I pulled up the hidden footer menu to show off its features. Here’s a typical distraction-free screen. Scrivener delivers a wonderful balance between an empty screen in the “Compose” mode and the ready availability of powerful tools. That’s why, although I love the allure of an uncluttered page before me, I’m weary of the “distraction-free writing environments”, which normally present me with a “zen” screen only capable of displaying plain text. I delete programs that restrict my freedom. Instead, it can sync its text files with an arbitrary folder in your Dropbox, allowing you to edit those files in a variety of iPad writing programs. Said another way, your precious words are always safe and available on all your computers after only one step. This feature also doubles up as set-and-forget sharing through Dropbox: you can point to a folder inside your Dropbox as the backup destination. Scrivener can back up all your work into a folder of your choice. Here’s a couple of examples of how Keith thinks, both involving the free : His upgrades are infrequent, because he spends his time making things work. He’s a writer, and he knows what we writers need. Keith Blount, the program creator, has spent the last 8 years perfecting it.

I know that esthetics isn’t a deciding factor for many. In our age of buggy software releases, typo-infested published novels, and messy websites, Scrivener stands out because it’s a work of quality.

So be warned: this is a positive article!

Scrivener may have weaknesses, but I bump into none of them in my daily work and I’m not going to pretend displeasure for the sake of balance. You can see detailed demos at the Literature and Latte website, so let me focus only on the Five Features that I Can’t Do Without. Scrivener is now available both for Mac and Windows, although the latter version misses some features. That dramatic step is no longer needed-unless you’re on Linux. I followed it from the first public beta many years ago. How many applications can you name that had compelled you to switch your computer’s operating system?įor me, Scrivener was one. Intrigued, I’ve been asking around for someone to write up a review of this fascinating software for writers, and novelist Austin Briggs volunteered. Although I’ve never had occasion to use it, I’ve been hearing writers rave about Scrivener for some time.

Scrivener torrent windows 10