I’ve pretty much decided that Scrivener 3 for windows is dead in the water so I’m off to find an alternative. Preferably an alternative that doesn’t have the learning curve that Scrivener has.

Mostly I write with whatever word processor I feel like using. But I also keep notebooks, file cards, and loose sheets of paper with character references and world descriptions. As a result, no matter how often I clean it, my office looks like I’ve never touched it.

My current filing system is stacks of papers and folders so I have to work to remember where I put one of my references. While it’s a great excuse to take a break, it also breaks my concentration. Which makes it a bitch to keep focused.

So, I’m off to find something to keep me organized.

yWriter is a free (you can register it for a fee that’s mostly to keep the author in business), one man operation, with only windows support. What yWriter does differently from other writing software is that it breaks up your great American novel into scenes instead of chapters. This gives you smaller chunks so work with but it doesn’t work well with my mind set.

So I next tried Final Draft, which is the screen writing software used by a bunch of pros. But it doesn’t lend itself to novel writing. besides, Final Draft 11 is $200 on sale. – Ask any aspiring author, that’s a lot of money if you don’t have a market to sell your book/script.

iA Writer is essentially a markdown platform, but it does give you a distraction free environment. What I found interesting is that it was difficult to find the actual sales page. – $29.99 plus tax for windows. Unfortunately I need more organization than it gives me.

Hey. Scrivener 3 is out. Yippy, dippy, hip-hip, hurray. I’m off to download it. With my discount it was $24.99 instead of $49. This is what they say about discounts:

Upgrade Pricing

The update to Scrivener 3 is free for users who bought Scrivener 1 on or after 20th November 2017. Users who purchased Scrivener 1 for Windows before that can buy Scrivener 3 with a 49% discount. The upgrade fee is the same for both the regular and education licences. Only users who purchased from our store, or from a reseller that provides activation through our store, are eligible for discounted update pricing.

Obviously, they don’t care about early adopters or spell checkers. – it’s “licenses” not “licences.”

If you’re wondering about these latest posts. Or any of my randomness, what can I say? I’m bored outta my fuckin’ skull… Does it show?

I am an aspiring author giving advice… And the truth be told, I’ve gotten so many rejection letters that I’ve quit saving them. Hell, I even got one from a friend who publishes anthologies. -At least that one wasn’t a form letter. But the advice I’m giving is still valid.

The rules are simple: Butt goes on chair. Words go on paper. The chair is optional.

Your first draft will suck, so what. Write it, then fix it, so you can really fix the next time, or maybe the time after that, etc.

Remember, you’ll never be Hemingway, Tolkien, Steinbeck or King. Those jobs are taken. But they are great teachers.

Make notes. I don’t care if you’re a planner or a pantser. Write down your ideas, or you will, like as not, forget them.

And make detailed notes about your characters. After all, you don’t want your sidekick suddenly morphing into the anti-hero. Or the hero changing his/her height, weight, hair, bank balance, or language.

Take classes -a lot of them are free, or join a forum, where your fellow would be writers will cheerfully rip your best work to shreds. But then they’ll tell you why. That random publisher may not even bother to read it.

On that subject, somebody in that publisher’s office has the job of rejecting your manuscript, and your job is to convince them not to.

On the subject of forums; avoid those happy, happy, joy, joy places where everybody is kind, sweet, and supportive. They may be good for your ego, but you’ll never learn anything.

And be prepared for assholes. They just can’t help themselves. They rarely teach you anything, but they do help your ego develop callouses.

Writing flash fiction will help you learn how to eliminate unnecessary words and get to the point.

Writing short stories will help you find your voice without a fifty thousand word investment.

If you can, take the 50,000 word / 30 day NaNoWriMo challenge. It’s a bitch, but you learn a lot and have a chance to meet some interesting people.

The list of possible advice is endless and, at the end of the day, repetitive. But here’s the last bit for this post… READ! Read everything and reread the stuff you like. And WRITE! Often. If you don’t have a lot of time, write short stories, flash fiction, kids books, or blog posts. But write.

Writing is tough, with lots of competition.

Remember, all these people faced the same competition and eventually got published anyway. So, write.

As a side, and final note, there are lots of free images our there for things like blog posts. These photos are from Free Images dot com, one of my favorite sources for free, royalty free, images.