Tech Tools: Scrivener Corkboard
Scrivener is a writing program, and it’s huge. I don’t have time or space in this post to tell you everything is can do, but I wanted to share one way I’m using it to keep my notes organized for my qualifying exams:
Scrivener (by the software company Literature and Latte) is very robust, and the corkboard is just one layout feature. For me, it’s ideal for looking at my notes for a work like Shakespeare’s Richard III. I have images that remind me of major themes, and jog my memory. I have pdfs of relevant articles (the first three notecards) that are saved with the file (you can even make notes on the pdfs). And each card contains notes on a topic—clicking on a notecard leads me to the longer text on that topic. I have a corkboard like this for each of Shakespeare’s plays (one of my exam fields) as I read or review them, as well as the items in my other two exam fields.
Scrivener does a lot of things, and does them well. I just wanted to share this quick way of organizing your thoughts and notes on a topic. For me, it helps organize my thoughts and jog my memory for my PhD qualifying exams.
I’ll be posting on more of my favorite tech tools for academics in the future.
I downloaded the trial version of Scrivener and began toying with it in the fall of 2011. I initially used it for outlining, I loved the corkboard feature. I then decided to give it a try for NaNoWriMo 2011. It was the first year I finished. Attribute it to the intuitive interface, great tools or just having all your writing, characters and research in one program. I love writing in scenes and being able to drag and drop these as I need to rearrange my story is priceless. There is a free trial so why not give it a shot!
If anyone decides to buy Scrivener I was given a limited use coupon here http://smworth.blogspot.com/2012/02/scrivener-coupon-codes.html You’ll get 20% off – until it expires. Enjoy!