Review: Scrivener
by Magnus
Scrivener is a writer’s tool. It is not a layout program, nor is it a word processor. On Scrivener’s web site it is described as a “project management tool for writers” which I think just about as good a description as any. If you write a lot, whether it is a book, articles for magazines, a blog, academic papers, or whatever else, you need some structure and organization. You need to be able to quickly jot down ideas for various topics, and attach them to articles or subjects. Then you need to synthesize those ideas into finished text. Scrivener will help you with that organizational side of the writing process but also with the actual writing. No it won’t write for you but it helps by getting out of the way of the writing. One example is a full-screen mode which only shows your text, no menu bar, desktop, Dock, and other potentially distracting elements. This is something that seems to be in fashion lately is full-screen modes for applications and Scrivener delivers one of the better ones I’ve seen. I really like Scrivener’s corkboard. On the corkboard you can stick notes (like post-it notes) for the articles you’re working on. There’s also an outliner in which you can organize your work, perhaps write an outline of your book so you know what to work on. Scrivener can import individual files or files in a folder structure, and it can export to various formats, including HTML. One little annoying thing I found was that Scrivener imported .DS_Store files for all folders that I imported. A Mac OS X application should know better than that. But that’s a minor point. Bottom line is, if you’re a writer, regardless of what you write, Scrivener may be a tool for you. Try it out, with it you could end up writing the next great novel.
SIDEBAR
Scrivener sells for $34.99. You can download a fully-functional 30 day trial copy and see if you like it. Keith at Scrivener provided a copy of the software for this review.