the magic powers that will be the arc/journey the entire story is built upon. In chapter fifteen the protagonist and his companions (a troupe of of traveling actors and musicians, plus the character presented in chapter 14) are journeying into the land beyond the northern borders, and by the end of the chapter they will encounter a creature that could potentially deal substantial damage to the troupe and their wagons but doesn't. It's the literary equivalent of a jump scare, basically.
And despite all this the plot is mostly made out of character interaction, so I can't just slow everything down and have them sit down for a cup of tea for a change of pace. They already drink hella tea and talk most of the time.
I'm 40 000 words in, and about one third through the book. It's gonna get so long. Help me please. Someone save me from myself
TLDR: my average chapter basically goes like this:
(Short summary of the uneventful days that have passed since the last chapter) + (Character interaction between *protagonist* and *secondary character 2*, following main plot + subplot 1) + Character interaction between *protagonist* and *secondary character 1*, following main plot and subplot 2+ getting to know a bit about her as a new but vital character) + (somewhat lengthy summary of the events between the last scene and the next scene + some musings and reflection by the *protagonist*) + (Character interaction between *protagonist* and *secondary character 1* following main plot + presenting some kind of threat or unfortunate turn that demands action to be avoided + *Protagonist* learns more about *secondary character 1*, creating trust between them) + (Characters return from dangerous situation and quickly interacts with other characters. Vital plot information is subtly revealed in an off hand way by a secondary character. This means little or nothing to our protagonist now, but is used as foreshadowing, mystery to set the reader's mind spinning or something to subtly imply something about a character that will later come to light)
That's like 7 500 words in one chapter. I'M IN TOO DEEP! HELP!!!
This is basically me having a meltdown seen through the wonderful medium of text.
I swear the script itself is not as clunky as it this looks
Wow! Just reading the description you provided has given me a new perspective on ways I can (and should?) pre-conceptualize the events and the interactions between characters that move the work along. Too often, I either 1) stare at the screen and don’t write anything or 2) jump in whole hog and jumbled mess of ‘style’ with no real forethought. My poor reader! Lol - not that there are any as yet. I wonder how much meta-writing do you and others typically put in?
PC forever! damn the MAC
You seem to love virus and blue screen so much, whatever works for you :)
Nah, PC is where it's at. Gimmie that PC screen share.
Has anyone ever faced a problem where you think your novel is far long, and you need to cut it? 😂😂
What is Scrivener? :)
hmmm....
Husky!
How do you find and replace in scrivener? I changed my MC name and now I want to replace it
To me Word just seems a lot easier
Word is easier and better in some ways! Scrivener is awesome for outlining though! After I have been using it for a couple of months I can't do without it now ^^
Scrivener is better for keeping everything accessible at once without having 1000 files open for reference stuff. It's also better (depending on how you outline) for moving things around easily. When documents get super long in Word, they sometimes get slow and have a tendency to skip instead of scroll. That sounds like a small thing until you're trying to reorganize a plot point after you've written 3/4 of the thing.
It also makes it easier if you skip around when you write. It's MUCH easier to find where you wanted to focus when everything's in neat little chunks instead of just a few hundred pages you now need to scroll through or try and remember a keyword to search for.
It also lets you keep a ton of other things and research in the same project, which is wonderful if you're writing a term paper or something. Having all your info right in the same spot and not having to search for anything makes life a LOT easier when you have a 30 page paper due and you can't remember how you'd decided to weave two points together or something.
Word is great for short documents, but it gets bogged down or overwhelmed in ways that Scrivener doesn't, and it doesn't have a lot of the features that Scrivener has. That's why I use it for all my writing for work and class, as well as the book I'm writing. :)
EmileeArsenic
Being able to sync between desktop and iPad also seems very attractive. And the corkboard thing too.
Fact: The bigger your Word file, the more unwieldy it becomes... period. The longer your book, the worse it is.
That doesn't "seem" to be anything, either... just a fact.
Most people use PC
my God how beautiful you are
I never had a Mac.... Who is that rich?
Every real writer uses pc
Don't be a slave to your outline. The best ideas come completely out of nowhere while the graphite scrapes the paper. Let them breath, the best outlines are flexible.
Yay for sane people using PC. lol
PCs are really expensive, honestly. :( We could only afford mobile devices which sell at a low cost.
No. Most people do NOT use Mac. Not even most Scrivener users use Mac. Its mathematically impossible. Don't let them in your brain like that.
What in the world is Scrivener? I want to learn how to outline a novel in Microsoft Word or LibreOffice Writer (the free alternative to Word), like a normal person.
STOP starting sentences with, "SO"!
Too much writing advice, not enough Scrivener coverage :(
Mac is pretty trash though. lol. I regret buying my macbook. Total ass. I was almost pleased when it got burgled and I could go back to pc! Hahahaa