Using Scrivener to Write Posts for Steemit.com
I have a love/hate relationship with Scrivener. There are some things about it that I love, and some that drive me absolutely insane. After reading about how wonderful it is for writing novels, I finally purchased the Windows version. While I didn't hate it, I wasn't nuts about it either. I have come to appreciate it more but it wasn't until I was looking for a good way to manage my posts for Steemit.com that I realized what a fantastic tool it is for managing blog posts.
The idea came to me when I decided to start tracking my posts to my Steemit blog. I didn’t want to wait until I had done a few dozen posts before organizing them. So here is what I did:
I created a new project and added my posts to it
I created text files for each of my existing posts
I created two folders, one for October 2016, and a second, WIP, for works in progress.
Now when I want to start a new document, I add a text file to the WIP folder. When I'm done with it, I will publish it, and then move it into the October 2016 folder.
So far, this is all manual stuff. What I was hoping to do is edit in Scrivener and use WYSIWYG formatting, then compile the document to Markdown. Scrivener has this ability and I became really excited by the notion. I started by buying the iPad version of Scrivener and signing up for a DropBox account. Now I can edit on my iPad and then edit and publish the same project on my computer. Here is a screenshot of the iPad version of Scrivener.
![Scrivener for iPad](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/http://irenepsmith.com/steem_pics/scrivener_ipad.png)
Being able to apply WYSIWYG formatting and then generate Markdown is, as Martha Stuart says, “a good thing.” And it would a truly wonderful thing if Scrivener actually produced good markdown. Unfortunately, the Markdown produced by Scrivener is not even close to what I want. I read several articles that claim that Scrivener is perfect for generating Markdown but I just don’t see it. Maybe I’m doing something wrong, although after 30+ years of using all kinds of programs, I doubt it.
If I can figure out a better way to produce the results I want, I will report on how I accomplished it, but in the meantime, I guess I will be writing directly in Markdown and then doing a copy past from the text file in Scrivener. That was a disappointment.
I made the decision to use Scrivener with my Steemit posts, despite the problems, for the following reasons:
- I wanted a way to keep track of my posts. I read a book called How to Blog a Book, by Nina Amir and thought I might try it with my Steemit posts.
- I assign myself a daily word count goal. I try to write 2,000 words a day. Yes, I could do that with Microsoft Word but it doesn't work and play well with text-only formats.
- The ability to attach notes to my posts allows me to track stuff like when I posted a piece, what tags I used, and how much it earned.
There are a few other things about Scrivener that I’m not crazy about.
Scrivener is not Intuitive.
In fact, sometimes it seems as though it does everything it can to be unintuitive. For example, in the image below, would you think of clicking on the small, blue A in order to select a font name? And what does 1.0x do? Turns out it sets line spacing, but there’s nothing to indicate that.
![Scrivener Default Font](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/http://irenepsmith.com/steem_pics/Scrivener_Default_Font.png)
Once you have defined the “default font” for your text, you have to apply it to all of the existing text files in your project. In every project, on every computer on which you have Scrivener installed. And the only wway to perform the updates is to select all of your files in the Binder (the list of files on the left of the screen) and then select Documents/Convert/Formatting to Default Text Style… to do the conversion. Of course, that will also convert all of your headings to default text as well, so now you have to go through and change all of the heading fonts.
This applies to every version of Scrivener, and it makes the program more difficult to use. Although there is a dropdown in the toolbar to allow you to select predefined styles, the program does not indicate what style you applied to the text you are editing. Why have styles if you can’t tell which one you have chosen? Once you apply a style, there is absolutely no indication of what style has been applied. In fact, Scrivener doesn’t work well with styles at all.
The iOS Version is Limited
I can’t access the document information as I can with the Windows version so I can’t change document status or add notes to it easily when I’m editing on the iPad. Then again, Scrivener is not the only application that has a more limited version for the iPad/iPhone. Microsoft Word on the iPad is extremely limited.
It is difficult to move files around when working on the iPad. On the other hand, it is very easy to do so when you are working in the Windows version.
Scrivener’s Compiled Output isn’t Particularly Good
The biggest complaint that I have about Scrivener, I mentioned before. If I was using Scrivener to created manuscripts, I would have to do a lot of manual editing of the output file. The documents it generates with its Compile command just aren’t very good. On the other hand, when I’m writing directly in Markdown and then performing a cut/paste to post to Steemit, that isn’t a real problem.
Will I continue to use Scrivener to write my posts? For now. I’m beginning to think that the best solution to this problem would be to roll my own blog post manager.
What do you use to write your Steemit posts?
![A picture of Irene](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/http://i.imgsafe.org/t/283a99cefe.jpg)
Who is Irene P. Smith? I am an author, programmer, and web designer. A former Contributing Editor to PC Techniques Magazine, I have written about computers and programming since 1989, and began publishing fiction in 2003. My home is in New York State, along the Delaware River, where I live with my husband and son.
![Steemverify badge](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/http://irenepsmith.com/steem_pics/irenepsmith.png)
You can also find me elsewhere on the web:
- My "other" blog: An Irene Thing
- My Author's Website: irenepsmith.com
- My Professional Website: irenesmith.com
- Facebook: IrenePSmithAuthor
- Twitter: @Story_Teller
Hi Irene, thanks for this blog post. I've actually often wondered if Scrivener was worth buying...
At the moment, I write my own posts with several tools, I am trying different options. What I really like is MarkdownPad2. Currently, I am using the free version. If you go for the pro version, you'll be able to drag and drop images into your posts - I am really thinking of buying this.
Another good option is steemstyle.com. It is a web-based solution that lets you drag and drop your images - I do, however, see a few issues: first, it is web-based and as I see it, your texts will be gone when closing the page.
Further, what happens to the images you drop into your articles? They seem to be uploaded to imgur - but where? Are they uploaded publicly? I haven't been able to find that out so far.
I also tried to create blog posts in editors such as brackets but found that too "complicated" - you'll have to enter all markdown commands manually and don't have a pre-view option, so I dismissed this option.
At the moment, I can highly recommend Markdownpad2. See this link if you'd like to check that out: http://markdownpad.com/news/2013/introducing-markdownpad-2/
Cheers,
Ines
I tried Markdownpad2 and rejected it. I honestly don't remember why because I was trying Markdown editors one after the other. If I wasn't going to use Scrivener, I would still be using Visual Studio Code. This is not isual Studio, the .Net IDE, it is a fairly new free IDE from Microsoft that was made specifically for working with web projects. It can do other things as well with the right plugins installed and Markdown is one of those other things. The advantage to Visual Studio Code is that you can keep all of your documents in a folder and just open the folder with Visual Studio Code. It does have preview, but the preview doesn't load images.
I am a bit reluctant to using Microsoft products for things like that, experienced too much of trouble with any kinds of software I tested from them. Unfortunately, for my translation business I need some software which won't work with Linux - otherwise I had installed their OS long ago.
For me it is essential to see the images in the preview, so Visual Studio wouldn't be an option for me, anyway. In the end it's always a personal choice, as long as one's happy with it, one should use whatever feels good.
Cheers,
Ines
I do all my posts for Steemit in Scrivener. It's especially handy for me when doing my Steemit Rambles, I have a template setup that I can copy paste into a file, work on it during the day as I'm reading and then finalize and post.
You are right though, the only effective way to use it with Markdown is to use the markdown tags as you work and then copy/paste. I haven't tried the IOS version yet. I know it is new and so still under development.
I do very little writing with my iPad mini. Usually if I'm away from my laptop and want to record something I use the voice feature in Evernote and then transcribe when I am back at my laptop.
I have an iPad Air, and I carry it everywhere with me. I bought the iOS version of Scrivener so I can sit on the couch and write. But since my iPad only has wi-fi, I'm not sure what it will do the first time I try to edit a project when I'm not connected to wi-fi. I guess I'll have to wait and see.
I do all my writing sitting on my couch. Have small table, will write :) ... Have looked at the iPad Air, it does look interesting. The main reason I went for the iPad mini was I do a lot of reading on it and it's lightweight for holding while reading.
I like my iPad Air. It is also fairly light, but big enough to give me a fairly large "page" size. Mine is a first-generation Air. The new ones are even lighter. Mine was a gift from my husband. He had it engraved "Irene Smith, Multitasker Extraordinaire" So I'll probably keep it until it dies.
yes, I think I'd keep a personalized one like that if I were you. I shall have a look at the iPad Air whenever I get to the point I can afford one.
I'm interested in Scrivener for my writing and haven't yet thought about it for writing posts! I'll follow and be interested if you explore it more! Thanks!
I'm sure that I will have more to say after I've used it for a while.
Funny, I've never once been tempted to use Scrivener though I've been aware of it for some time.
I've been using Word or Txt to have a copy of all my Steemit posts (and all the other online writing I've done). They each have their own folder with dated sub-folders. I haven't tracked how much each post earns because it's not consistent enough. Some do really well while others don't. For me, it's a matter of mindset. I don't want to dwell on WHY one art or fiction piece did well and then the others with the same tags didn't. So I just create and have fun with it.
Everybody is different, of course. I'm only tracking income out of curiosity. At this point, it doesn't really matter to me.
As for Word, I like it for small pieces like short stories, articles, or something like a resume or report. On the other hand, Word is not really that good for big documents or collections where you want to be able to rearrange the pieces. That's where I find Scrivener so useful. I can get the total word count for a collection of stories or essays, and it also has a feature where you can set target word counts. I'll probably be writing more about it in the future. Maybe it will change your mind--or not. When push comes to shove, we all have our favorites.
Hi @irenepsmith, just stopping back to let you know that your post was one of my favourite reads yesterday and I included it in my Steemit Ramble. You can read my comments about your post here.
Cool!! Thank you.
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