The daily annoyances of writing programs like Word have sent several frustrated users running to stripped-down word processors like Google Docs and even Notepad. But if you’re a Mac user, it might make sense to get a writing program with more capabilities: Scrivener. Although Scrivener, which costs $35 (but offers a free 30 day trial), appears to have been designed with writers in mind, it also works well for anyone who needs to put together research for a project.
Among other things, Scrivener offers: an outlining tool to keep track of where you are in the project; a virtual corkboard to store random notes you want to fit in later; the ability to work on separate documents within the same project; and the ability to save photos, files and web pages into your project. Over at 43 Folders, Merlin Mann raves about Scrivener’s set up; he can scribble notes on any part of a project he pleases, and it’s saved in a useful and meaningful way for him to go back to later.
