Personally, I disagree completely with the recommendation to go to the v3 beta. The core functionality and primary building blocks between v1 and v3 are the same, so I don’t see anything to gain and there is a definite downside. It’s a beta, so things aren’t going to work perfectly, and as far as I know there isn’t any specific documentation. As you are a novice, if something in the beta isn’t working in the way you think it should, you won’t know whether it’s a bug or a misunderstanding on your part or what. For guidance, you’ll have to consult the Mac v3 documentation and things will look different, which will confuse and frustrate you even more. I recommend you go back to Win v1, particularly because your posts don’t make it sound like you’re up for a challenge.
My advice for a newbie: Scrivener looks complex, but that is due to its flexibility and feature set. Scrivener’s primary building blocks are text documents and folders to store them in, which are things everyone has worked with before. Its core functionality is 1) an editor, 2) a way to organize your documents and folders (the binder) and, 3) a way to pull disparate text documents out of the binder into a single cohesive manuscript (the compiler).
The compiler is really the only aspect of Scrivener that is complex. So don’t try to learn it yet. ETA; If you’re using the beta, you won’t have to worry about this, because the beta compiler is working yet. 8)
There are many other features, but you don’t need to know them yet either.
First thing, IMHO, is for you to figure out how to create & edit documents, store them in folders, and structure the documents/folders in a way that makes sense for your manuscript.
The link below is a post I wrote last year to assist someone who had a similar question to yours. It applies to Win v1, so I’m not sure if any of the terminology or templates have changed in the beta. It applies to writing a novel, but it’s really about how to structure any long form work in Scrivener. Read it and let me know whether this is the sort of help you are looking for.
Post specific questions here and you’ll find there are lots of people willing to help you.
And force yourself to go through the tutorial, if for no other reason than you’ll know what things are called.
[url]First Time Scrivener User - #9 by JimRac]
HTH,
Jim