Scrivener - my favorite writing software

I've bought several software programs to make my writing as easy as possible, but most of them just got in the way.  It was the same story every time: I would download a demo of a writing program, convince myself it would help me write a bestseller and I'd one day become its celebrity endorser, then within hours of using the full version I would close the program and switch to my word processor.  I was running out of excuses to tell my wife when she asked why I was using OpenOffice to write instead of using the new software that cost a day's wages.

Then I found Scrivener.

Before I get too far into this review, you should know that Scrivener is currently available for Mac only.  But don't fret, Windows users, it's coming to your OS early this year.


I've used Scrivener for roughly one year and I love it.  The powerful program allows me to quickly access all of my files--documents, research, photos, videos, character profiles, everything--in the Binder located on the left sidebar.  This is especially useful for my current true-crime work, which contains more than 3,000 pages of research in many different formats.  I can view my files and folders in Outline or Corkboard mode, two awesome features that are especially useful to me in the early stages of a writing project.  I'm easily distracted, so I don't always want those sidebars and options in my line of vision.  Simple enough: I just switch to full-screen mode and everything disappears except the document I'm writing.  I can even customize the background and text colors in full-screen mode to prevent headaches that often come with extended focus on my backlit monitor.

Yesterday, I learned of Scrivener's newly released version 2.0.  I checked out the new features, including e-book exporting options that would allow me to publish to MOBI (Kindle) or EPUB (iPad, iPod touch, Sony Reader, Nook, etc.).  I quickly bought Scrivener 2.0 ($45 for new license, $25 for upgrade) and had THE SOMEBODY OBSESSION converted to MOBI and EPUB with just a few clicks.

I highly recommend Scrivener to all writers.  Download a demo and see if you find it as useful as I have.

Scrivener is available by clicking here.