The great Scrivener conversion update.

I mentioned a few weeks ago I'd had to ditch my previous writing program SuperNotecard due to it totally fucking not working anymore problems with it after a Java update broke it and the programmers' not giving a shit lack of a timely response to addressing the issue. Thus since word slinging is sort of how I pay my bills and put food on my table, and my writing software is an invaluable part of my writing process, I switched to Scrivener.

Well, ironically, now that I've switched to a MacBook Air from a PC-flavored laptop, I had to get the Mac version of Scrivener which I already knew had more features.

And now, the same company's come out with Scapple for Mac, an AWESOME mindmap software that totally gets me. (I think I'm in lurrrrrve!)

No, it's not available for PCs as of this writing, although they say they're working on it.

I tried it the other day and immediately bought it. (Shut up and take my money!) Especially when I found I could literally drag and drop my entire mindmap from Scapple into a corkboard folder on Scrivener, in the SAME arrangement as it was in the mindmap (Mac Scrivener has a free-form corkboard that the PC version doesn't yet.)

Oh.

My.

Goddess!

Yes, I'm hooked. I'm in love, and definitely not regretting my decision to switch to the MacBook Air. (Also, was able to stream something from my MacBook Air to our Apple TV device so we could watch it on the living room TV the other night. WOW!)

So if you're considering a Mac, GET IT. Yes, they're more expensive, but now I'm mentally whacking myself on the head for not getting one sooner. And if you're on the fence about Scrivener (in either flavor) don't be. BUY. IT. Do yourself the favor and use the free trial, and get the Dummies book for it. I know there are more advanced features I haven't even tapped into yet, but I'm really loving the software now that I've totally made love to it gotten to know it better.

Scapple is definitely worth a look-see if you like free-flow note-taking. I've already transcribed a shit-ton of handwritten notes from my WIP notebook into Scapple and dragged them into Scrivener.

Now, please excuse me while I go get cuddly with Spunky (my MacBook Air) and get this WIP cranked out.

Scrivener convert...Kill. Me. Now. (Please?)

Oh, happy friggin' April Fool's Day, folks.

Not.

Why am I so grumpy, bucky? Well, those of you who follow me on a regular basis know two things. One, I'm on a pretty heavy writing schedule right now, averaging a book a month. Two, I love (love LOVE) a writing software called Supernotecard that I've been using ever since I discovered it through one of the writing magazines back in late 2007.

Pretty much EVERY book I've written since then, with the exception of Love at First Bight (which I wrote using Open Office on a TINY Asus netbook because my laptop screen died and it was in for repairs) has been written in Supernotecard. I do my rough drafts there, keep my character notes, timelines, etc. there. I export to Word for my final draft.

Meaning over forty books.

FORTY. BOOKS.

And then...

Well, apparently, a recent Java update basically farked the hell out of the software. Made it start running VERY slow, created a HORRIBLE buggy line break issue, and other things. For my purposes, it basically rendered the program unusable to me as a piece of production software, because I wasted too much time waiting for the program, or switching back and forth in views to correct the line break issue.

In other words, when the software becomes the focus of my rage (and I was raging pretty heavy) and makes it impossible for me to focus on the WRITING, it's time to move on. An email to the software developers basically left me nowhere. Their suggestion was to roll back Java (um, it was a security update, so I'm thiiinnkinggg...no). Yes, they are aware of the issues. No, they don't know why it's doing it, or when they'll get it fixed.

Unacceptable. I don't put out a book a decade, or a book a year.

I put out a novel-length (50k words+) book a MONTH on average (I'm not talking novellas), and I need fast, reliable software that stays the frak out of my way.

The way I write makes writing my first drafts in a word processor difficult, tedious, and time-consuming. So I looked into Scrivener, which is similar, but different, than SNC. (Apparently the Windows version wasn't available until 2011, so it wasn't around when I started using SNC.) I run Windows-flavored laptops (I have completely done away with desktops), and the Windows version lacks some coolio features the Mac version has, but I can deal with that. It's similar to SNC...but different. There are features SNC has I wish Scrivener had, and there are features Scrivener has that, now that I see them, I damn sure wish SNC has.

Since I was in the middle of writing Out of Smoke and Ashes - Triple Trouble 5 (yes, got it submitted, so stay tuned for news on that) I basically dumped the current book into Scrivener as best I could, recreated my series character notes (which was a bitch and a half seven books in, let me tell you what), and prayed I didn't have to redo it all again once I actually sat down with the Scrivener for Dummies book I bought. I had a little issue with the compile feature to export it when I was done, but I muddled my way through it (meaning I basically forced the Word file to be my bitch and fixed everything there) and got it submitted.

Now, with a couple of days of breathing room, I can get everything exported from SNC and imported and structured in Scrivener. I spent some time last night before The Walking Dead (and OMG my HEAD is about to EXPLODE over the bs the writers are pulling!!!) looking into stuff and realized where I turned wrong at Albuquerque (brownie points if you get the reference) in regards to the compile feature. I doubt I'll completely give up my export the draft to Windows for final formatting step, but now that I see what I didn't do and should have, it'll make my life a lot easier.

I'm sad to say I can no longer recommend Supernotecard to users. I wish I could, because I LOVED the software. (Forty-plus books written in it should be a pretty darn good track record.)

Now I'm finishing setting up my Triple Trouble series in the project file I just used so I can work on finishing book 6 for submission this month. I can see where I need to set up a custom template for my other projects, and have already figured that step out, so it should take a little of the pain out of creating the new project files.

Not looking forward to it, but it's a growth process, I know. It's part of moving forward. This, too, shall pass, and all that bullshit.

How's your Monday going?

Writing Software

I had a great time yesterday with the interview! Jordana and Stephanie were fantastic, and invited me back after their summer hiatus.

One of the things we talked about was how I write, and I mentioned a software I use. NAYY - I am simply a happy customer.

I use SuperNotecard by Mindola. The way I write is I write whatever comes first - that might be just a title, or it might be a snippet of dialog (in "Love & Brimstone," the whole story spawned from one very brief dialog exchange between Taz and Matthias) or a scene. I write what I "see" when I see it. I don't outline my fiction - I might jot notes if something comes to me, but I don't use outlines.

Before SuperNotecard, I would have to bounce back and forth in a manuscript file (I use OpenOffice, not Word) and try to figure out where I was. With SuperNotecard I can simply create a card for a scene and drop it in wherever I need it in the story. I can write a whole scene or just a snippet or even just title a blank card as a holding place and stick it in. I save countless hours with this software. "Love & Brimstone" was the first manuscript I completely wrote using it, and the rough draft was complete in a little over two weeks, where it would have taken me a month my old way.

Needless to say, I now write all my manuscripts with this software. When I finish, I export the rough draft to OpenOffice and format it as a manuscript and then do my final editing.

They also make a version for script writers.