Why I Love Scrivener - Plotting

I'm been asked multiple times about Scrivener and why it works for me, so I thought I'd put together a few posts. Hopefully, they're helpful!

Here are the previous posts:

The Basics (organizational basics)

Double Vision (double writing pane)

I don't use the whole range of tools in Scrivener but I've found that MANY of the features really work for my brain. This program has saved my sanity and my stories on many occasions.

When I first started writing, I was a total Pantser (writing by the seat of my pants). I knew the genre I was writing, but that was about it when I started. As you can imagine, this created a need for a LOT of revising and editing. Over time, I decided to learn to plot.

However, most plot books didn't make a lot of sense to my brain. Enter Libbie Hawker's Take Off Your Pants book. Now I have a much better sense of story before I start. I don't feel overwhelmed by the amount of plotting I do and it doesn't suck the joy out of the actual writing for me (which happened with other styles of plotting).

Of course, everyone has to find their own way to plot or not to plot.

When using Scrivener, I always have a folder for Paths. Which is how I think of plotting thanks to Libbie. Each character has their own Path and then I have to combine their paths.

In the screenshot, you'll see the top part of a chart I've created using Libbie's book. It gives me the basics for the character's path. I do one for each character (I have 2 MCs as I write romance with dual pov). Then I need to combine these two paths into one story. And that's where the right-hand side of the screenshot comes in. It bears the fancy title of "Things that need to happen."

I don't have a step-by-step outline. Rather, I have the two paths and the chart of what happens in what order.

Because Scrivener allows that wonderful double writing-space option, I can have either of the Paths or the Combined Path on the screen at the same time as I'm drafting. This helps keep me on track and reminds me where I'm going.

No matter what style of outlining or plotting you do I think you can use Scrivener's double workspace option to your advantage.

How about you? Do you like having your outline visible as you're writing? Anyone else use Take Off Your Pants? Any tips to share?

Take Off Your Pants!

As many of you know, I do NOT have the brain of a plotter! I've never started writing a story with more than a few scenes in mind. I generally know the ending, the beginning, the backstories of the 2 MCs and maybe another scene. Because I know I'm working toward a happy ending, I have the end goal in sight and off I go.

There are several BIG problems with working this way, but the biggest is that editing takes forever and I never have much an overall game plan to guide me. I need more.

Recently, someone pointed me to Take Off Your Pants: Outline Your Books for Faster, Better Writing by Libbie Hawker.

As the title implies, it's a plotting books for people who don't plot. It's making sense (mostly) to my brain! YAY!

Some of it is a little too visual for a kinaesthetic learner like me (inverted triangles, I'm looking at you!), but I'm starting to get the hang of it.

I've followed the book through for an older story I knew wasn't working It didn't take long for me to realize the big issue in the story and it's helping me work out a way to solve it while keeping true to the story itself (which I love).

For the first time, I have some hope that I may be able to tighten up the pacing in my stories without driving myself completely crazy.

How about you? What resources do you use for plotting & outlining? Or, do you?