Holiday Wars

Let’s talk Scrivener. At it’s very basics it’s a word processor, but it makes more sense to consider it a writing management tool that can be customized and utilized to match however you write. In video editing there are studio suite programs like Final Cut Pro, well Scrivener is the equivalent of that, but for writers.  It let lets you work in a non-linear fashion, which doesn’t sound like a big deal but when you are juggling hundreds of pages or thousands of comic book panels it’s a must have.

Some core marketable feature of Scrivener are things like the manipulatable corkboard, the outliner, the full screen mode, and a ton of other things you can read about on the programs website. Where Scrivener really comes alive is how you use the features and make the program your own. For example, with the way I write I never ever touch the corkboard, but I basically live in the outliner.

One of my favorite simple features is the full screen mode. For someone who can be easily distracted by twitter, emails, or anything else the full screen mode is a god send that helps you stay focus during those scenes you just don’t feel like writing.

Another versatility of the program is setting it up for different types of writing. As a screenwriter I basically live in Final Draft, but for anything other than a screenplay I use Scrivener. We are talking novels, short stories, comic scripts, and even blog posts are all written in Scrivener. It makes it easy to switch back and forth from all these different formats.

Specifically looking at my own work I think it is safe to say that “Holiday Wars” wouldn’t be the same without Scrivener. After taking some time to set-up a comic-book template I was able to break down the script for “Holiday Wars” in such a way that let me keep it organized and easily manipulate it.

The full storyline for volume one has over 300 episodes and each of those episodes has anywhere between one and six panels. Trying to juggle such a document in any other program would be confusing and a hassle, but in Scrivener I was able to keep it organized and easily manipulate it without the whole thing turning into chaos.

If you are a writer, you really need to take the time to give Scrivener a try. They offer an awesome full trial that last for 30 days of use so there is no reason not to try it out. You can get the free trial here.