Scrivener

Recently I wrote a lot about movies, this time a completely different subject: software. I want to focus on a writing one, named Scrivener. This software costs 45$ (+ tax fee, depending on the country; e.g. for Poland it is 23%, so about 9$). Thanks to its license, you pay only once and you can install Scrinever in every computer you have.

I recently started thinking about a good writing program (other than Word), basing on my experience. While working on my licentiate, I wrote a lot of fragments of my work in a lot of files. I think I spend more time wondering where the heck I saved an important fragment and looking for it in my computer disk, than in writing itself... In addition, in my licentiate I analysed computer games and vocabulary manuals, so I needed to switch between games screenshoots, books pages, various charts, online articles, etc. very often. It took me a lot of time, too.

That's why I was scared when I though one day I will be through the same process while writing for my master's degree... Fortunately, I learnt about Scrivener :)

The main advantages you can see in the video below.

However, even if it's so good, it also has some disadvantages. Writing settings are more hidden than in Word, there aren't so many shortcut keys than in Word. What's more, Scrivener is available only in English, so do its interface. If you are used to writing in a Polish software, you can be confused with English terminology and you need to check it out. On the other hand, it's a great opportunity to learn English :)

Mixing languages is also horrible. Word automatically detect, in which language you write, while in Scrivener you need to switch between languages manually if you want to have a check spelling. What’s more, the Polish dictionary is so bad that it sometimes underlines the most basic words, like był (was). I’m so irritated by the Polish dictionary that I don’t use it at all :< On the other hand, English dictionary is just lovely and you have immediately access to a definition, synonyms, thesaurus, collocations, etc.

It is worth mentioning that Scrivener is not for formatting. If you finish your work, you should copy it for Word, because it’s easier to format it. Scrivener is perfect for writing, not formatting.

I will lie if I say Scrivener is for everyone.

It is definitely much more complex than Word and it takes long hours to learn how it works.

If you just want to write, and, what's more, you are an organised person, Word is absolutely fine for you. However, if you are such an unorganized and clumsy person as me, it would be more troublesome... 

You can download a free 30-days trial and then decide whether to buy it or no. In my case, I was so enchanted by this software that I bought it just after a few days of testing it :) 

Even if Scrivener seems complicated, for me it's absolutely amazing.

Yeah, even this post I wrote in Scrivener :)