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Using Scrivener As Your Reference Library

Scrivener is a powerful writing tool. I write about it weekly with tips and usage ideas. To read more of my posts click the Scrivener tag or category at the end of the page.

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The Inspector in Scrivener hides a number of useful features. Previous posts on Archer’s Aim regarding the Inspector include:

Inspection! What Scrivener’s Other Bar Does

Strategic Usage of Snapshots in Scrivener

Keywords & Project Searches in Scrivener

Lost Your Scratchpad? Here It Is In Scrivener!

Duly Noted In Scrivener

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This week we continue with use of Document References from the Inspector.

Just as a refresher, the Inspector is turned on by clicking on View in Scrivener. Slide down the menu to Layout and click on Inspector in the fly-out menu that is displayed (for keyboard command enthusiasts use CTRL + Shift + I).

Scirv Turn on Inspector

The Document References are accessed using the second from the left button located at the bottom of the Inspector.

Scriv Doc Refs Highlighted

To toggle between Document References and Project References click the up-down arrows.

Scriv Doc Refs Toggle

There are several other controls for the Document References. To Add/Remove references click on the +/- buttons. The + button reveals a menu that allows adding internal references from the project as well as external references (Look-up and Add or Create), all of which are pictured below:

The Add Reference Menu

The Add Reference Menu Displayed

 

Add Internal References Menu Displayed

Add Internal References Menu Displayed

 

Adding An External Reference Displayed

Adding An External Reference Displayed

Personally, I’ve been using Document References of late when writing posts. If I start researching aspects of my post then I add the references that I find which are usually external. So when I add the external reference I give it a title that makes sense and the web link to the page. This way I can access the information or add the link into a post. To add the referenced web link to your document, double click on the reference to open it. Then copy/paste the page link that’s opened into the your document via Scrivener’s link command.

Using references can also be used in various types of writing besides blog posts. The internal project references are also very valuable for larger projects, especially those involving research.

the-bow-of-destiny-by-p-h-solomonPlease share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section. I’d also love to connect with you over social media so check my Contact page for that information. Interested in more of my writing? Just click one of the retailer banners on the sidebar to see more.

IMG_4154-EditAbout the Author

P. H. Solomon lives in the greater Birmingham, AL area where he strongly dislikes yard work and sanding the deck rail. However, he performs these duties to maintain a nice home for his loved ones as well as the family’s German Shepherds. In his spare time, P. H. rides herd as a Computer Whisperer on large computers called servers (harmonica not required). Additionally, he enjoys reading, running, most sports and fantasy football. Having a degree in Anthropology, he also has a wide array of more “serious” interests in addition to working regularly to hone his writing. The Bow of Destiny is his first novel-length title with more soon to come.

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Just as a note: I am not affiliated with Scrivener in any official capacity. For support questions, pricing and other concerns please contact the vendor. However, I am working on becoming an affiliate for Scrivener ads since I like the product so much. I’m not required to write about Scrivener to be an affiliate; I just like it that much. For more about my FTC statement see my sidebar.

Privacy Policy

This blog does not share personal information – including email addresses – with third parties nor do I store any information about your visit to this blog other than to analyze and optimize your content and reading experience through the use of cookies (which is a WordPress.com function and not mine).

You can turn off the use of cookies at any time by changing your specific browser settings.

I am not responsible for republished content from this blog on other blogs or websites without our permission.

This privacy policy is subject to change without notice and was last updated on July 2nd, 2015. If you have any questions feel free to contact me directly here: ph at phsolomon.com (replace the “at” with @, it’s written that way to avoid spammers).

 

Excerpt from The Bow of Destiny

bow of destiny

Athson sat up, his chest heaving. That was too real. His ears rang with the eagle’s screams and his face burned with the rush of frigid wind. What were those words? Something about a bow? He shook his head. Could that be it?

Soul’s-ease – he needed it. No. He’d forgotten it at the ranger station. He’d been so careless.

His gut knotted at Eagle’s Aerie glowing beneath the moon. He remembered the star falling, the knife dripping with blood. His knife. He’d bought it from that Rokan merchant weeks ago and left it in Auguron with Heth and Cireena. He didn’t know why. Athson shut his eyes and the weapon gleamed with malevolence.

He scrambled to his feet beside the low campfire. The sensation of wind scouring his face while falling clung to his mind. He exhaled. “A dream, nothing more.”

Spark flattened his ears and his tail remained still.

Athson inhaled cold air, which cleared his head. He shifted his weight from one leg to the other, observing details as his racing heartbeat slowed. The fire needed stoking much the same as when the dream started. The moon hung where it had been in its path when the eagle had dropped him. Odd. It should be lower. More time had passed than what he’d dreamed. Shouldn’t it? Athson grimaced as he rubbed his irritated hands together. He shivered in the chill as the surf rustled in the distance.

“Just a dream.” His thumping heart slackened. “Just a dream.” The slight breeze picked at his clothes. It had nothing to do with anything in his past.

SparkThe mountain hound’s tail remained still.

He watched the summit of the bluff. Was the old woman in his dream the Withling? “I hope not. They’re trouble…”

No, he couldn’t talk about those things, he needed to avoid it all – and them. “But it was so real and I remember her wrinkles.” The eagle’s flapping still thundered in his ears. What was this inheritance? What did the visions mean? “If it’s Withling’s business, I won’t be part of it.” He’d suffered enough of their trouble.

Athson flinched at the memory of the dagger. He tossed more branches onto his fire and then rubbed his sore hands together above the growing heat. It was so real. Who were those women? The old woman at the campfire looked like the one who tossed him the packet. Was either the Withling? “The young woman’s interesting.” Athson shot a sidelong glance at Spark.

The dog looked up from sniffing around, sat, thumped his tail and gave a soft woof.

Athson“Really? How would you know? It wasn’t real. I haven’t had my draught in days. You aren’t real.”

He knelt by his blanket and froze on one knee. His jaw went slack for several seconds as awareness flooded his mind. He snatched his weapons – bow, arrows, and long-knife – and scrambled into the surrounding trees.

Spark bounded after him and waited while he panted.

Again, Athson’s heart pounded. He stared back toward his fire and his blanket and what lay beside it. The packet sat unwrapped on the ground.

The Bow of Destiny is featured on blog tour this week: The Lost Bow Blog Tour first stop is at Harmony Kent Online!

To find out more about The Bow of Destiny, click over to one of these online retailers where it’s just $0.99 all week:

Amazon

  BarnesandNoble      Smashwords

ibooksdownload      Kobo

IMG_4154-EditAbout the Author

P. H. Solomon lives in the greater Birmingham, AL area where he strongly dislikes yard work and sanding the deck rail. However, he performs these duties to maintain a nice home for his loved ones as well as the family’s German Shepherds. In his spare time, P. H. rides herd as a Computer Whisperer on large computers called servers (harmonica not required). Additionally, he enjoys reading, running, most sports and fantasy football. Having a degree in Anthropology, he also has a wide array of more “serious” interests in addition to working regularly to hone his writing. The Bow of Destiny is his first novel-length title with more soon to come.

Sign-up to receive my free ebooks today.

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Scrivener Collections Pt. 3: Getting at the Facets of Your Writing

Scrivener is a powerful writing tool. I write about it weekly with tips and usage ideas. To read more of my posts click the Scrivener tag or category at the end of the page.

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Diamond photo courtesy Morguefile.com free section.

Diamond photo courtesy Morguefile.com free section.

Just as a gemstone must be cut, so it is with a writing project. There are a variety of ways to approach editing any book. Fortunately, Scrivener’s Collections allow you to organize the various stages of your editing and help you get to the final version of your writing project that is your diamond.

If you’ve been reading my Scrivener posts the last few weeks you’ll know I’ve been discussing the use of collections. For those who may have missed the other posts they are here & here. Today, I continue with collection usage and approaching my current edits for my second novel in The Bow of Hart Saga, An Arrow Against the Wind.

My first round of editing covers structure whereby I’m adding necessary chapters and scenes to the book. To that end, last week’s post covered creating a collection and schedule for this editing. While I’m certainly not finished with that round of editing, I’m going to discuss the next type of structural editing that I can schedule now using collections.

For those who are wondering, yes, multiple collections can be created for any number of reasons. So my next collection will cover style. The chapters and scenes will address different ones to those added last week as well as some saved searches I expect to use during this editing phase.

If you need instructions on creating collections, please refer to the last 2 Scrivener posts linked above in this post. From this point, I’ll assume if you’re reading you understand what I’m doing. In the following screen-shot, you’ll note that I’ve create a second collection named Structural Edit – Style as it appears in the list of collections.

Scriv Struct Edit_Style 1

As I mentioned earlier, the chapters and scenes for this collection are different since I switched to deep POV during the time I wrote this draft. So I’ve identified the chapters that need to be edited to deep POV style. Note the chapters are different between the two collections.

Scriv Struct Edit_Style 2

Similar to the first collection, I’ve edited the meta-data for Status and Labels and I’ve applied them in similar fashion to the first one. I’ve learned to edit for these changes previously, so I’ve created some searches based on these so I can use them in the chapters to I can quickly make basic changes before making more specific ones. This makes editing the chapter or scene in question much quicker.

Scriv Struct Edit_Style 3

Now when I’m ready to proceed to this phase of my structural editing, I’m ready with a schedule and expected searches. If I need anything new, I’ll be able to add the necessary elements to the collection.

the-bow-of-destiny-by-p-h-solomonPlease share your thoughts and ideas in the comments section. Interested in more of my writing? Just click one of the retailer banners on the sidebar to see more.

IMG_4154-EditAbout the Author

P. H. Solomon lives in the greater Birmingham, AL area where he strongly dislikes yard work and sanding the deck rail. However, he performs these duties to maintain a nice home for his loved ones as well as the family’s German Shepherds. In his spare time, P. H. rides herd as a Computer Whisperer on large computers called servers (harmonica not required). Additionally, he enjoys reading, running, most sports and fantasy football. Having a degree in Anthropology, he also has a wide array of more “serious” interests in addition to working regularly to hone his writing. The Bow of Destiny is his first novel-length title with more soon to come.

Sign-up to receive my free ebooks today.

Mailing List Artwork Mailchimp

Just as a note: I am not affiliated with Scrivener in any official capacity. For support questions, pricing and other concerns please contact the vendor. However, I am working on becoming an affiliate for Scrivener ads since I like the product so much. I’m not required to write about Scrivener to be an affiliate; I just like it that much. For more about my FTC statement see my sidebar.

Archer’s Aim Digest mailing list

Privacy Policy

This blog does not share personal information – including email addresses – with third parties nor do I store any information about your visit to this blog other than to analyze and optimize your content and reading experience through the use of cookies (which is a WordPress.com function and not mine).

You can turn off the use of cookies at any time by changing your specific browser settings.

I am not responsible for republished content from this blog on other blogs or websites without our permission.

This privacy policy is subject to change without notice and was last updated on July 2nd, 2015. If you have any questions feel free to contact me directly here: ph at phsolomon.com (replace the “at” with @, it’s written that way to avoid spammers).