I just downloaded and registered Scrivener. Read the tutorial and the Help section on Creating a New Project. After two hours of banging around, I can´t get the text I type on the New Project page to appear on the 3 X 5 cards on the Cork Board.
I go to Scrivener menu bar: File>New Project>Empty Project>Open.
The “New Project Binder” opens. There is a space to type “Project Name”. I do that. Then I click “Create.” A blank page appears. I type, say, “A man walks into a bar.” Hoping to have created my first 3 X 5, I click on Cork Board and find a blank card, in a file named “untitled.” Rats.
So, my entry into the dumbest question of the year is: how do I make words appear on the cards on the Cork Board? And how do I give the project a title?
If anyone is kind enough to answer this question, please be very, very specific about what to click on when. As you´ve probably guessed by now, making computer applications work is not my strong suit.
The index cards are for synopses of your documents. It sounds as though you have only typed in the main text. You have to type a synopsis into the index card for that document manually. If you want the index card to show the first few lines of text from the main document, then you need to click on the auto-generate synopsis button in the Inspector. Please see “Index Cards, Synopses & Outlining” in the Help file for more information.
Also, when you’re working on the Corkboard you can create index cards and type onto them directly. Usually, when you create new files with the toolbar or Cmd-N, it switches to the main text view of that file immediately. If you use the new file/folder button at the base of the corkboard view, it will create the index card without switching in - you can then double click on the title section to name the card, and double click on the main index card area to type onto it.
I find this way of working really useful when I’m planning/brainstorming a new project on the Corkboard.
I´m making some progress. I plan to use the Cork Board the same way. I want to make a scene by scene outline of a plot before I plunge in start writing. It´s so much easier to correct a structural error before you´re 250 pages in the story.
I am currently using long synopses. If you hit Return while typing into the index card on the corkboard, it will either take you to the next card or deselect the card, depending on how you have your Preferences set.
If you click on the round blue button with the “i” in it, at the top right corner of your Scivener window, it will open a bigger index card which supports more elaborate formatting, such as tabs and returns.
Also, if my synopses get long and detailed enough, I copy them into the document itself to act as a “seed” and then start the synopses over again.
My brain seems to work best in a patchwork fashion, where a big Thematic Statement about the novel (suitable for synopses) turns into dialog. Maybe only a few lines, but it can form the core of your scene.