How to Customize iBook Author Templates

I have searched the web far and wide to find awesome pre-made templates for iBook Author, because it seemed to me that I could not modify the pre-made templates at all.  However, I found a quick and easy 7 step process to creating completely custom templates for iBook Author and am offering this tutorial free

Using Scrivener and iBooks Author to Create an iTunes iBook

As many of you know, I absolutely love Scrivener, which is in many ways so much more than a word processor.  If you are a do-it-yourself publisher and just want to publish a book through iTunes, you will need a couple of things first: An iTunes sales account.  Sign up here. Scrivener for Mac or

Aeon Timeline: Outlining Made Easy

I broke down and bought Aeon Timeline.  It was $39.99 in the AppStore, but so far it has been worth every penny.  Even though there is currently not a Windows version, I have found the program to be probably one of the greatest tools for planning out multiple story arcs, keeping track of character relationships

Scrivener 2: Even More Bells and Whistles

As most of you know, I write long form texts on Scrivener because it is probably, in my opinion, the best word processor software a novelist could ever use.  A few days ago, I updated to Scrivener 2 and found several features that were even better than the original. 1.  Exporting to OpenOffice and Word

How to Use Scrivener to Create Easy Outlines

I use a little program called Scrivener created by the wonderful folks over at Literature and Latte (click the link to the right for more info).  It is a fantastic word processing program that meets all of my novel writing needs.  Today I wanted to you how easy it is to plan and outline a

Researching for a Novel Using Wolfram Alpha

There is a thinking beast evolving before our eyes on the internet, and its name is Wolfram Alpha.  It is a search engine that is much more than a search engine, more of an intuitive algorithm machine with one of its goals being “to make all systematic knowledge immediately computable and accessible to everyone.”  It

How to Use Scrivener to Write a Screenplay

Scrivener is probably the best word processor available.  Most writers like myself who have been writing for a long time will find Scrivener a welcome addition to their desktop.  I use the program exclusively to write novels, but it has many other functions, one of which is screenwriting. Here are the steps: First, open a

New Scrivener for Windows BETA Released

The good folks over at Literature and Latte have just released a BETA version of Scrivener for Windows that improves the way Scrivener works with that operating system.  You can find the link to download the program here. Note: This is a BETA version so it is a work in progress.  They need people to

A to Z Challenge: Creating Characters Using Mindnode

Today I thought I would post a video tutorial about how I use Mindnode to create vivid characters.  Mindnode is probably the easiest tool for brainstorming and character mapping out there.  A free version is available that allows you to use the basic functions, but the full version is only $20 and is well worth

Scrivener Addict: Why I Won’t Go Back To Word for Novel Writing

I really can’t remember why or how I found out about Scrivener, or as I like to call it “The Novelist’s Friend”.  I downloaded it back in December of 2011 and use it every day.  Many of my friends who really know me look at me with raised eyebrows and crooked mouths when I mention