Using Scrivener to Hold a Collection

Scrivener https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener/overview is a flexible software program that is well known as a popular way to write books, both fiction and non-fiction.

I’ve written more than 20 books using this program. During this time, I’ve found that one of the main features is its adaptability. Scrivener’s uses are not limited to books. It is an excellent program to create and store collections of various types of writing other than books. I use it as a repository for short stories and articles.  In these applications, I have to modify the usual information in the right sidebar.  The graphic  below illustrates this sidebar when used with a novel.

In the graphic, I have a chapter heading with the chapter’s scenes listed below the heading.  Using an ordinary word processor, the chapters and scenes would probably be a series of separate files while in Scrivener everything is a single file.

For my short story collection, I replaced chapter headings with genre such as fantasy or sci-fi. I then added the complete short story in place of a scene under the appropriate chapter heading. In the left sidebar, I add publication information. This gives me an easy way to retrieve the short stories for republication instead of searching through voluminous files on my hard drive.

Similarly with articles, the chapter headings are replaced with fiction writing, self-publishing, book marketing etc and the articles replace scenes.

Both of these applications have extensive content, but retrieving any story or article is easy.

I’ve built another Scrivener collection for my Faux News Network reports.  These are short satiric reports containing fake news.  In this collection, the chapter headings are replaced with the year the report was issued.

With Scrivener, collections such as mine are only limited by the creativity of the user.  Possibilities include poetry, recipes, correspondence and more.

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I also publish articles on Medium, several a week.  Sign up to read them at hanque99.medium.com

If you looking for help with fiction writing, self-publishing or book marketing, check out the resources on https://writersarc.com