Wit & Travesty

We are professional writers, editors, readers & nerds.

8 Mighty Resources for the Scrivener Beginner

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this post shares mighty resources for a scrivener beginner through wit & travesty

Ever since NaNoWriMo 2014, I’ve wanted to use Scrivener. Maybe it wasn’t the top priority or I had my doubts if I would like it, but I just barely and finally got the program on my computer this month. Let me begin by saying that I feel like there is so much to learn about Scrivener and I don’t know it all yet.

But I love it.

I’m still organizing my novel in the program and poking around, but I’ve collected some other resources that have been especially helpful to me in figuring this whole Scrivener thing out. Note that I wasn’t asked to promote these bloggers in any way but found them personally helpful and worth recommending.

Here’s my mighty list of eight resources in no particular order:

  1. Using Scrivener for Plotting—One of my main hopes for Scrivener is that I could use it to make sense of all the plot changes I need to make in my second draft. It’s what I get for being a pantser instead of a plotter. Hope Ramsey does a great job of showing you how to create visual order out of beautiful chaos.
  2. How to Use Scrivener to Write a Book—this leads to a few other tutorials for Scrivener that get down to the nitty gritty. There’s an especially handy image she made to boil the program down into five easy steps. This is a great resource if you’re starting a new manuscript or knee-deep in a current project.
  3. 10 Little Known Scrivener Tricks That Can Save You Time—Most of the screenshots are for the Mac version of the program, but Joseph Michael (who is already a Scrivener guru) provides really cool insight on how to make Scrivener work for you.
  4. How to Use the Scrivener Inspector to Boost Your Writing Efficiency—Something I also hope to do with this program is keep track of my writing progress and make legit goals to finish my second draft. I didn’t know the Inspector was a thing until I saw this post. Kristen does a great job of showing you what it is and how to harness its power.
  5. How to Use Scrivener to Edit Your Book. If you’re already missing Track Changes through MS Word, Natasha can help you cope. She doesn’t give general tips or steps to follow when editing, but rather gives you an idea of what she does to edit her book or keep track of her edits by using notes, color-coding, and the cork board tab.
  6. How to Import Word Comments into Scrivener in 5 Easy Steps (PC Version)—Yes, thank you, Alexis! This is helpful if you’re using a PC to edit your current work. This was helpful in showing solid steps on how to import a whole friggin novel and all the comments that came with it. If you want to save time, give this link a gander.
  7. How to Use the Scrivener Binder to Organize Your Novel—This post not only helps you learn the basic elements of Scrivener, but it helps you learn how to use them to keep your thoughts straight. Kristen talks a lot more about Scrivener in general, so it’s worth your time perusing the other posts in her series.
  8. Building and Managing Story Timelines Using Scrivener—Oh my days, if there’s one reason why I need Scrivener, it’s because I need something to create a helpful timeline. Since my novel spans over a few years (or at least that’s what I envision), it’s helpful to keep track of how time transpires with each chapter. This step-by-step method helps you create a timeline. *squee*

That’s what I have so far—did I forget any resources? Include your favorites in the comment section, because heaven knows I still have a lot to learn about Scrivener.

Monthly McGruder Updates: August

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Whitney:

Hey writing friends! If you’re up for a little blurb on handling stress, why don’t you sit down for a spell because it’s about to get real.

Anytime I think about handling stress, I immediately downplay my stress because I can think of so many people who have more to stress about and yet handle it a lot more gracefully than me. But then I think, “eff that, stress is stress no matter how small.”

Today I made a point of writing down all the things that are stressing me out—and yes, writing is one of them. At the moment, I just can’t factory produce a good chapter like I used to. I’m going through and rewriting a ton of things to implement newer and better ideas and sometimes I don’t give myself a break. How much I’m not writing is directly affecting how I think about my writing in general.

I also wrote down some solutions. I realized that my pride in being a “pantser” writer has gotten out of control and I need more structure. I tell you, I am incredibly organized in just about every other aspect of my life except my writing. That mess is spaghetti noodles stuck to the ceiling. So I need to be like other writing friends and write more concrete goals but figure out a schedule that works. And also just not be mad if all doesn’t go according to plan.

If you’re feeling the heat, I would recommend writing down the stress and the solutions so you can see a concrete list of what you can change and how you can change it. I feel like once I fix things that have no direct relationship to writing, said writing will still improve because I can imagine I’ll be sitting at the computer thinking good thoughts rather than rushed and anxious ones.

I also want to write a random list of cool things I did this month to therefore prove to myself that I’m not a waste of space:

  • I exercised for roughly 16 hours this month. I keep track of how many minutes I’m active each day. It averages out to 38 minutes/day. I’m therefore not a lazy sack.
  • I edited/rewrote 13,395 words or 4 chapters. My goal was either 10,000 words or 4 chapters, which means I actually double-achieved my goal even though I was fairly whiny about it. It was a lot of throwing away and recreating.
  • I play the organ in my congregation and guess what? I only goofed up the songs a little.
  • I’ve lost 4 inches on my waist since February. I’ve got the best cheerleader (Travis) in the whole world, because whatever I decide not to eat, he doesn’t eat it, either.
  • I got a promotion at work! I was blessed enough to earn/receive one as opposed to having to apply for one, which has never happened to me before.
  • I happen to be currently wearing a cute outfit.

So you see, life isn’t rotten. *knocks on wood*

Goals for September

  • Implement writing/blogging schedule and not be 100% slave to it.
  • Write 10,000 words or edit 4 chapters.
  • Create 2-3 lovely cross stitch samplers.

Travis:

Hey everyone! So I haven’t had a lot of exciting updates this month. While I didn’t meet my goal to write every day, I definitely improved. I’m looking forward to carrying that goal forward into September and . . . well, forever really.

Wit and I are trying to find ways to further incentivize our writing efforts, and one of our ideas is to come up with a way to reward ourselves at the end of the month, depending on how we’ve done. Any suggestions for good rewards? Otherwise we’ll be 3-D printing fun things through our local university library.

Have any stellar goals for the month? Share below!

 

We Accept! Cheers to Our Second Blog Award

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Can you believe it? Neither can we. We’re happy to say that Kate M. Colby has nominated us for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award. She nominated us last week, and we were finally able to get around to this post.

Before we start with the good stuff, we’d like to say thanks to the people who have already subscribed to our updated site! Please let us know if you’re getting these posts via email or if anything is screwy. All the new subscribers show up differently than followers and we’re trying not to panic. If there’s something amiss, contact us and let us know.

The Award Guidelines:

  1. Thank the person who nominated you and add a link to their blog.
  2. Display the award in a blog entry.
  3. List the award guidelines so your nominees will know what to do.
  4. State 7 things about yourself.
  5. Nominate 15 other bloggers for the award.

So here’s just a little bit that I know about Kate M. Colby. She has a fun Instagram account and I’m particularly excited to read The Cogsmith’s Daughter when it’s fresh off the press. She helps me feel like a part of the writing community and we haven’t even been at this for a year.

I would say that these kinds of awards are very inspiring in themselves. Basically, we’ve been up and at it for less than a year, and it’s little awards like these that remind us that people actually read what we post and like it. It gives you the motivation to keep adding to what you started and find meaning in what you love to do.

So here’s the rest of items that I have dutifully achieved.

Seven Facts about Whitney

  1. I met Travis—the Travesty of this blog—due to writing. He claims that the crush started in high school me once he knew that I was writing a book. Same goes for me. Ever since, I trust him completely as an editor and second opinion.
  2. My mom is Danish. My dad’s ancestors also emigrated to the USA from Denmark, so I am more than half Danish. I didn’t really get a grasp of the language until my university studies, but I’ve always been proud to be from that corner of the world.
  3. I used to dance with a hip hop group. People find this hard to believe for some reason. hmmmph. I love hip hop dancing and think I’m pretty good at it. I’m not so good at tricks or break dancing, but when I hear my jams, it’s pretty hard to sit still. I therefore rock dancing games like Just Dance 3 & 4. And I love the Step Up movies no matter how much they lack in plot or character development.
  4. I’m a major Once Upon a Time (OUAT)  fan. We can geek out sometime.
  5. I’m a big fan of Indian/Pakistani fashion. I follow too many Pinterest boards and wished I could someday wear something that gorgeous.
  6.  I really can’t handle downtime. Christmas is sometimes the worst, because I have so much free time. I’m always thinking, “I must be forgetting something. Is there something I should be doing right now?” Travis is one of the most chill people I know and he helps me relax and enjoy those moments where nothing has to be done.
  7. “Whit2ney” is my go-to nickname for a lot of social media things. It stems from a nickname I gave myself in high school: Whit-to-the-ney. Somehow I got my friends to call me that.

My Nominees

We were actually nominated a week or so ago, but we decided to take some time to get to know some of the people we follow, or otherwise interesting new people. Here are some people you should discover if you haven’t already:

  1. Flowers and Wanderlust
  2. Writerish Ramblings
  3. The Good Vader
  4. P.S. Hoffman
  5. Christina Ochs
  6. Charlotte Cuevas
  7. Loan Le
  8. Colin Ashby
  9. Kara Jorgensen
  10. Amanda Richter
  11. Don’t Be “a Writer”
  12. Lisa Voisin
  13. Dan Koboldt
  14. Red Lettering
  15. Blog the Adventure

So there you have it! Is there anyone we’ve missed? Introduce yourself below! We’re always looking for more blogger friends.

TESTIMONIALS

I won a contest via Wit & Travesty in the summer of 2017. The prize was a professional edit of the first 100 pages of a WIP. My middle grade fantasy was only 90 pages, so she read the entire manuscript. She was communicative and positive about the project. Her edits markedly polished up my manuscript and were easy to understand.
Rachel Barnard
Whitney helped me with two short projects written for children, and she was very pleasant to work with. She has an eye for detail, helping me with small grammar errors as well as insights about adding scenes that would enhance my story. Her turnaround time was extremely quick, which I really appreciated when on a deadline!
Brittany Olsen
Whitney did a copy-edit on my third novel, Checkmate. She was a pleasure to work with, and helped me give my novel that final polish that it needed before publication. Put her on your list for editors that help your work shine!
Angelika Offenwanger
Whitney McGruder has created a vast and imaginative world in Destiny Seeker with surprises to delight the reader at every turn. Readers can settle in to devour the diverse and ingenious magic Destiny Seeker has to offer. I highly recommend it.
Jessica Frazier
Whitney and I worked together in a writing feedback group some years ago and have remained in touch since then. From the beginning, I was struck by her absolute responsibility as an editor. Even in the capacity of a group member, not even being employed or contracted by me to edit my work, Whitney was unerringly punctual, thorough, and accurate with her feedback. Her advice is genuinely insightful and I believe the marketability of my work was noticeably increased due to her guidance. I so value her skills that I still turn to her as a resource after three years of working with her in-person have passed.
Jonathan Baker
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