I’ve repeatedly read, in guides to writing fiction, that writers should never claim they need a particular tool in order to write. I’m talking about a lucky pen, a computer keyboard, multiple pictures of unicorns prancing before a star-covered sky (OK, so that last one is just me…) I’m afraid I’m one of those writers who “needs” a computer in order to function. I can type much, much faster than I can write longhand. My handwriting is atrocious and apt to be ineligible even to me after the ink has dried. My hand seizes up. I, like, could lose my notepad or something. I’ve read somewhere that all authors should be able to write longhand, and that you engage a different part of your brain when you do. But I have to say it’s never worked for me. I only have to glance back at that page of ruled lines and childlike scrawlings to be certain that whatever is written there is a pile of cack. It’s so much more convincing in Times New Roman. Perhaps this makes me a lesser writer. I don’t know. But it’s something I’ve come to accept.
I am all the more accepting, these days, because I’ve discovered Scrivener (thanks to NaNoWriMo.) It is fifty thousand types of awesome. I never, ever thought I’d come across a piece of software that could actually aid and enhance my writing experience, and yet it does both. I can’t imagine life without it, now (there, I’ve said it.) I feel more productive, more organised, more enthusiastic, better looking (OK, the last one was a lie.) But it really is quite fantastic. Basically, it allows you to organise your notes and chapters on one screen, to annotate scenes, rearrange scenes with a simple drag-and-drop function, add character tags, and much more… Things I haven’t even begun to look into yet because I’m too busy writing like the wind now that I’ve found something which allows me to write and keep track of my notes. I generally have two screens open, one for the chapter I’m working on, and one for keeping notes on that chapter. Then any new characters, plot developments or settings that walk into my head while I’m writing, I note down on that second screen. I’ve imported all my background notes and organised them into folders, which I can then view on a “cork-board” – a great way of viewing a quick summary of facts. It’s made me much more adventurous, because I don’t have to break my flow to look up a character fact or check a temporal consistency or some such. It’s right there, on the screen, along with my notes, and navigating through it all does not involve going through pages of text or opening lots of new documents.
I really can’t recommend it highly enough.
PS – I promise I don’t write about prancing unicorns. Honest!
