As writers we theoretically only need a pen and some paper. My handwriting is atrocious and slow, though, so I lean heavily on Scrivener all the way through my writing process
I’d love to know what you use! Digital or otherwise, let me know what are your most valued and useful creative tools.
First, because of my multiple devices whatever I use must be accessible in “the cloud”. I have my downstairs laptop, my office desktop, and my on the go iPad and iPhone. When inspiration and ideas hit I want to make sure when I jot it down I can pick up where I left off.
Keeping that in mind for my short fiction writing I have taken to using Google docs for the Drive feature. I pay annually to have 1T of storage because I also save a lot of other projects there as well. However, due to its lack of desktop apps it’s not my only writing tool.
For longer fiction like novels and if I need to build a world bible then my go to has always been Scrivener. It’s still not my all-time go-to for many reasons:
1. The fact I have to use Dropbox to sync across devices and they have yet to change this so I can use whatever cloud service I want is a restriction I hate. The ONLY reason I have a Dropbox account is for this and I would love to get rid of it someday.
2. It’s Compile feature. I understand it’s robust with all its bells and whistles but the fact that they have yet to put a satisfactory press here to get awesome results button there irks me. Make the program more user friendly but keep all that extra crap for people who care to learn the secret language and coding if they want. The fact I have to learn the magic formula just so I can have my name in the center on one page and the book title on the next but all caps is ridiculous IMHO...end of rant...
It has only been in the past 5 years or so that I stopped using Word. Up until that time it was my number one for all projects regardless of length or type. Now I just use OneDrive almost like my main hub for all my documents as it also is 1T in size.
I also journal, though not daily as I would like. When I BuJo it is pen and and a dotted journal though I’ve been secretly working on a digital BuJo for fiction writers...
Using three different cloud storage systems sounds good for backup purposes but I think I'd get in a muddle. :)
I use Google Drive for backing up and syncing my writing. It seems to work fine with Scrivener, so I can always access my Scrivener files whether I'm on the desktop or on my laptop. The only caveat is that I need to make sure I've closed it on one device before opening it on the other.
I used to have a Chromebook, which made everything a lot more complicated as Scrivener is only available on Mac and PC. Thankfully those days are behind me. :)
Have you looked at Ulysses? It's a blessing for working in the cloud on Apple. Perfect for all of my writing, syncs instantly, and has lots of the tools that Scrivener has. I love it so much more than Google Drive/Docs which I used before (and still have to for work sometimes).
First of all, I use both Word and Scrivener. When drafting a novel, I compose in Word, then paste each chapter into Scrivener. This allows me to review earlier chapters easier for continuity purposes, plus go back and insert updates for things that happen later on in the drafting process.
All of my worldbuilding information is tucked under the Research tab in Scrivener. That includes timelines, character notes, chapter and episode outlines, etc. Anything I need to know quickly when drafting goes under Research.
Then I export the final Scrivener doc to Word for the remaining edits.
Production happens in Vellum. I compiled in Scrivener for years, and hated it. The process in Vellum is much quicker--and I can do final copy edits and proofing based on what I see in the two Vellum windows. I've found MANY more errors in this software than I have in the past using either Scrivener or the Word doc.
So software wise--Word, Scrivener, Vellum.
Hardware? I have an iMac desktop and an ancient MacBookPro laptop.
No grammar checkers, other than paper resources. They frequently annoy the crap out of me--former middle school special education teacher with an emphasis on writing. I used to teach sentence diagramming. I have several stylebooks available and I used to proofread for a small press.
No outlining or plotting software. So far, I seem to do well on my own.
Oh. I also have a color laser printer with duplexing capabilities. That allows me to make my own short story chapbooks for in-person occasions. I also subscribe to BookBrush, which helps me make covers and promotional materials easily. I've purchased photos from Depositphotos to help create covers as well.
I use Dropbox to sync across devices.
And yes, I still have pen and paper handy because sometimes when plotting or thinking, it's the best way to extract ideas from the brain.
Yeah, I do sometimes go back to pen and paper for working out especially thorny problems. It seems to access a slightly different part of my brain.
It's interesting that you write in Word and Scrivener. What is it about Word that makes it your go-to for the initial draft, rather than doing it all in Scrivener?
I do wish Vellum was available on PC as well. I've only ever heard very good things about it.
I just find drafting easier in Word. Formatting special characters such as accents is much simpler, setting margins and so on. Easier to do an on-the-fly thesaurus check. Easier to track page length by chapter. That sort of thing.
Keep in mind I started out using WP 5.1 for DOS, which had the option of drafting chapters, then consolidating them in a final full document. Scrivener is actually easier to use in this stage of the process, plus I have my research docs available quickly. I can move the Word document around when referring to a timeline in Scriv and the visuals work better for me than having a double screen in Scriv. I'm old and my eyes aren't the best, so...it works.
I am a Scrivener fan. I used to use it exclusively for my writing. As an organizing geek, I love having everything, research, notes, story, etc. in one file. And I love it for its flexibility for novel writing. And I love being able to visually see my novel outline (chapters.) But I don’t use it for ebook or print output. Too complicated.
Recently I tried Ulysses. I like it’s organizational ability also, but I love its ability to publish directly to a draft on Medium. Unfortunately, I am liking Medium less every passing day. The creative writer community feel has all but vanished as have most of the writers I enjoyed. And it is getting harder and harder to find anything worth reading. I wish Ulysses could publish directly to a draft in Substack. I may not continue with Ulysses if I leave Medium.
For creating ebooks, I use Apple Pages. It has templates that make great epubs easily. I just copy and paste the chapters text from Scrivener. It makes the ebook index automatically based on chapter title. Super easy and great looking ebook files.
For paperbacks I use Affinity Publisher. I love their software. I also used Affinity Designer and Affinty Photo.
Yeah, Scrivener is essential for me in terms of writing. I've yet to find anything on PC that I like for actual typesetting/preparing ebooks. Reedsy has a quite nice editor, but I'd rather have a dedicated local tool rather than an online service.
Absolutely agree about Medium. It was my preferred non-fiction platform for ages and it felt like every time I visited the site I'd find multiple fascinating articles to read, to the extent that I actually became a paid member for a couple of years. I'm not sure what specifically changed, but the interesting articles dried up, all the headlines went horribly clickbaity and/or Buzzfeedy and the interface became increasingly muddled. The most recent UX overhaul I find quite peculiar and haven't really got on with.
Fortunately Substack came along and did all the things I liked about Medium in a better way. Fingers crossed they remain focused and don't go the same way.
Ha, yes. So far, so good, I think. My main fear is if they creep towards algorithmic networking of any sort. Newsletters are an unusual instance of when siloing is better - other than natural, manual recommendations between writers.
May sound crazy, but I use a typewriter for all of my first drafts. I found it’s like playing music. It’s tactile, and you’re able to see your work as an object, not just an idea. After I write, I scan the pages then edit my work on word. Didn’t start until about 4 years ago, but it’s the single best thing that’s improved my writing.
I love typewriters! Adored them as a kid, though I haven't used one for decades. However, I did invest in a fancy mechanical keyboard for my computer, which provides a very similar tactile response to typing. Not great for anyone else in the room, but a very satisfying typing experience.
Hi, Simon! I'm new here, but figured I'd throw my hat into the ring here, too.
I'm blind, so I have to do things a bit differently than others do. Still, I've found a couple of ways to help facilitate getting things done.
I make heavy and prodigious use of Obsidian for tracking any and all data I need. It's been amazing for getting myself organized and "with it." Highlights from articles, books, things I run across on the web... all that and more, I shove into Obsidian. If I have ideas for stories but they're not quite coherent yet, I'll add them in as a note there, too.
I also draft all of my stories in it, too, since it helps with the organization of that type of thing.
When I am ready to get a book out, I'll take all the info and insert it into Scrivener. Since Scrivener is good for handling that kind of thing, I have a lessened burden.
Added to it all is ProWritingAid. Anything I draft goes through that before anyone public sees it. My wife is my first line of defense, being a great proofer and editor.
No matter what, though, I make sure everything I write is backed up to multiple spaces. I have everything syncing with Google Drive, as well as 2 different hard drives on my machine (internal and external). I'll also periodically upload anything relevant to the back end of my websites (where no one has access but myself), just in case.
I know it may seem a bit obsessive, but I've been through the wringer with people destroying my work before. One of my ex-wives, for instance, took everything I had ever written and threw it all into a bonfire.
I won't go through that kind of loss again, but my PTSD won't let me write unless I know everything is instantly backed up.
Hope all of this is helpful in some way to folks!
You've got a nice pub here. I'm enjoying it highly!
Yikes! Totally agree though, there's no such thing as too many backups. In fact, you have just prompted me to do a manual backup, so thank you for that! I use Google Drive but also periodically backup to portable hard drives.
How well does Scrivener adapt to your sight requirements? It's quite an unusual (and occasionally slightly mad) interface.
I have some software to help me get things done through audio, and an arm for my monitor to let me get it to within an inch or so of my face for the days when I can squint like mad and get a small bit of acuity going.
Scrivener's interface is pretty easily modified to get the fonts huge and the color schemes coordinated in such a way it's at least somewhat functional for what I have. The biggest trouble I have with it is sometimes the formatting can go wonky, causing the text to appear as the same color as the background. Yikes haha
A benefit of when I used to do a lot of my writing on a Chromebook was that there were far fewer distractions, due to the machine not actually being capable of very much. :) I have to be more disciplined when writing on PC.
My handwriting is also atrocious and I have arthritis in my hands already :( So digital is definitely the way to go for me. I use two apps in particular -- Notion (which houses everything like a big binder) and Dabble. I used to be a Scrivener die hard and then realized it made things harder than they needed to be. I needed a system that was easy to set up, easy to get going with and easy to keep momentum with. So far the Dabble/Notion duo has worked fabulously. And not just for novels/short stories, but blog posts, newsletters, etc are drafted with this process.
Minimising the hurdles is really important. Anything which gets in the way of you and your writing is another thing that might stop you from completing a project. It's all too easy to make up excuses to not write, without introducing technological ones as well. :)
The main reason I switched away from Word is that I found completed manuscripts to be too monolithic. Scrivener helps me break it up structurally, and helps prevent me from going (more) mad.
First, because of my multiple devices whatever I use must be accessible in “the cloud”. I have my downstairs laptop, my office desktop, and my on the go iPad and iPhone. When inspiration and ideas hit I want to make sure when I jot it down I can pick up where I left off.
Keeping that in mind for my short fiction writing I have taken to using Google docs for the Drive feature. I pay annually to have 1T of storage because I also save a lot of other projects there as well. However, due to its lack of desktop apps it’s not my only writing tool.
For longer fiction like novels and if I need to build a world bible then my go to has always been Scrivener. It’s still not my all-time go-to for many reasons:
1. The fact I have to use Dropbox to sync across devices and they have yet to change this so I can use whatever cloud service I want is a restriction I hate. The ONLY reason I have a Dropbox account is for this and I would love to get rid of it someday.
2. It’s Compile feature. I understand it’s robust with all its bells and whistles but the fact that they have yet to put a satisfactory press here to get awesome results button there irks me. Make the program more user friendly but keep all that extra crap for people who care to learn the secret language and coding if they want. The fact I have to learn the magic formula just so I can have my name in the center on one page and the book title on the next but all caps is ridiculous IMHO...end of rant...
It has only been in the past 5 years or so that I stopped using Word. Up until that time it was my number one for all projects regardless of length or type. Now I just use OneDrive almost like my main hub for all my documents as it also is 1T in size.
I also journal, though not daily as I would like. When I BuJo it is pen and and a dotted journal though I’ve been secretly working on a digital BuJo for fiction writers...
Using three different cloud storage systems sounds good for backup purposes but I think I'd get in a muddle. :)
I use Google Drive for backing up and syncing my writing. It seems to work fine with Scrivener, so I can always access my Scrivener files whether I'm on the desktop or on my laptop. The only caveat is that I need to make sure I've closed it on one device before opening it on the other.
I used to have a Chromebook, which made everything a lot more complicated as Scrivener is only available on Mac and PC. Thankfully those days are behind me. :)
Have you looked at Ulysses? It's a blessing for working in the cloud on Apple. Perfect for all of
my writing, syncs instantly, and has lots of the tools that Scrivener has. I love it so much more
than Google Drive/Docs which I used before (and still have to for work sometimes).
Have you looked at Ulysses? It's a blessing for working in the cloud on Apple. Perfect for all of my writing, syncs instantly, and has lots of the tools that Scrivener has. I love it so much more than Google Drive/Docs which I used before (and still have to for work sometimes).
First of all, I use both Word and Scrivener. When drafting a novel, I compose in Word, then paste each chapter into Scrivener. This allows me to review earlier chapters easier for continuity purposes, plus go back and insert updates for things that happen later on in the drafting process.
All of my worldbuilding information is tucked under the Research tab in Scrivener. That includes timelines, character notes, chapter and episode outlines, etc. Anything I need to know quickly when drafting goes under Research.
Then I export the final Scrivener doc to Word for the remaining edits.
Production happens in Vellum. I compiled in Scrivener for years, and hated it. The process in Vellum is much quicker--and I can do final copy edits and proofing based on what I see in the two Vellum windows. I've found MANY more errors in this software than I have in the past using either Scrivener or the Word doc.
So software wise--Word, Scrivener, Vellum.
Hardware? I have an iMac desktop and an ancient MacBookPro laptop.
No grammar checkers, other than paper resources. They frequently annoy the crap out of me--former middle school special education teacher with an emphasis on writing. I used to teach sentence diagramming. I have several stylebooks available and I used to proofread for a small press.
No outlining or plotting software. So far, I seem to do well on my own.
Oh. I also have a color laser printer with duplexing capabilities. That allows me to make my own short story chapbooks for in-person occasions. I also subscribe to BookBrush, which helps me make covers and promotional materials easily. I've purchased photos from Depositphotos to help create covers as well.
I use Dropbox to sync across devices.
And yes, I still have pen and paper handy because sometimes when plotting or thinking, it's the best way to extract ideas from the brain.
Yeah, I do sometimes go back to pen and paper for working out especially thorny problems. It seems to access a slightly different part of my brain.
It's interesting that you write in Word and Scrivener. What is it about Word that makes it your go-to for the initial draft, rather than doing it all in Scrivener?
I do wish Vellum was available on PC as well. I've only ever heard very good things about it.
I just find drafting easier in Word. Formatting special characters such as accents is much simpler, setting margins and so on. Easier to do an on-the-fly thesaurus check. Easier to track page length by chapter. That sort of thing.
Keep in mind I started out using WP 5.1 for DOS, which had the option of drafting chapters, then consolidating them in a final full document. Scrivener is actually easier to use in this stage of the process, plus I have my research docs available quickly. I can move the Word document around when referring to a timeline in Scriv and the visuals work better for me than having a double screen in Scriv. I'm old and my eyes aren't the best, so...it works.
I am a Scrivener fan. I used to use it exclusively for my writing. As an organizing geek, I love having everything, research, notes, story, etc. in one file. And I love it for its flexibility for novel writing. And I love being able to visually see my novel outline (chapters.) But I don’t use it for ebook or print output. Too complicated.
Recently I tried Ulysses. I like it’s organizational ability also, but I love its ability to publish directly to a draft on Medium. Unfortunately, I am liking Medium less every passing day. The creative writer community feel has all but vanished as have most of the writers I enjoyed. And it is getting harder and harder to find anything worth reading. I wish Ulysses could publish directly to a draft in Substack. I may not continue with Ulysses if I leave Medium.
For creating ebooks, I use Apple Pages. It has templates that make great epubs easily. I just copy and paste the chapters text from Scrivener. It makes the ebook index automatically based on chapter title. Super easy and great looking ebook files.
For paperbacks I use Affinity Publisher. I love their software. I also used Affinity Designer and Affinty Photo.
And I use Apple Notes for quick ideas.
Yeah, Scrivener is essential for me in terms of writing. I've yet to find anything on PC that I like for actual typesetting/preparing ebooks. Reedsy has a quite nice editor, but I'd rather have a dedicated local tool rather than an online service.
Absolutely agree about Medium. It was my preferred non-fiction platform for ages and it felt like every time I visited the site I'd find multiple fascinating articles to read, to the extent that I actually became a paid member for a couple of years. I'm not sure what specifically changed, but the interesting articles dried up, all the headlines went horribly clickbaity and/or Buzzfeedy and the interface became increasingly muddled. The most recent UX overhaul I find quite peculiar and haven't really got on with.
Fortunately Substack came along and did all the things I liked about Medium in a better way. Fingers crossed they remain focused and don't go the same way.
Right. I cringe every time Substack adds a new “feature.” 🤣
Ha, yes. So far, so good, I think. My main fear is if they creep towards algorithmic networking of any sort. Newsletters are an unusual instance of when siloing is better - other than natural, manual recommendations between writers.
One of the best tools? My feet!
https://morningpagemashup.substack.com/p/write-run-repeat?r=78mjm&utm_medium=ios
May sound crazy, but I use a typewriter for all of my first drafts. I found it’s like playing music. It’s tactile, and you’re able to see your work as an object, not just an idea. After I write, I scan the pages then edit my work on word. Didn’t start until about 4 years ago, but it’s the single best thing that’s improved my writing.
I love typewriters! Adored them as a kid, though I haven't used one for decades. However, I did invest in a fancy mechanical keyboard for my computer, which provides a very similar tactile response to typing. Not great for anyone else in the room, but a very satisfying typing experience.
Hi, Simon! I'm new here, but figured I'd throw my hat into the ring here, too.
I'm blind, so I have to do things a bit differently than others do. Still, I've found a couple of ways to help facilitate getting things done.
I make heavy and prodigious use of Obsidian for tracking any and all data I need. It's been amazing for getting myself organized and "with it." Highlights from articles, books, things I run across on the web... all that and more, I shove into Obsidian. If I have ideas for stories but they're not quite coherent yet, I'll add them in as a note there, too.
I also draft all of my stories in it, too, since it helps with the organization of that type of thing.
When I am ready to get a book out, I'll take all the info and insert it into Scrivener. Since Scrivener is good for handling that kind of thing, I have a lessened burden.
Added to it all is ProWritingAid. Anything I draft goes through that before anyone public sees it. My wife is my first line of defense, being a great proofer and editor.
No matter what, though, I make sure everything I write is backed up to multiple spaces. I have everything syncing with Google Drive, as well as 2 different hard drives on my machine (internal and external). I'll also periodically upload anything relevant to the back end of my websites (where no one has access but myself), just in case.
I know it may seem a bit obsessive, but I've been through the wringer with people destroying my work before. One of my ex-wives, for instance, took everything I had ever written and threw it all into a bonfire.
I won't go through that kind of loss again, but my PTSD won't let me write unless I know everything is instantly backed up.
Hope all of this is helpful in some way to folks!
You've got a nice pub here. I'm enjoying it highly!
Yikes! Totally agree though, there's no such thing as too many backups. In fact, you have just prompted me to do a manual backup, so thank you for that! I use Google Drive but also periodically backup to portable hard drives.
How well does Scrivener adapt to your sight requirements? It's quite an unusual (and occasionally slightly mad) interface.
Thank you for reading!
I have some software to help me get things done through audio, and an arm for my monitor to let me get it to within an inch or so of my face for the days when I can squint like mad and get a small bit of acuity going.
Scrivener's interface is pretty easily modified to get the fonts huge and the color schemes coordinated in such a way it's at least somewhat functional for what I have. The biggest trouble I have with it is sometimes the formatting can go wonky, causing the text to appear as the same color as the background. Yikes haha
I think text being the same colour as the background would be a problem for most people. :D
Thanks for the insight. As someone with slowly deteriorating insight it's always very interesting to know what resources and tech is available.
I hand-write, re-type in a bare bones editor (Notepad or TextEdit depending on the rig), then set for printers in InDesign.
All three stages have value of a different sort. Reduce speed/avoid distraction, followed by max control and visual versatility.
If I generate a draft on a screen, I type with my eyes closed. Makes that Well of Weirdness most accessible.
A benefit of when I used to do a lot of my writing on a Chromebook was that there were far fewer distractions, due to the machine not actually being capable of very much. :) I have to be more disciplined when writing on PC.
My handwriting is also atrocious and I have arthritis in my hands already :( So digital is definitely the way to go for me. I use two apps in particular -- Notion (which houses everything like a big binder) and Dabble. I used to be a Scrivener die hard and then realized it made things harder than they needed to be. I needed a system that was easy to set up, easy to get going with and easy to keep momentum with. So far the Dabble/Notion duo has worked fabulously. And not just for novels/short stories, but blog posts, newsletters, etc are drafted with this process.
Minimising the hurdles is really important. Anything which gets in the way of you and your writing is another thing that might stop you from completing a project. It's all too easy to make up excuses to not write, without introducing technological ones as well. :)
Amen! I'm a newer-ish follower and loving what you're doing with the platform!
Thanks for reading. :)
Word (I'll get my coat)
Ha! If it works, it works, right? :)
The main reason I switched away from Word is that I found completed manuscripts to be too monolithic. Scrivener helps me break it up structurally, and helps prevent me from going (more) mad.