February Favorite: Scrivener

Hi guys! I just wanted to share with you a cool little writing tool I found via the interwebz this past week. It's called Scrivener.

When it comes to writing, I'm a very organized person [Unfortunately, my organizational skills don't extend into the real world, much to my mother's chagrin]. I love to have little folders on my laptop for each book, then subfolders for each character, then sub-sub-folders for every quirk my character has. In short, I love to organize my ideas, my characters, their personalities, their favorite foods, places they've been... I'm a veritable maniac when it comes to character analysis.

That said, I use Microsoft Word for my books. It's great--it has all the tools I need to get a story down on paper. The problem comes when I'm trying to file away characters, scenes, information about my worlds, etc. I can never find the folder I need, the character I'm seeking, the specific picture of a tree I've stashed away. And just as a note: NEVER put all your characters into one Word document. The results aren't pretty.

I've often wanted a better way to keep my characters filed, but I didn't know that way actually existed until I found Scrivener.

Scrivener is a computer program specifically for writers; it's geared towards better organizing your stories, your characters, even your scenes, places and creatures. The opportunities are endless... once you get the hang of the program. But that doesn't take long. After you've explored, it's time to stash. Scrivener has a unique corkboard background, on which you can place an infinite number of virtual 3 x 5 cards. Each card serves as a snippet of the massive document it represents--you can make long character pages without taking up pages and pages of space in a Word Document, and when you're done, all you see on the main page is a little card with your character's name. Same for cards representing scenes, places, interesting facts, etc. It's COOL. I'm having so much fun.

Now, you might be wondering why I'm telling you this. You guessed right if you thought Scrivener is expensive--it costs $40. I'm still debating on whether or not to buy it.

I'll let you wonder how I can have it without buying it for a moment :3

Okay, ready? This program is availible for a free, non-consecutive 30 day trial. It's super easy to download, and if you decide you don't want to make the investment when the 30 days are up, you can export all your information so you don't lose anything. I'm having a blast with those little 3 x 5 cards. I think you will, too.

So go check it out! You can find more information about the program and the opportunity to start your own 30 day trial at:
 http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.php

I highly recommend this program. Now does anyone have an extra forty bucks I can borrow to have it forever? 8D

Inspired by Insanity

My journal doesn't look exactly like this--it has lovely rainbow stripes. But it's made by Iota and I'm happily scribbling away in it.

A strange way to begin a blog post, you say? It is not. It's just insane.

My friend showed me a nifty little notebook the other day. In it, she'd jotted down random quotes that struck her fancy. Some of them obviously struck my fancy and knocked it down, because I've thrown my whole being into starting my own "quote journal." Some of the first names to grace its pages have been Victor Hugo, Winston Churchill, Peter Pan, Oscar Wilde, Winnie-the-Pooh, and Lucille Ball. It's a great mix, and I'm absolutely loving searching my books and the internet for random, inspiring quotes.

This is something of an update. Besides my lovely journal, I've finally gained my permit after weeks of stressing, studying, stuttering out answers to my longsuffering sister, and banging my head on the wall. I drove around a very quiet community for the first time today and came home convinced that all of the cars were out to nom me. They were probably only afraid of me. Driving is fun, I can say, but quite scary. I suppose if I was a boy I'd think differently.

I sound sort of like Jo March--I guess it's not much of a surprise, since I've been chewing through Little Women. I actually like it, which is a big surprise since I don't usually like novels dealing with young women coming of age (you should have seen the Elsie Dinsmore books after I was through with them). Little Women is somewhat unbelievable and so sweet it's almost sour, but it's a good story and the characters have thoroughly engaged me (especially Jo, as you already know). I'm also working on Alice in Wonderland and have decided to tackle Anne of Green Gables after resurrecting my love of the story by watching the trilogy starring Megan Follows.

I outlined today. It was unbelievably hard. I found that I could hardly remember the plot of Avaria. It's time to get to work, it seems--and it's time to work hard. But unfortunately, the only work I'll do this week is on paper. Yes. I'm going away again--back to the shore. I love the shore. REALLY I do. I must love it a lot since this is the third time we've been down this year :3 But I've resolved not to bring my laptop and rely instead on my pen, paper, and the cooling September air to inspire me. I hope it works. Otherwise, Fozzy'll murder me.

I hope you're all enjoying the start of the school year. The very first co-op class is finished, and now I get to go meet "The Venerable Bede" as I plow through The Ecclesiastical History of the English People for Brit Lit. Joy.


I'll miss you guys! Let some little insanity inspire you every day, and you might end up with a rainbow-colored journal filled with quotes from Jane Austen to Jack Sparrow (I hope you do!)

~God Bless

Elisabeth