“Mastering Scrivener” is meant to bring you up a level in your use of the software you write in on a daily basis. That’s why I’ve selected several features that are less well-known, deserve more information, or are hidden in the Scrivener UI. I’ve tried to take away any fear and uncovered the secrets of Compiling by explaining every element of that process. Over sixty Hidden Gems provide necessary variety and interest for handy and powerful features of this writing software. You’ll know the nooks and crannies of Scrivener. You’ll Master Scrivener.
Even though I kept to the chronology of the writing process, reading the chapters in any order makes this book a reference book. Hopefully, it ends up opened within reach from your daily writing spot, available whenever a question pops up in your head and you know you’ve read the answer somewhere in this volume.
The Table of Contents, In this Section-links and the Glossary/Index help you find the nuggets you’re looking for. Every chapter has its own Table of Contents to make things easier to discover. The illustrations show where to find it in your own instance of the program. Information at your fingertips, when you need it.
So, if you were not using Scrivener to its fullest, if you were afraid to compile or never got Scrivener to compile a satisfactory result, if you’ve always thought there was more to this program than the Editor and the Metadata, I hope this book will help you to make the most of this software.
It’s been a blast writing about writing software in the same software I’ve been writing in. I didn’t capture images only for addition as illustrations in this book, at times they were indispensable for describing features in disappearing windows or modal windows not allowing to use the Editor to write about them.
The project became not only a place for the book but also for experimentation and testing various scenarios, making the Templates folder a mess and leading to a bunch a disparate documents in a Test folder. I’ve created a Theme, produced an e-book, and implemented every feature remotely applicable to the book itself. I hope it shows.
Some of the Hidden Gems I’d never noticed before, despite my experience writing in Scrivener. Some features I never knew existed have come to my attention. I’ve read most of the User Manual, leapfrogging from one subject to the other. Actually, I’ve learned a lot too.
I’ve created the indispensable index in the paper book in InDesign. It bothers me I’ve not been able to write a section about creating an Index for your book in Scrivener and had to settle for a Glossary instead. The lack of pointing back to page numbers and linking to the first use of concepts seems just a bridge too far from what Scrivener offers out of the box.
So, go write efficiently and fast. Optimize your writing environment the way you want to use it, maybe implementing an existing Theme. Help yourself to a flying start with efficient Project and Document Templates for your chapters, characters, and settings. Utilize the metadata to the fullest and engage the Group Views of your writing for overview and insight. Compile impressive looking documents. It’s all there. Go and have at it.
Epilogue of “Mastering Scrivener” Amsterdam, July 2021, Version 1.0
Oblong Paperback 515 p, 100+ img, 70 Hidden Gems
Mastering Scrivener product page containing Screenshots of content pages.