Often I’ll want to rewrite a scene but save the one I’ve already written in the event I like it better. I created a folder called Alternate Scenes and then I’ll copy/paste my scene into a new page in that folder. It feels a little clunky given how often I do it.
Does anyone have a best practices on this?
I put this in windows forum to get more eyeballs and I figured the method would be the same but I predominantly use the iOS version so in the unlikey event it requires the extra functionality just let me know. Hope it’s ok I did this.
Well, iOS throws a wrinkle in things in that it doesn’t support much for this way of working, save what you’re already doing. So if that’s your primary tool then you may just want to stick with what you have been doing. That said, I would suggest a more efficient technique:
In the binder, swipe left on the item you want to revise.
Tap the More button.
Tap Copy To, and select your “Alternate Scenes” folder.
To get back to where you were tap the Back button.
That will at least be a bit easier than scrolling around, making new items, and copying and pasting.
The Windows version has a better tool for this. Use the Documents ▸ Snapshots ▸ Take Snapshot menu command (or the one below it to give it a short descriptive title). You’ll hear a camera noise, and at that point your text in its current state is preserved indefinitely. You can feel free to completely rewrite at this point. If you want to review what you had before:
Use Navigate ▸ Inspect ▸ Snapshots to open the inspector to the right tab.
You can also right-click on the item’s icon in the editor header bar, where you’ll find a couple of options for loading the snapshot text into the other editor, or the copyholder.
Which to use is entirely up to you. Those are better if you want to do some side-by-side comparison. The inspector will be better if you don’t like where things went at all, and want to just roll things back to the starting point. The inspector is also better if you want to look at the differences between versions (though the idea is to eventually make comparison available in the main editors, too).
It’s the same basic idea, but instead of cluttering the binder up with duplicates and having to go through the steps of making those duplicates, you just punch a single button. The old revisions are tucked away in the item they relate to, not coming up in project searches, or accidentally getting compiled, etc.
Thanks so much. You’re way is much better. I figured I was doing it inefficiently. That snapshot feature sounds amazing—if only I hadn’t become spoiled by doing everything on my iPad.
Kind of opens a possibilty, doesn’t it, now that iOS has side-by-sde apps, including of the same app?
An imagination comes of iOS Scrivener gaining Snapshots, which might be viewed in a similar way as Reference docs; and alternatively full half-screen given Scrivener grows to support that…
Hoping you might like my imagination and other participants in the architecture carrels…!
Honestly Snapshot has pros and cons. I like it. I use it. But if I’m going to make drastic changes (like hit the same plot point from an entirely different approach) I do sometimes like to copy it down to my “Cutting Room Floor” folder precisely because snapshot isn’t searchable. Otherwise I hit situations where I’m like “where’s the scene where they mention the coastal city? I’ve searched “coast” “coastal” “sea” and “ocean”…I know I introduced that somewhere…” only to eventually figure out it was in a snapshot and hadn’t made it in the new take on that chapter.
“Cutting Room Floor” is my top folder right below the manuscript, so it’ll come up in searches but not in my word count or a normal compile.
and other participants in the architecture carrels…!