The first thing you'll need to do is to select File > New Project... from the menubar, followed by Fiction > Novel in the dialog box that opens. Now we can start asking questions.
Question 1: How do I give my book a title?
Slow down, you might want to start with a title but Scrivener views this as something likely to be in flux until the end, so the developer expects you to set this at compile/export time rather than at the beginning of writing. To see where you'll set things like your book title, author, etc. go to File > Compile or Option + Cmd + E. Now on the righthand side click on the luggage tag icon (for metadata) and you'll have a series of boxes for setting the title and name.
Question 2: What about the rest of the front matter?
In the Binder (i.e. the panel on the left of the main window) you will see the Front Matter icon with an arrow next to it for expanding and collapsing. Inspecting the contents of this you will see, for example for a novel, three subfolders: (1) Manuscript Format, (2) Paperback, (3) Ebook. Inside each of these folders are documents, or in other words pages of your front matter. Some pages contain text that looks like <$PROJECTTITLE> this is text that will be automatically replaced at compile time with your title in this instance but other tags will be replaced with your name, the date, etc. Nothing will break if you overwrite this with static text, you just won't have the advantage of dynamic updates and will have to manually amend for each output type.
Question 3: Can I use the same tag replace process for custom metadata?
No. Custom metadata, which can be displayed by selecting the luggage tag in the righthand panel is for reference only and is a way of charting certain elements you have chosen to record not for advanced text handling. (You can toggle to view the righthand panel by clicking the blue info button on the far right of the main window.)
Question 4: How do I set up characters in my story?
In the Binder there is a top-level item called Characters by selecting this then clicking the add button in the central pane you can add character sketches. These sketches are guided by a generic list of headings which is dictated by the template inside the Template Sheets folder called Character Sketch. Change the template (inside the Template Sheets folder) and you change the headings that appear for every character sketch, change manually on an individual basis and you just change for the sketch you are working on. The sketches are reference for you as author; the records you keep assisting in memory and consistency.
While you have the Characters folder selected in the Binder you see an overview in which multiple character sketches are displayed at once. You have a choice here, you can replace the text that reads "Character Name..." by simply clicking and typing, which enables you to write a brief description. Or you can leave this unedited and select the sketch itself in the Binder.
While you have the Characters folder selected in the Binder you see an overview in which multiple character sketches are displayed at once. You have a choice here, you can replace the text that reads "Character Name..." by simply clicking and typing, which enables you to write a brief description. Or you can leave this unedited and select the sketch itself in the Binder.
Selecting the sketch in the Binder, you now see a sheet with headings, changing the information here you see it then display in the Characters overview, unless you type over the top (see above). But typing over the top in the overview does not change the detailed sketch.
In addition to completing the templated character sketch, you can add an image and write notes in the synopsis panel.
Question 5: How do I set up places in my story?
Question 6: How do I write stuff that will appear in the book?
In the Binder panel, select Manuscript and within this there is a Chapter folder. Selecting this chapter folder you can add Text Files and Folders. You can also add either of these at the top level of the manuscript.
Question 7: How do I write notes that won't appear in the book?
Go to the Binder once again, and select Notes. Here you can add text files and folders just like in the Manuscript. Or you can make document/file specific notes using the (righthand) Info panel (use the first tab, which looks like a spiral bound pad).
Question 8: How do Notes vary from Research?
Research is yet another folder where you can add files and folders. You'll notice a couple of PDFs in there. This is one of the great features of Scrivener, which is that you can drag in PDFs, webpages, images, and pretty much whatever you want in order to gather together research. And it's not only in the research folder where you can store these file types, you can drag them to any location in the Binder and its sub-folders. Calling it Research just makes sense. If you want to attach specific research to a Text or other file, use Document Bookmarks (Info panel, Bookmark tab).
Question 9: Can I add further top-level folders to the Binder?
Absolutely. You can even select (and import) your own icons by using the settings wheel with your folder selected to make it all look pretty.Question 10: Tell me about Keywords
Keywords can be applied at a document (Text, PDF, Image, etc.), folder or project level by selecting the luggage tag (and looking at the lowest subpanel in the Info panel). By clicking add or minus you can add or remove keywords, and by clicking on the cog you can add keywords used elsewhere in the project or display all keywords.
Displaying all keywords enables you to search the project by keywords. Select the keyword(s) you wish to look for and then select the magnifying glass at the bottom of the dialog box. The results display over the Binder panel. To clear results and search again, select the cross at the top of the results. (Note: you multiple select items in the same way you would in Finder, choosing a top item and then selecting the bottom item while holding Shift; or by Cmd clicking to add items.)
Conclusion
As stated in the title this is a getting started and discusses the basics. There are far more elements to Scrivener and you should read the tutorial that comes loaded with the app to discover more. But for now, hopefully this is enough to get you writing. If you download Scrivener (before purchasing a license key), then you have a 30-day trial that only counts off the days that you actually open the app, not the days in between real usage, which seems very generous and a good way to allow you time to experiment.
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