Sequestered in a hotel room, I’ve been writing. Last week, my creative lull was unbearable, but towards the end of the week, it completely reversed itself. What happened? Well, I bought and downloaded Scrivener, a software that helps writers organize their thoughts, and I think my productivity is related to that. Being able to separate and catalog thoughts, documents, media, etc related to my book was always possible, it just wasn’t probable. Scrivener is helping me see my story line without scrolling through all the pages. That helps, because I can SEE where my story needs expansion.
With that expansion, though, comes the realization that I could expand on every single freaking scene I’ve written. Can the reader smell it? Can they taste it? Does it matter? Scrivener helps in those regards too, with Character Sketches and Place Sketches, I can ask myself the important questions, make notes and then weave them into the story.
I’ve been perusing the book jackets in the airports I keep fluttering through. Looking for similar novels that are already established. I’m not finding them. I’m sure they exist. I’m not looking very hard.
In the end, my book plays second fiddle to everything else work related. I’m a designer, developer, educator. Writing is a “hobby”.
The fact remains: I’m a writer. So at some point, software or none, time or none, the book will have to get finished. Luckily, I bought Scrivener. I haven’t even begun to use it properly. I’m barely scratching the surface on what’s possible, so that makes today’s slightly annoying writers block more bearable. Last week I wrote like crazy after splitting and merging scenes and sections of my book using Scrivener. Now I’ll use the blockage to learn more about the software. I’m pretty sure that tomorrow I’ll be back to writing at least 6000 words per day.
Related articles
- Meet the love of my life: Scrivener! (angelikadevlyn.wordpress.com)
- How to write a book, Typewriter keyboards, Short stories, and Philosophy – Weekend Roundup June 5 (sarasligar.wordpress.com)
