Want to be organised? Get scrivener
If you're like me and have loads of notebooks, you use Googledocs, and use Notes on your phone, things can get messy, especially if you're juggling multiple ideas. If you want a place where you can store all your notes and write your project then you need Scrivener. It is for the scatterbrained among us and has changed my writing life for the better.
Before I ramble on, all you have to do is look at the layout. The binder on the left is where the magic is, and it has saved templates for novels, screenplays, radio plays etc... to make life even easier!
Great for novels where you can gather your research and split chapters under the manuscript setting
And for screenplays you have the corkboard layout so you can move scenes around!
It also lets you set word goals so you can see when you're getting closer to achieving them which is a nice and sometimes painful feature.
These are just some of the features, but for me the true brilliance comes from the organisation. Being able to keep your research in one place and your character biogs just makes for an incredibly easy writing process. You can also split the screen so that one half is your manuscript or screenplay, and the other is your notes so you don't have to click between windows and get annoyed. Just go full screen, shut out the disturbances, and everything you need is in the binder.
Once you're done, you just export in the format you need as well by compiling.
Other great things are:
It's Final Draft compatible, so the script you write can be exported to FD.
You can export in .mobi and .epub files if you're an independent author which is great for sending people advanced copies.
One of its features is a name generator!
It also auto-saves.
For me, it increased my productivity and de-cluttered my brain. You don't NEED Scrivener to write, but if you want to take organisation and efficiency to a new level, it is worth the low cost.
Happy writing!