If you’re an aspiring—or even experienced—author who wants the best recommendations for writing software, you, my friend, are in the right place.

Because I’m a stubborn loyalist who hates change.

I’m also an author who needs to become way better at organizing my world-builds for the series I keep growing.

My writing career began at the age of 11 with a pen, some loose leaf paper, and one of those three-pronged folders I finagled into a manuscript notebook of sorts. As I kept writing, my pen collection grew and so did the callous on my right hand’s ring finger (I hold the pen weird, so what?).

But when it came time to transpose into type, it was a massive headache.

So I switched to typing.

On a single document.

Promptly hated it with a passion.

I decided to dive into the wonderful world of writing software because after 2020, the technological advances across industries meant the user experience would be so much better than back in 2004 (when I first dipped my toes into online publishing). I kept seeing recommendations for Scrivener, but I avoided it like the plague.

Too much.

Too complicated.

Felt like I was trying to fly a Boeing 747.

My very first novel, Prax, was written in a week using a subscription-based software because hey, why not? I wanted to try it out and see how all the organizational features worked. They worked great, but…that’s a monthly subscription I didn’t want to pay. Especially during the months where I needed to do other things and not use the platform.

I switched to using Google Docs which, truth be told, is actually pretty effective when it comes to organizing chapters and prepping for editing. As a former book editor myself, I preferred to edit in Docs and taught my author clients how to organize the document for easy navigation.

Unfortunately, this method isn’t the best for plantsers like me (planning + pantsing = “plantsing”). There’s no way to click-and-drag scenes around, which plansters and alternating timelines really need for those sporadic ideas and dramatic placements.

And the worst “feature”?

If your account isn’t set up for offline editing, you can lose entire paragraphs when the wifi hiccups.

Yes, I’ve had this happen.

Multiple times.

Yes, that was me screaming into the void somewhere in the Midwest.

When I realized how many other people swore by Scrivener, I finally decided to cave and give it an honest try. I’d ignore the intimidating sight of a bajillion features I don’t know how to use and try my darned best to navigate enough to start writing the sequel to Ithandryll.

I was very pleasantly surprised at how…shall I say…easy it is to use.

Seriously!

Now I’m understanding the hype.

The obsession.

The reasons why this software is the software of writers, authors, researchers, everyone who works with publications across industries.

If you want to finally write that book/sequel/series and—like me—have really been struggling to just get it done, this software can help you, too.

Which is saying a lot coming from a years-long critic like me.

Here are 5 reasons why I made the official switch to Scrivener and you should, too:

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Reason #1: There’s a 30 Day Free Trial—that actually benefits YOU

I know you’ve done this, because I’ve done this.

A lot.

“Oh, a free trial? Great! For a whole month? Even better!” And then I promptly forget the next 28-29 days that I even have that software/app/subscription.

Or I decide 10 minutes later that I really don’t want/need it. But that’s a whole other thing.

With Scrivener’s free trial, not only do you get 30 days to try out the software, it’s a genuine “when you use it” counter. Not a calendar 30 days, but tracked access per day so those days…or weeks…or months…you don’t use it and never open the app aren’t counted against you.

You read that right.

You get 30 days of actual usage before the purchase requirement window pops up.

This is directly from their site: “The trial is exactly the same as the full version, except that it will only last for 30 days of use. (This means that if you use it every day, it will stop working after 30 days, but if you use it only every other day, it will last for 60 days.) This gives you plenty of time to get to know Scrivener and decide if it’s the writing app for you.”

Screenshot directly from Literature and Latte’s website: https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener/faqs

True story: I had Scrivener on my laptop for well over a year before I bought my license. I’d try to use it, get frustrated, swear I’d never use it ever again…and then come back months later to try again. And again.

The fact that I did end up buying the license—even in the midst of my frustration—should be saying something!

Reason #2: The training is intensive—and FREE

I’m not going to lie, here.

Using Scrivener for the first time can honestly feel like sitting in the cockpit of that Boeing 747 when all you wanted to do was ride a bike.

There’s a bajillion features to benefit the author who knows how to use them. Great, but what about the author like me who has no freaking clue what this…or that…or the other…button does?

What happens if my formatting completely haywires?

Is there even formatting capabilities?

Did I select the right template?

WHY ARE THERE TEMPLATES?!

Thankfully, Scrivener doesn’t leave you flying blind—and neither do the authors who swear by this.

In the software itself is a thorough, learn-as-you-explore tutorial that guides you through every single feature, tip, and trick you could ever want or need. At first even this was overwhelming to me (just on a visual basis), but the more I clicked around, the more confident I felt. I didn’t destroy anything, I didn’t scramble any formatting. In fact, I found “how to undo the damage you just did” troubleshooting tutorials tucked away in places I’m guessing many, many users before me experienced The Whoopsies.

Screenshot of my tutorial “project” Scrivener provides.

But if you’re a multi-learner type like me, you need audio/visual as much as textual/experiential and this is where our amazing author friends on YouTube step in. There are video tutorials that walk you through every single feature, but there are also “quick start” videos that show you just enough to get you started on an easy, stress-free level.

Of course I’m gonna go for that one!

This is what really made the difference for me: all I needed was some assurance that I don’t need to make a transatlantic flight to enjoy the airplane. As long as I knew how to start a new project, organize the sections, make new chapters, and how the nice little “sticky note” features on the side could help me but aren’t required, I felt confident enough to try again.

And this time, I didn’t give up after three sentences.

This time? I outlined half the novel and created character profiles!

**Reason #3: Outline on your terms**

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, all you right-brain creative types.

The best way to write that novel is to outline it first.

I know, I know. I’m gritting my teeth with you, and I’m writing this. Me. The anti-outliner who has vehemently opposed outlining for the majority of my life (and I just turned 35, so we’re talking a good few decades of NO OUTLINES).

But here’s the thing: I spent a little over a full year ghostwriting for a publishing company that insisted on outlines, both writing from and creating them for others to write from.

I hated it.

But dang it…the whole writing process went way smoother and significantly faster.

Scrivener’s platform meets you in the middle when it comes to outlining, and I’m quickly falling in love with this aspect. You can completely outline the whole novel by creating folders for each chapter and inserting pages with side notes into these folders—which creates a Quick Look sort of outline as you go.

Screenshot of my ongoing outline for *Heir of Oberon* *(Song of the Sidhe, Book 2)* inside Scrivener. The left panel is the “outline”, and the far right panel is where the “sticky notes” pull up per writing section.

“But Nikki, what if I change my mind? What if I love that scene but want it somewhere else?”

Click and drag, baby. Click and drag.

This feature is what I loved about the other platform I used, and honestly I didn’t know it was a “thing” in Scrivener back when I started trying out options. Now that I’ve figured it out, I’m scratching my head as to whether this is new or I’m just…slow.

I’ll be honest, I’m probably just slower than a turtle through molasses at catching onto these things. Genius does tend to overlook the obvious.

But as Sansa Stark once said, “I may be a slow learner, but I learn.” And that’s the most important takeaway from my experience here.

Reason #4: Keep track of your characters and locations for this book…and the next

If you’ve read this far into the article, you may be wondering how the heck I’m an award-winning author. Or successful by any means of the term. I hate all the rules and have scoffed at the wisdom of authors before me (except for Stephen King. He gets me).

Well…it’s been a whole lot of pure dumb luck and even dumber self-confidence.

Do I have every single character, plot line, back story, and geographical maps completely memorized on a mental bulletin board that makes Charlie Kelly look sane?

Yes.

Charlie Kelly from *It’s Always Sunny in Phildelphia*. Meme from Google.

Do I also have a bad habit of creating new characters and locations mid-sentence that I forget about three paragraphs later?

Also, yes.

Screenshot of a “character card” inside my current project. This page even has a spot to drag-and-drop an inspiration image to help reference the description!

Once again, Scrivener swoops in to save the day by making all the notes and new additions available right there on the screen next to the main writing space. I have zero excuses to not make new character cards or location notes or “hey, plot twist” ideas that I write in and then kind of space out later.

I also have a much smaller headache trying to find these notes in Scrivener versus the GSuite setup I had with my former ghostwriting contract (it’s not impossible, it’s just…a lot).

I had to blur this screenshot of one of my Sheets outlines because of copyright/NDA, but hopefully you’ll get the gist: while free and effective, organizing characters and world-building in a spreadsheet like this one gets hefty, clunky, and a chore to navigate.

Reason #5: One license goes a LONG way

My initial hesitation against Scrivener, back when I first heard about it, was the cost.

I was broke. Not just broke—I was at the level of poverty that made the government annually question how the heck I was still alive, let alone able to function in society (I wish I was kidding).

$60 was a lot to spend on software. Shoot, it’s still a lot to many people reading this right now.

But as I explored other options and tried my hardest to use anything but Scrivener, I found myself actually spending more money than had I just shelled out the $60 to start with (side note: I’m pretty sure it was actually $50 when I first started looking at it, which means I cost myself an extra $10 by doubting and “thinking about it”).

The online software I used to write Prax costs $14/month and only has a 14-day trial (and they do mean 14 calendar days, not “you used this 14 separate days” like Scrivener). This means that just maintaining access to the finished manuscript costs $168/year.

That $60 for Scrivener? That’s one time, for life.

Here’s another amazing thing about their license that I just learned today while researching my facts for this article: that one $60 payment gets you and your family the software for every computer in your household! Granted, they all need to be the same system (i.e. all Windows or all Macs) but if you and your spouse/roommate/kid/godkid all have MacBooks and you bought the license for your MacBook, that one license is good for all of you.

Screenshot from Literature and Latte’s website: https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener/faqs

This also applies to every computer you personally own, so if you need it in your MacBook but also on your desktop Mac, you’re golden.

Now, I don’t have all the details on how Scrivener tracks “household usage”, but I’m going to guess it has something to do with IP addresses and/or location services, etc. Whatever the case may be, honesty is the best policy and you should keep the license within your actual physical household.

However, if your household is like my sister’s and rivals the Von Trapps, this little allowance from Literature and Latte is a huge benefit to buying and using the software. Not just because you may be in a family of aspiring authors: this program is used by journalists, grad students, college students, and even younger researchers to organize notes and compile term papers/theses/book reports into something cohesive.

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There you have it: the top five reasons why I switched to Scrivener and why I truly believe you should, too.

When we invest in the best resources for our careers as authors, we’re investing in our dreams of smoother sailing and actually-finished manuscripts that we’re genuinely proud of. This is exactly what I experienced, and continue to experience, with Scrivener—even after years of swearing I’d never “drink the punch” everyone else swore by.

Yes, my foot tastes delicious, thank you.

If you’re ready to dip your toes (or maybe just dive right in!), check out Scrivener here. It includes a FREE 30-Day trial, interactive tutorials, and a worldwide community of experts ready to help you get the most out of every feature.

5 Reasons Why I Switched to Scrivener (and you should, too)