Schrivener for Dummies by Gwen Hernandez

I've been using yWriter to write my work-in-progress Bon Secour over the past two and one-half years.  I have been very pleased with how it helps me be better organized and how it simplifies the writing process as compared to my previous attempts to write using Word.

I decided earlier this month to write a short story that told Bob Lee's backstory regarding the deaths of his aunt and uncle who were also his foster parents.  The idea being that I'm getting nowhere fast with the novel and maybe actually finishing a story would help motivate me to plant my butt and write everyday.

I've also wondered if the writing software package, Schrivener, might be a better tool.

I've read the reviews on-line comparing yWriter and Schrivener and they were mixed.  Each reviewer had something they liked about each program and similarly something they didn't like about each.

yWriter is shareware and if you don't choose to contribute to the author, it's free.  Scrivener sells for $45.  There is nothing I like better than free, but at $45 Shrivener is a steal.  Scrivener offers a 30 day free trial.  I downloaded the trial and opened the software.  Boy did I feel like a dummy.  Nothing was intuitive.  I couldn't figure out how to do anything.  I confess that I have the same sort of problem with every Mac I've tried to use.  Scrivener for Windows is based on the original Scrivener for the Mac.  And being Mac impaired may be the core to my problems. Anyway, I ordered Scrivener for Dummies by Gwen Hernandez from Amazon and today I finished reading it.

It is a good book in the Dummies series of how-to books.  I also read the Scrivener user manual and followed the Help Menu's tutorial.  Between the three sources I think I've got the basics figured out.  Especially the part about how to use it to write a novel.  The part on how it can compile a novel in an e-book format will require study when that time comes.