I’ve
lost track of all the courses, classes and workshops I’ve taken since I started
my writing journey years ago. Besides studying characterization and story
structure and any number of other elements of a story, I’ve learned various
systems for keeping up with information. I took a class once that taught how to
keep copious detail about story people in multiple 3-ring binders. For me,
that turned out to be mostly a mess. I was so busy gathering and sorting
information I had no time to write the story.
The
most profound thing I’ve learned from all of this learning is that I can never
learn enough. Consequently, I’m starting a class to learn how to use Scrivener.
Scrivener
is writing software that’s supposed to improve the organizing of what you write.
Everyone I know who has mastered Scrivener thinks it’s the answer to the
organization and flow of information through a story. I bought the program
believing I could teach myself. Boy, was I wrong. So now I need a class. The
woman teaching the class is the author who wrote “Scrivener for Dummies.”
Appropriate, huh?
Organizing
storytelling information has been a challenge for me forever. A manuscript of 100,000
words has a lot of information to keep up with. In one story, there might be
two-dozen speaking characters, for example, playing only minor roles in the
story, but not giving any one of them critical attention would be a mistake.
You
can’t have the heroine’s aunt be blue-eyed on page 36 and green-eyed on page 150.
I’ve read books that made it to print with this type of flaw. And for some
reason, in spite of all the other details a writer might put into a story, despite
beautiful prose, a mistake like that one jumps right off the page at a reader. Scrivener
is not going to help me keep up with all of those details, but hopefully, if I’m
better organized, I’ll be able to find them easier and discover a flaw if there
is one.
Over
time, I’ve devised all kinds of “systems” and record-keeping methods to help me
keep it all straight. Most of them work to a degree, but none of them are
great. Lately, I’m using a clumsy system I’ve created in Microsoft Excel.
Fingers crossed that Scrivener will be better. If it isn’t, and if I have to go
back to Excel, I’m going to be extremely disappointed.
This
is particularly important to me right now as I’m writing a romance trilogy that’s
a family saga, with a sub-story arc that carries through 3 books.
Oh, and by the way.....HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY.
Anna, I'm eager to hear how Scrivener works for you. Certainly your books are wonderful as you write now.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Carolyn. Word has its challenges, too. I've been years trying to learn to use it and still have a long way to go. ..... Thanks for the compliment on the books. As you know yourself, compliments are food for the ego and I don't know anyone who needs that more than people who write fiction.
DeleteHappy Valentines Day to you! Since I am a reader - not an author - I was not aware of all it takes to write a book! Whatever your system is now, it must be working because I really enjoy what you write!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Karren. I think my *system* is one of the things that causes me to take so long to write a book. LOL ... And thanks for the compliment. It takes only one to make my day. I don't know about others, but when I write a story, I'm so into it and so close to it, I lose objectivity. Only after I've put it out there for consumption by readers do I know if I've succeeded in proving what I set out to in my premise.
DeleteI just decided yesterday to buy Scrivener. It sounds so sane and logical. Since I really hate Word, I hope Scrivener is a nice alternative. Also hope it is easy to learn. Good luck with the class.
ReplyDeleteI have not found it easy to learn, Joan, but I'm a little short on patience. Apparently others haven't found it easy either because there are at least a dozen books for sale on how to use it, plus videos and classes. It's so large and comprehensive. I kind of didn't know where to start. That's why I think I need a class.
ReplyDelete