Using Scrivener - Why To Use Scrivener + Starting A Manuscript

Welcome to my first tutorial on Using Scrivener for writing! What I should really be doing is writing my novel since I have currently 174 and 1/2 days left to complete the first draft (A self-set due date, but nevertheless still due). However, I've a propensity toward procrastination... therefore, Copy Cat Conspiracy is going to wait. Besides that... it's had more than a dozen years to write itself... a few more hours waiting won't kill it!

So we begin with a question: Why use Scrivener? Isn't GoogleDocs, or Microsoft Word, good enough? And that's a very good question! Those writing programs are good enough, so if you don't like Scrivener for some reason (I can't think of any reason why you wouldn't) then stick to what you like. But you're here to find out why you would want to use Scrivener.

Below is a screen capture of my blog post story "Something Strange" which some of you may have read before. 

Screen capture of Scrivener program - click picture to see larger version!

If you will notice on the left in the Binder column you can see everything about your novel all located in one easy to find place. With Google Drive, or Microsoft Office, you can certainly have character sheets, setting notes, research information, and your story. But do you want that all in one document? Not usually, so you have multiple files all over the place. I did, anyway. I didn't like having to scour a document for this character sheet, or that setting note. Furthermore, I'm huge about word counts. I hate research materials being part of my collective word count.

Scrivener solves organization problems the way peanut butter solves plain bread. You can have everything in one place, and the program will only count the words in your manuscript as being part of your manuscript.

What can Scrivener do? Well, you're just full of great questions today! Scrivener can do...

• Outlining
• Has a corkboard for ideas and notes and such (Clearly I haven't gotten into using it yet - but it's there!)
• Makes non-fiction writing easier and has tools for it
• Scriptwriting (Because why not write the next Hollywood blockbuster in your spare time?)
• Word counter for the manuscript, as well as a session word counter which eliminates the need for doing math quite as much
• a project statistics option for when you want to see the overall statistics of the project - for instance, how many paperback pages your novel would be in comparison to how many printout pages
• The ability to create your front matter details
• COMPILE BUTTON... Yes, it deserves all caps. Why? Because it's a handy tool when you want to put your novel together for printing or whatnot. You can choose what to include in compiling, and what format to compile your book for. 

And that's just the tip of the quill, as they say. Okay, no one really says that (probably), but they should!

But Scrivener is so... intimidating! Yes, at first it can be intimidating. I mean, how many programs come with how-to-use interactive tutorial lessons to get you started? How many programs encourage you to go online and read or watch tutorial articles and videos? How many programs will surprise you with new features even after six months of using it?

You shouldn't be intimidated, though.

So, let's presume you've figured out how to download Scrivener (Go here to Literature and Latte to download Scrivener for Mac or Windows). You've installed it and open it up.

Scrivener New Project box - click for
larger image

The first thing you want to do is the Interactive Tutorial. I know you're going to be saying to yourselves, "No, I've used Word before, so clearly I can manage a new project without help, thank you very much!"

It's a bit more complicated than just opening a document, at least if you're anything like me. I ignored the interactive tutorial to start out with and a few minutes later in my panic at how to work this program I was googling how to get the tutorial up... Then again, sometimes on my best days I feel like my best option is to lob the computer out of the window and buy a typewriter. So let's just have you go through the tutorial. It will give you some basics to get you started out. The tutorial is nice because it walks you through actually performing actions so that you learn it. You won't just be sitting there banging your head on your keyboard because you have to read about how to do something.

Click File, then select New Project...
Click on the picture for
larger image

After you've done that, it's time to begin a manuscript. (The tutorial should have gone over this with you to show you how to do a new document, but just in case...) 

In the document, click File...
At the top of the list, there will be New Project... Click that. It will bring that New Project box back up where you can select the kind of document you want to make. You can do a blank document, but I like to select one of the pre-made novel options and just delete sections I don't want. This way I have to do less work.

If you already have a project, you can select Open... or you can open the Recent Projects list by hovering your cursor over that. It will bring up a list of the last ten or so projects you've worked on.

Once you've selected the kind of new project document you want to go with, you must choose a name for it. Scrivener won't let you open a new project without naming it, because it wants to be able to save it right away. It's a good thing, too! I once lost a lot of work because I was so engrossed in what I wanted to write that I started a new document in MS Word and didn't save it, and the power went out. I was a teenager and knew nothing about the temp files. My mum managed to find the document though. Anyway...

There you go! You've started your first Scrivener manuscript.

In conclusion, Scrivener is awesome, I am very biased toward it, and that is why you should get it. In reality, I recommend Scrivener for its incredible usefulness toward all styles of writing. Plus there's a free trial... That makes it even better! Give it a shot. You've lost nothing if you don't like it, and if you do like it, the program is far cheaper than MS Word.

To view Scrivener's Blog, go Here
To find them on Facebook, go here

Facebook is useful because Scrivener is always sharing tutorial articles and videos.

Do you agree with this blog post? Have you used Scrivener? Do you have anything you would add to this? Let me know in the comments! Thanks for reading!

Stay tuned... I might write another post about doing more than just opening a document manuscript. :P 

A Blend of Darwinism and Creationism

Instead of asking the question, "Why are these scientists wasting their time on this study?" I think people could ask, "What have I done today to further our understanding of the world and its inhabitants?" Science is important to many people, it saves lives. Go forth and be vaccinated.

I am very weary of the anti-science/anti-god debate.

Here is a thought both sides can chew on and take however they want. I have even made it into a little story.

~~~

Once upon a time, there was a God of sorts. This God was the first of many multitaskers in the universe. God loved to do so many things. Some of God's hobbies even passed to the next generation. However, that is not for this story.

Now, over the course of time, God picked up these hobbies. Some of them God liked and continued, and others were shed in the same way animals shed at the end of the cold seasons. God's favorite hobby was something that God liked to call creating. God would take a little of this and a pinch of that and suddenly one day God realized there in the empty space where God stored the hobbies, there was a high-density Universe just sitting on the shelf.

God took the Universe out to study it further but suddenly there was a bit of a lab accident and the Universe unfolded all over the place, expanding and creating a ton of interesting things to see and study. God decided it was a good thing to happen, and selected one small section of the Universe to try out things. Tiny experiments added up and soon a stable environment was achieved, and there were giant creatures to watch.

God came back from a late dinner one day, and found an errant piece of rock in God's Universe had smashed into the experimental planet. The only thing to survive were the most distasteful or the most hidden creatures. God did not give up, however. God kept working, for God was firmly believing in hard work and never giving up.

Next, God worked to build something even better than the creatures. It took a lot of trial and error and God could see that the new project called Humanity was going to take a lot of work to perfect. First they had too much slouch, then too much hair. They couldn't even talk, for Heaven's sake! And this time, God really thought having someone to talk to would be rather nice.

Unfortunately, as Project Humanity developed, there seemed to be something dramatically wrong with their communication skills. Not all of them could Speak to Ascended beings such as God... and those that could had a tendency to misinterpret what God would say.

God told some of the Humans about how the world they lived on came to be. Perhaps it was God's accent, or perhaps it was merely a translation issue... Perhaps it was even because the Humans at the time were writing by hand, but all that God spoke was not actually written down. Good gracious, some of those Humans even wrote on stone. However, so much of what God said was summarized.

At the time, it really didn't matter that it was summarized. Ascended beings haven't much use for clocks or measures of time because they are incapable of dying.

However, over time, the Humans began to model themselves after God. They began picking up hobbies left and right. Perhaps not all of them had quite as many as God. But a few of them chose to mimic God's hobby creating. Only, the Humans called it science. At that point, God was an ascended being with a whole Universe to look after, so God began to delegate to the smart little bipedal creatures.

The arrangement was really mutually beneficial.

~~~

I don't deny any religion, or non-religion, or anti-religion. I believe that belief is powerful, hard work is more so, and that there are lessons that are easily valued and can be learned from any of the good billions of books in the world. I respect belief choices, and as such, I ask that you respect mine.

But the problem with that respect is, where do we draw the line? How do we draw the line? And where is this anti-vaccination wave coming from?

Science is quantifiable, however, and we see the efforts of it every day as we lay out our meal on the table. You followed a recipe to make your meal, and that is equal parts science, math, and hard work.

We scientifically engineer crops or other things to make our daily lives easier. If you are going to denounce science for the sake of it being science and not religion, don't come to me about it. I believe in the hard work of scientists. There, I said it. I have now been officially outed as a SCIENCE BELIEVER. We'll see how many people read this far down to know what the whole post was...

Thanks for reading. I hope you liked this... and if you didn't, I'm sure you'll tell me so.

Let me know what you think in the comments below.

4 Ways to Deal with Acne

Acne is a problem for a lot of people. One morning (usually some time after fifth grade), you wake up and look at yourself in the mirror only to notice you've managed to grow some pretty impressive pimples. It's so bad, they make your face look like a pool party in the middle of summer... only the water is actually oils your own body is mass producing in a sorry attempt at getting rid of the party crashers in your pores.

That's right... party crashers.

Why am I talking about this? Maybe because recently I was asked something that came across a bit sexist. Even though I know the person who said it didn't intend for it to be sexist... Anyway... I was asked, "Hey, you're a woman... How do you deal with zits?"

Acne is something that can affect pretty much anyone however, and according to all the online medical websites I read so I could type this and sound smarter than I am, acne predominantly will affect men. I'm not here to write about how you should use this or that medical brand thing to deal with your acne. If it is bad enough, or a constant presence in your life, I recommend seeing a dermatologist who can recommend the right over-the-counter medicine or give you a prescription to help deal with it.

For those reading this who don't need a doctor at this point (although I recommend not putting it off if it is bad) you can try

The What I Do Solution 
Needed items:

• soap that isn't harsh on the skin, 
• fresh warm water,
• gentle lotion
  
  wet face with warm water, lather soap on face, wash soap off face with water before bed 5-7 times per week as well as after potentially greasy meals like fast food.
  
  dry face with clean towel, gently rub small amounts of lotion on face
  
  wash pillowcase more frequently

If you are anything like me and you don't have a serious zit problem, this should work for you. Mostly I seem to get them when dirt gets into my pores. Warm water will open your pores more and help the soap clear things up. But the soap will get rid of good body oils, so your body is going to want to produce more and it can over-produce the oils, making you feel gross. Replacing the oils with a gentle lotion keeps your oil production lower.

If that isn't an imaginative enough solution, try one of these alternatives:

The Science Fiction Solution
Needed items:

• laser
• laser instruction manual
• medical personnel
  
  Read instruction manual for laser, aim laser at zit, laser zit off.
  
  Warning: Laser may be hot and may also set off alarms somewhere in the vicinity.
  
  Use medical personnel for reconstructive facial surgery to cover up potential injury or scarring.

The Ninja Solution
Needed items:

• face mask*
  
  Put on face mask. Wear at all times. A ninja's zits must never be seen. They are as invisible as the wind.
  
  Warning: use of mask may cause invisibility - use caution when deciding to become a ninja, as it may cause friends and family to worry about where you are.

The Fantasy Solution
Needed items:

• Dragon*
• Healing witch or wizard
  
  *Dragon may be substituted with numerous items up to and including magic potions, various other creatures, swords, or abrasive rocks
  
  Use Dragon to remove zit.
  
  Warning: Use of Dragon may cause headlessness. Always follow proper precautionary measures when using.
  
  Use healing witch or wizard to repair damage caused by item or creature used to remove zit.

I hope you enjoyed this article and use it to its fullest potential. Note all cautionary measures...

Let me know what you think in the comments, especially if you have solutions of your own to share with people. :)