I'm okay with consuming non-linear stuff, I just don't produce that way. And driving a standard is fun! My summer car is a standard and my winter car (truck) is an automatic, and every spring when I switch back to the standard I remember how much I like it. I just feel so much more involved in the process of driving! Of course, I drove my summer car off the road and thirty feet into a farmer's field last week when winter conditions returned unexpectedly. So being more involved in the process of driving doesn't actually result in good driving... at least in my case...
I've always worked in the Mac version of whatever wordprocessor is current to them ...originally called ClarisWorks, then AppleWorks, and now Pages. I was perfectly happy with Pages until this version I'm using now came along (the one that came with Yosemite.) However, a few of the good features of the older versions (like the ability to read and export in RTF) were removed from Pages at that time. I've been screaming about this travesty for ages, as it does impact on how I share stuff. HOWEVER ...my husband has just upgraded to the new Mac OS Sierra and the new version of Pages, and guess what? RTF compatibility has been restored!!! YAY! Pages can read Word no bother, and Pages documents can be exported in Word. I find the Apple system easier to grasp than Microsoft, probably because I've always used it. It's a hierarchical system, and it feels intuitive. I've used Word on other people's PCs and found it fiddly and bitty. However, Word seems to do most stuff—as does Pages—so whatever floats your boat. I'm glad there are other writers on here who also don't take to Scrivener. I was beginning to think I was on my own, and out of touch, as usual. I downloaded the free 30-day trial version, and couldn't get to grips with it. It was incompatible with earlier versions of my story, etc. And there isn't anything it does that I can't already do. I organise my stuff, compartmentalise my stuff, can quickly sift back and find old versions, and can find bits I've edited out and saved for future use (that's what named folders are for, and you can store folders within folders, ad infinitum.) I can store photos and artwork and timelines related to the story as well—all these things writers had to organise for themselves before Scrivener was invented. If you like Scrivener, and it helps you work, fine. But it's not the be-all and end-all for all writers. Apparently it's also not so good for formatting purposes either, so you still have to use another wordprocessing programme to get your stories out there, once they're finished. For me, it's a million-dollar bridge over a 10-cent river. I can't find a use for it.
Add me to the list of those who start at "Once Upon a Time" and finish at "Happily Ever After" with no jumping around in between. Word's my jam.
This is exactly how I feel! With UTK especially I had a lot of inspiration pictures of challenge locations, foods preparation, etc. and I just kept them all in a folder for reference, along with a list of URLs for recipes. I wrote each chapter as a separate document, but it was very easy to mash them all into one manuscript once I was done using the Insert File function. My publisher uses Tracked Changes in Word for editing (not sure how common that is), so no matter what program I write the original MS is, the edits are coming back to me in Word anyway. I might as well be consistent from the get-go.
Every publisher I've worked with (8 or 9, now) has used Track Changes that way. There's some discussion about whether it would work in other word processing programs (like, if you opened the doc file in Libre, would it work) but it's a complication I don't want to have.
I've never tried anything but Word. I use Pages some on my Ipad, but not all that much. I can see how Scrivener would help, because I do tend to jot notes and ideas and research down...but that's what my handy Story Planning Notebook is for. A simple spiral notebook bought from the dollar store in which I organize all my idea jotting, world planning, character building, and plot points and ideas. I find I like to physically write all that stuff down instead of have it digitized. Though maybe one day I'll give Scrivener a try.
I just got through paying for Scrivener for the third time! I now have two Windows computers, both running simultaneously, and a MacBook, so I have three copies. I don't regret it a bit - I'd buy a fourth in a moment if I had another up-and-running computer to put it on. Running Scrivener is a joy - a really fun tool to work with. I grumble every time I have to use Word.
You know those two Windows machines can be running off the same license, right? I have the same license running on five of my machines; it has yet to tell me no.
Yes, but I love Scrivener so much that I don't mind paying for each machine. Heck, it's cheap! I've spent more for an Olive Garden dinner than I have for a copy of Scrivener. The price of a copy of Scrivener only fills about two-thirds of my gas tank (he said, not having done the math). I've tipped an airport limo driver more than the price of Scrivener. Etc. Literature and Latte have earned their bucks, as far as I'm concerned. And I don't even drink latte.
