Scrivener Mac Download

One of the most popular parts of Scrivener is the ability to use, create and modify the way things work, so as to improve the way you use Scrivener.

However, once you’ve found the best layout, font, and or functions, saving them as a scrivener template allows you to re-access them when you start a new project.

Scrivener templates are fantastic for helping us writers structure our work, make and refer back to notes as we write, and to keep all our research for a project in one place.

Download, install and run Scrivener 3 for macOS from the product download page. Without a license, it will run in trial mode. Without a license, it will run in trial mode. In the trial window that opens when you launch Scrivener 3, click on “Upgrade from an older version”. Scrivener 2.8.1.2 Full Crack (Mac OS X) is now available with direct download at 4MACSOFT. Scrivener 2 Keygen Free Download the best word-processing software and outliner designed for authors, is easily one of the best pieces of software for writers because it was built with their needs in mind.

In addition to the Scrivener version 2 releases, the direct download page provides access to the obsolete version 1.54, but licenses are no longer available for purchase. The 1.54 release is compatible with Mac OS X versions 10.4 through 10.6. The latest stable version of Scrivener for Windows is 3.0.1.

So, how about getting your hands on scrivener templates that have already been created for your use?

Read on to discover –

  • Access to a professionally designed fiction template
  • Downloadable non-fiction template
  • List of other free scrivener templates
  • How to install a Scrivener template
  • How to create your own

Also, if you’d like to download our free professionally designed Scrivener Templates, just click here!

Scrivener Templates For Fiction

If you want to use a template for your fiction project, you have basically two options – use an existing template or create your own.

The advantages to using a pre-made fiction template are that –

  • You don’t need to know how to create templates on Scrivener
  • The story structure is provided for you, so you only have to write
  • You may be inspired by something found in a template which you wouldn’t have otherwise thought of

In its simplest form, a fiction template consists of folders for chapters, an outline, a place for your research, and blank front matter to make it easy to export and format your fiction project.

At the other end of the scale, complex fiction templates exist which help you to follow advanced techniques such as the snowflake method.

It’s worth taking the time to try out several templates rather than settling for the first one you come across. Experiment to find the right option for your needs and make changes as you see fit. One of the great things about Scrivener is how quick and easy it is to modify or entirely remove parts of a template you don’t find useful.

Scrivener Templates For Nonfiction

Nonfiction Scrivener templates are often a lot simpler than their fiction counterparts.

This is due to the fact that while a fiction project may require a complex story structure, with the word count carefully distributed among a three act structure for maximum impact, a nonfiction project almost always consists of a series of chapters, without any particular need to think about flow or chapter length.

The essential elements of a nonfiction template for Scrivener are a place to outline your work, separate folders for each chapter, a place to store your research (possibly divided into topics or themes), a place to take notes, and the front matter ready for when you export.

List of Other Templates To Download

Below is a collection of other author’s templates for you to use:

Novel Templates:

Story Structured Stylized Fiction Novel Templates:

Blogging Templates for Scrivener:

Academic and Research Templates

Outlining and Structuring Templates

Other

How To Use and Install A Scrivener Template

After you download a Scrivener template, you will see a file which has the extension .scrivtemplate.

When you open Scrivener to start a new project, click on options, like in the image below.

When the Options menu opens, click ‘import templates’, like in the image below.

After you open your Scrivener template file, it will open in Scrivener as a new project. You can then proceed to work as normal.

How To Make Your Own Scrivener Template

Making a Scrivener template requires no specialist knowledge. If you can use Scrivener, you can create a template. Template creation takes place within the main Scrivener software.

To create a template, simply set up a project the way you want, ensuring that the actual content is left blank. For example, you would create all of your folders, cork board cards, and texts, without actually filling in any of the information. So if you had a research folder, it wouldn’t actually contain any research. You want to make sure that the icons are changed to the most useful and appropriate options, that the trash is empty and all of the meta data is clean.

When you are sure you have followed the above steps, it’s time to convert the project into a template. In the main file menu, you will notice the option ‘save as template’. Warning! Save as template is separate from the main ‘save as’ section, situated lower on the menu.

After you have saved your project as a template, you will have a file in the format .scrivtemplate. You can then easily open this in your own version of Scrivener for future use, or share it with others.

How to Modify Scrivener Templates

Sometimes, you’ll find a Scrivener template which is more or less what you’re looking for but contains aspects you don’t need or is missing something you do need.

If that’s the case, it’s super easy to modify the template and save it as your very own. Before getting started on the actual project (in order to keep the content blank), delete, add or change the parts you want, then click ‘save as template’. This will give you the exact, customized Scrivener template you need.

Some of the things you may want to consider switching up include –

  • The icons used (consider your own system of icons and color coding)
  • The notes on the corkboard (check these fit your requirements first)
  • The way the research is divided up (your project probably has specific research needs)
  • The style of the front matter (perhaps you don’t want a dedication page, for example)

Once you’ve made all of your modifications, and clicked ‘save as template’, you will be the proud owner of a customized .scrivtemplate file which you can use time and time again without having to repeat the same modifications.

Scrivener Template Takeaways

By now, we’ve learned that –

  • Scrivener templates are available for almost any type of writing project
  • You can use Scrivener templates to allow you to focus on writing
  • Scrivener templates can be adjusted to your needs and easily saved

What are some of your favorite ways to use Scrivener templates? Do you prefer to avoid them altogether? Let us know in the comments!

Scrivener is a robust — and complex — piece of writing software. Intended as a one-stop solution for writers of all skill levels, Scrivener has a wide range of useful features… if you can figure out how to work it.

Pros:

  • Powerful app with helpful features for every writing stage
  • Flexible interface users can tailor to their needs
  • Free templates
  • 30 day free trial

Cons:

  • Complex to learn
  • More expensive than many other writing apps
  • Newest version only runs on Mac
  • Most users will only use a small handful of the features

For this review, the team at Reedsy has analyzed Scrivener with an aim to provide transparency and context. As a network that has helped authors publish over 10,000 books, we know the different needs authors have and are able to provide context for what features are the most useful, as well as what kind of writers would benefit from them.

If you want to cut straight to the chase and find out if Scrivener is the right writing app for you, we recommend taking this quick 30-second quiz.

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Which writing app is right for you?

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Otherwise, let's dive in!

What is Scrivener?

Scrivener by Literature and Latte is a word processor for Windows and Mac. Offering a variety of organizational features, formatting options, and goal tracking, Scrivener has been expressly designed to help fiction and nonfiction authors, screenwriters, journalists, academics, and more.

One of the issues many writers of long texts face is ease of navigation: assembling all their research and information in a way that’s easily accessible. Scrivener helps with this, offering writers the tools to organize concepts, notes, research, photos, videos, documents, and more.

It’s important to note, though, that when you talk about Scrivener there are really two separate writing apps: the Windows version, and the Mac one. Scrivener 3, while expected to release for Windows sometime in 2021, is currently only available on the Mac and is a significantly improved experience over its predecessors. Make sure you take note of which version is available to you when you’re deciding which novel writing app to use.

For this review, we’ll be focusing on Scrivener 3, though some of the features listed below are also present in earlier versions.

Fun fact: What does a scrivener do? Back in the day, a scrivener (or scribe) was someone who could read and write, and made their living writing or copying material on behalf of others.

How much does Scrivener cost?

Scrivener costs $49. However, if you purchased Scrivener 2 on or after August 20, 2017 can upgrade for free (users who purchased Scrivener 1 or 2 before that date can get a 45% discount off the purchase price).

Scrivener also has a 30-day free trial period, though it’s actually 30 days of use — so if you only use the program two times a week, you will have the trial for 15 weeks.

How do I upgrade to Scrivener 3?

If you already have Scrivener 2, you can upgrade via the Literature and Latte site. Click here, then select 'Upgrade from an older version' in the trial window.

The Binder: All your work in one place

At the center of a Scrivener project is the Binder. Touted as an innovative means of keeping all your notes, research, and manuscript files in one place, the Binder is really just a sidebar full of files. While it is incredibly useful to have everything within easy reach, Scrivener didn’t exactly invent the idea — sidebars have been used in everything from email to file browsers to, yes, writing apps, for decades now.

Still, Scrivener’s Binder does the job very well. And since there are so many different types of files associated with a Scrivener project, there needs to be a means of keeping them organized. Files in the Binder can be grouped together in subfolders, labeled with different colors and icons to allow for easy categorization and organization. It even includes a Trash folder, so you don’t need to worry about accidentally deleting something.

Corkboard: Get a big-picture view

A classic outlining and editing tool for writers is a simple stack of notecards. By writing down what happens in each scene and spreading the notecards out on the floor (or pinning them to a corkboard) authors have long been able to visualize their project as a whole, moving scenes around until they have a plot that flows smoothly.

Scrivener’s Corkboard mode takes that idea and runs with it. Each file in your project gets a “card” that you can customize with colors and labels, and then rearrange with ease. Like everything else in Scrivener, this feature is endlessly customizable, so each writer can develop a system that truly serves their workflow.

Bookmarks: Quick access to what matters

Software that claims to help you do something — like learning how to write a book — needs to walk a fine line between offering a variety of functions while also having an organized and easy-to-navigate interface. To that end, Scrivener utilizes a Bookmarks system.

It's exactly what it sounds like: you can seamlessly access any project documents that you refer to frequently. But what makes it especially useful is that clicking on a bookmarked document will open it side-by-side with your current document, allowing you to reference or edit it without having to switch back and forth between texts.

Let’s say you’re writing a novel and somewhere along the way you decide to make a big change to a character. If you have character templates or character development documents bookmarked, you can reference them right away and make a note of the change there, without skipping a beat in your writing session.

Templates: Save your settings

Because Scrivener has so many customization options, you may feel overwhelmed by the idea of configuring all those settings, only to do it again the next time you start a new project.

This is where Templates come into play. Scrivener lets you save all your options as a sort of “preset” that you can easily select for each new project you write. So if you’ve got a specific way you like your Binder set up for a long-standing fantasy series, you can just select the template when you start writing book twelve, and all the customization you’ve decided on for the first eleven books is ready and waiting for you.

Of course, if this book writing software wasn’t so complex to set up you wouldn’t need to save a template. But since it is, it’s great not to have to reconfigure everything each time.

Scrivener Mac Download

Linguistic Focus mode: Zero in on problem areas

Linguistic Focus is a great tool that can help you identify and iron out your writing tics. Essentially, you can specify types of words or dialogue (direct speech, nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, or conjunctions), and Scrivener will highlight that language within your story.

Why is this important? Well, let’s say you want to make sure that your dialogue tags aren’t distracting. Or maybe you have the feeling you’re repeating the same adjective throughout your writing. Linguistics Focus will allow you to zero in on these things to make sure your writing is as effective as possible.

So what’s the bottom line?

Scrivener works best for professional writers who:

  • Have lots of notes or research associated with their books
  • Plan to write a lengthy, in-depth series
  • Plan to do extensive self-editing, or collaborate with an editor in another program
  • Enjoy learning how to do new things on their computer

Scrivener may not be a good fit if you:

  • Aren’t very tech-savvy
  • Want to jump into writing faster (for that, we recommend Plottr or the Reedsy Book Editor)
  • Write shorter pieces (essays, short stories, poems, children’s books)
  • Need to collaborate easily, especially across multiple platforms

Reedsy rating: 4/5

Scrivener 2 Download

[Updated: 07/20/2020 UTC]