So, we receive a lot of questions from writers and authors about what resources and systems we use and recommend at RhetAskew and in our Facebook group Rhetoric Askew.
With NaNoWriMo upon us, we thought this would be a great time to share a new tool or resource each week that authors and writers can use to stay on track during this hectic, fun-filled NaNoWriMo month. We plan on doing this by giving you all a sneak peek into our Editing Cave and showing you what tools and resources we use as authors and editors to keep our writing schedules on pace despite our always hectic schedules.
Our favorite method for keeping our stories organized during each stage of the writing process is Scrivener.
Most of you author and writers probably already know about Scrivener and if you’re not using it, you really should be.
It works like a word processing program but its method of organization and intuitive features are designed specifically for authors and writers.
My favorite feature is the corkboard which allows you to write scenes for chapters one at a time and in any order you want but then you can go back and rearrange them on the corkboard to visualize how your story is going to be laid out on the paper. This is by far my most used feature with Scrivener because I never know when inspiration is going to hit or which scene my muse is going to want to talk about.
Here’s a look at how the corkboard layout looks in a draft. You can see where the folders could easily be your chapters and the subheadings underneath each represent a card on the corkboard which can be moved and rearranged in any way you want them to be.
I absolutely love the option to stamp the status across each card on the corkboard! I feel so accomplished when I can slap DONE across one of those cards. It’s a great motivational tool while being another organizational method to ensure your story stays on track.
If you decide to check out Scrivener let us know what you think in the comments.
Do you have specific questions about the writing process that you’d like the editors to address? Let us know in the comments. We’d love to hear from you.
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