The No-Fluff Guide to Scrivener
Or: How to Stop Fiddling with Your Timeline and Start Actually Writing
Affiliate notice: If you decide to buy Scrivener via the link in this post, I may earn a small commission. It won’t cost you anything extra. I only recommend tools I’ve actually used—and occasionally sworn at.
Scrivener is one of those tools people rave about—until they open it. Then it looks like a cockpit, a filing cabinet, and a 2008 WordPress dashboard had a love child.
This is the guide I wish someone had handed me the first time I opened Scrivener, saw the “Compile” menu, and quietly closed it again.
It’s stripped back, writer-first, and made for people who want to get their work written, structured, and exported—without losing two days in a settings menu.
What Scrivener is (and isn’t)
It’s a powerful writing environment built for longform projects
It’s ideal for multi-scene, multi-chapter, multi-document chaos
It keeps your research, notes, and drafts in one place
It’s not collaborative—no live editing with editors or VAs
It’s not cloud-first, though it can sync with Dropbox
It’s not intuitive when you first use it. But once you get it, you get it.
Setting Up a Project (without having a breakdown)
Start with the Blank template. The novel and screenplay templates are fine, but often include clutter you don’t need.
In the Binder (left-hand panel), create one folder per chapter. Inside each folder, add a text document per scene.
Label scenes in the Synopsis section so you can quickly scan your outline. You can use custom metadata to tag POV, timeline, location, or status (Draft, In Progress, Final). Add colour labels if you want. You don’t have to.
Writing in Scrivener
You can write scene by scene or view a whole chapter at once using “Scrivenings” mode.
The Project Targets tool lets you track word count goals—daily, session, and total.
To move scenes or chapters around, just drag and drop them in the Binder. No copy-paste mess.
If you like a clean screen, the full-screen Composition Mode does what it says.
The Corkboard View
Select a chapter folder, then switch to the corkboard using the icon that looks like four index cards.
You’ll see digital note cards for each scene. You can drag them around, rearrange, or add notes to each.
It’s genuinely useful for structuring novels, serials, or anything that needs pacing awareness.
Importing Research
Scrivener lets you store everything in one file. Drop in character bios, mood boards, screenshots, PDFs, links, or notes.
Put them in the Research folder, not Draft, so they don’t get exported with your manuscript.
Compiling (Exporting your work without crying)
Here’s where most people panic. Compiling is just Scrivener’s version of export—with more options.
Go to File > Compile
Choose what to export: everything, selected chapters, scenes, etc
Select a format: Word, PDF, EPUB
Use one of the presets to start with. “Manuscript (Courier)” works well
Click Compile, name your file, and save
You can customise headers, margins, and formatting later—but if you're planning to finish in Word or Google Docs, don't waste time tweaking it here.
Cloud Sync and Backups
Scrivener saves locally. If you want it in the cloud, use Dropbox.
Do not use Google Drive—it causes sync errors and can corrupt your project.
Set automatic backups under Preferences > Backups. Choose a safe location, such as Dropbox or an external drive.
My method: store the active project in Dropbox > Apps > Scrivener. Let it fully sync before closing the app.
How I Use It
I plan and structure longform fiction in Scrivener. Multi-POV plots, short story collections, and serialised novellas all start here.
I tag scenes by voice, tone, timeline, or publishing path. This helps when juggling multiple projects under different brands.
Once something is structured and written, I export it to Google Docs for final formatting, collaboration, and upload.
I also use Scrivener to draft some digital guides, especially if they’ll become structured products, not just blog posts.
If You Want to Try It
Scrivener isn’t free, but it’s a one-off payment and comes with a generous free trial. If you want a writing cockpit instead of a blank page, you can get it via my affiliate link below.
I only recommend it if you like having structure, and you’re the kind of writer who appreciates a clean Binder with every chapter labelled and sortable.
Here’s the link:
https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener-affiliate.html?fpr=h--j83
