how to search multiple files in scrivener

How to search multiple files in scrivener how to#

Overall, if you take nothing else away from this article, start using some kind of idea dump! I highly recommend it. I’m constantly taking notes on scraps of paper or sending myself emails at 4AM with an idea I just dreamed up, and this folder lets me organize all of those things in one place without restricting my creativity in the moment. While this is definitely not a complex folder, it’s also one of my favorites, simply because it meshes with my writing process so seamlessly. Essentially, this folder acts as a central hub for all the notes I’ve taken while brainstorming my novel, allowing me to get my bearings and organize my thoughts in a cohesive place. I’m always collecting random ideas in text documents on my laptop, so when I finally decide to turn one of these into an actual novel, all those ideas need a home. You see, I’m a bit of a writing pack-rat… The Idea Dump:įirst up, we have a folder that’s actually separate from both the draft and master outlines, and that is the idea dump. You can find The Ten Day Outline here, or an article describing the process here. In this book, I’ll help you take a solitary idea and turn it into a robust story outline in just ten days-meaning you’ll have plenty of time to prepare for NaNoWriMo! If you’d like to learn more about how I use this outlining system, check out The Ten Day Outline. Now, with that out of the way, let me walk you through each of them below! Of course, there are a few other miscellaneous documents I create throughout my outlining process, but overall, these two sections form the bulk of my outline. This also means I can easily open sections of my outline whenever I need to reference character names, scenes, etc… which is one of the major benefits of Scrivener’s dual screen option. Whenever I finish a new section of either outline, I simply add it to the appropriate folder. The master outline is the final product of this process-this is where I create a finished version of my story, with everything neatly organized for me to reference as I write.īoth of these components are set up as folders within Scrivener. The draft outline is just what it sounds like-this is where I expand on my ideas and work through any kinks in my story until I’m happy with the result.

How to search multiple files in scrivener how to#

How to Outline Your Novel Using Scrivener A Quick Overview:įirst things first, let me explain the basic system I use for outlining my novels.Īt its core, my outlining system is based on two main components: the draft outline and the master outline. If you haven’t already, definitely check Scrivener out here. Best of all, you don’t have to flip between tons of open documents while writing-everything is accessible in one place! In a single Scrivener file you can store everything related to your novel, from your manuscript to outlines and notes. Note: If you’ve never heard of Scrivener, it’s basically a text editor and organizational app purpose-built for novelists. There’s still time before November begins, so let’s get started! Today I’m going to walk you through my personal Scrivener outline, as well as show you how you can plan your novel using Scrivener. Of course, if you don’t have an outline yet, there’s no need to panic.

Better yet, as of last week I’ve officially finished creating my outline, meaning there’s nothing left now but to wait for November. So, with that book in hand, I decided it was time to create a Scrivener template that would mesh with my new outlining process-and sure enough, I’m still using that template over a year later!įast forward to now, and National Novel Writing Month is just on the horizon.įor the last few years, I’ve had to skip NaNoWriMo to focus on The Novel Smithy, but this year I’m finally dedicating November to my sword and sorcery novel, The Child Hunters. You see, Scrivener is an excellent, but also rather complex piece of software.Īs a result, when I first set out to use it I found I was spending more time setting up my files than outlining my novels.įortunately, I came to this realization right around the launch of The Ten Day Outline, which meant I had just finished developing a pretty robust outlining system. Still, I’ll be the first to admit that using Scrivener and actually getting the most out of it are often two very different things. Word even crashed my computer a couple times-apparently, fourteen open Word documents is just a few too many… Yes, I used Word for a year or two, but it didn’t take long for me to get sick of juggling so many separate documents. When I look back on my writing journey, Scrivener has been an almost constant presence. 2 How to Outline Your Novel Using Scrivener.

1 Where Scrivener Fits In My Writing Life.