Before I got Scrivener, I had heard a lot about it. Conferences I attended had entire workshops on how to use Scrivener. Major published authors were tweeting about how amazing it was. I had heard it all and still could not be convinced. I was doing just fine with Miscrosoft word and I was afraid that I would spend gobs of time orienting myself to the software program only to find that I didn't like it.
What finally convinced me? The tipping point for me was when I found out about two particular features:
1) Snapshots
Anytime I go back and edit a scene (even as I am writing it), I can take a snapshot of the original and then dive right into my edits without worrying about saving the edited version as an entirely different document. Should I decide I want to go back to what I had before, I simply click on the original snapshot and I'm back to square one. This eliminates the need for me to have sixteen different versions of one manuscript in my documents. CLUTTER FREE!!
2) Research, Character Sketches, and Manuscript all in ONE place
Everything I need to write my novel is opened with one click of a button. I no longer have to rifle through the folders on my computer looking for the various documents where I catalog my research and write out my character sketches. With Scrivener, I simply pull up what I need using the handy sidebar to the left of the screen. It even catalogs web pages for you right within the software program!
I'm no Scrivener expert, but I learned the aspects of it that really work for me and my style of writing. I highly recommend Scrivener to pantsers and plotters alike. Don't be scared. Just watch a tutorial or two. It's worth a couple hours of your time.
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