The Thesis Whisperer

Dr. Inger Mewburn runs this blog called The Thesis Whisperer using the slogan: Just like the horse whisperer – but with more pages. Makes me laugh every time I see it!

Inger provides 5 key reasons why she finds Scrivener better than MS Word for writing research papers. She is currently using the Scrivener for Windows beta version. If you do research-type writing I think you'll find Dr. Mewburn's observations very useful. Check it out:

Is your computer domesticating you?

MacWorld Review

In early February, MacWorld (probably the best known Mac magazine, posted a review of Scrivener 2. Bottom line: they gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars. Their evaluation seems very fair to me in terms of pointing out strengths and weaknesses. This review can be helpful for both Mac and Windows users. Check it out:

macworld review of scrivener

Kathryn Pope on Scrivener

I recently ran across a short review of Scrivener written by Kathryn Pope (a fiction writer). I love her paragraph that reads:

There’s an assumption that novelists and other big-project writers should start at the beginning of whatever it is they’re writing and write, straight and steady, to the end. Not everyone thinks and works this way, though. When I write, I’ve got to make a big, old mess. I start in the middle or off to one side, and I jump around. If you write like this, it can be tough to keep all the scraps and thoughts in a place where you can find them. It’s clunky to copy and paste chapters or sections or to try to wrangle all the pieces into some folder somewhere, with ten different Word files. And when you want to see all the pieces at once, it can be hard to get a look at what you’ve got. Scrivener works with that kind of craziness, rather than against it.

Check out the full review here:

kathryn pope on scrivener

750 Words and Scrivener

I recently heard about a blog post written by Jennifer Jones. The title of the post is: Additions to my PhD Toolbox (for writing and planning). She focuses on two writing tools: 750words.com and Scrivener. Read her post to learn about why she values both tools. I had never heard of 750words.com before, but I can easily imagine why it would be so useful. Beyond Jennifer's post, it's worth taking time to explore the 750words website.

jennifer jones on phd toolbox additions

10 out of 10

Today a new review of Scrivener came out in AppStorm. Rating: 10 out of 10! I'd like to say this happens once in a blue moon, but it's much more infrequent than that.

Beyond getting a high rating, the reviewer does a great job of describing the key features of Scrivener 2. Perhaps more importantly, the reviewer focuses on some key features of Scrivener that I haven't and that many other reviews haven't. Well written, complete, and very helpful. Check it out:

scrivener review at appstorm

Writers on Scrivener

Not sure if Scrivener is a useful writing tool? Then check out the Scrivener webpage that contains only testimonials from published authors. It's a long, impressive, and passionate set of praise.

When reading these short pithy testimonials keep in mind that the writers are referring to first version of Scrivener. The second version of Scrivener is a major upgrade and insanely more impressive.

writers praising scrivener

Three Reviews of Scrivener

I'm posting links to three reviews of Scrivener. Two of these reviews are specifically aimed at people doing non-fiction or research writing. The first link looks at Scrivener for academic writing.

my new love: scrivener link

This second post is a review of Scrivener published in the Chronicle of Higher Education. It was written in March 2010 so it does not address the new features included in the 2.0 release.

scrivener, scrivening, scriverastic link

The third post is simply titled, "Scrivener might Change Your Life." Check it out:

scrivener might change your life link

Scrivener and Writing

Scrivener is a Mac-only software product that is fantastic for constructing more complicated writing products such as novels, dissertations, research articles and more. The product was created by Keith Blount who lives in the Cornwall region of England. Scrivener is both inexpensive ($40) and powerful. Currently it is at version 1.5.4 with a major upgrade (2.0) due around June/July/August. The 2.0 version will be a paid $20 upgrade.

If you are a School of Education faculty member (who uses a Mac), you already know the good news: you'll be able to get a free version of Scrivener sometime over the next few months. If you're simply a Mac-user, the still-good-news is it only costs $40 to get your own copy. If you're a Windows-user, we feel your pain, but a program that is somewhat similar (and is recommended by Keith Blount) is PageFour.

I love the Scrivener software program, but instead of me writing a review I wanted to provide links to others who have already written thoughtful and complete reviews of this product.

First, check out Julia Altermann's review at AppStorm and published on March 12, 2010. This is a very thorough introduction to Scrivener:

scivener: a writer's best friend

An older, but still useful and funny, review was written by Merlin Mann in 2007:

merlin mann on scrivener

There are plenty of other reviews out there in addition to the two I posted. If you're a Mac-user and do intensive or more complicated writing, then do yourself a favor and check out the Literature & Latte website (Keith's name for the company that makes Scrivener):

literature and latte website