I’ve been putting research documents into Scrivener, assuming that they were searchable. After all, one oft-stated advantage of using Scrivener is that you have all your documents in one place.
It’s true that I can put everything and anything into Scrivener, but I also need to be able to search within those documents. I mistakenly assumed that one of Scrivener’s many superpowers was the ability to make all documents searchable. In other words, I assumed that Scrivener utilized OCR (Optical Character Recognition). Not so. :-(
Having searchable documents is important for my current WIP because it’s set in the 16th century, and a number of the resources are rare and/or ancient and only available on BooksGoogle or InternetArchive. I’ve taken to clipping relevant parts of such documents (shift-control-4 on a Mac) or exporting them whole as PDFs before sending them to Scrivener. The clips are a type of image, so they need OCR to be searched, and most PDFs are not searchable as well.
And so I began to look at ways to make documents searchable before putting them in Scrivener. In the process, I discovered that anything to do with OCR opened a bottomless pit. I will try to keep this simple.
Dedicated OCR software
One possibility would be to invest in a software programme dedicated to making documents OCR searchable. The highest-rated programme for Mac is ABBYY FineReader Pro, available on trial for 30 days. I tested it out on a clip (below), and in seconds had a searchable Word document that beautifully preserved the formatting of the original.
This is the original clip:
And this is the searchable Word document:
Wow.
Databases that make documents searchable
The other possibility would be to use a database that automatically makes documents OCR searchable. The advantage of using such a database is that it is—duh—a database, a logical place to store research documents. … which brings me to OneNote and EverNote.
Both EverNote and OneNote convert documents to OCR, so I decided to test them both using the test clip above.
It took well over an hour for OneNote to convert it to a searchable text, but EverNote has yet to do so even a day later!
Once made searchable, there is a way to create a copy in EverNote, a copy that can then be put in Scrivener, but it’s weird and basically unreadable, showing every word as a separate object.
In OneNote, once the document has gone through the OCR treatment, it’s possible to easily create a searchable text version. (Control-click the document and select “Copy text from picture.”)
This is what I got from my test clip:
Here comes old Woodcock, the Yeoman of Kent, that’s half Farmer and half Gentleman; his horses go to the plow all week, and are put into the coach o’ Sunday.
Tunbridge Walks or the Yeoman of Kent, act I, sc. 1
Not as pretty as ABBYY FineReader, but not at all bad. (I did clean it up a bit.) This text can now be copied and pasted into Scrivener or wherever I want it.
Note: It would have been nice to be able to send this searchable text directly to Scrivener. I passed on this recommendation to OneNote and discovered 1) that their help menu actually helps (EverNote Help is extremely basic), and 2) that they ask how to improve. What a concept! (But do they listen? That remains to be seen.)
A word about Web Clippers
One beautiful thing about EverNote is its Web Clipper. With it, I can send the contents of any webpage to EverNote and, at the same time, indicate which notebook it should be filed in and how it should be tagged.
OneNote’s Web Clipper is not functional on Safari right now due to recent OS changes at Apple. I trust that this will be solved. In any case, it is available on Chrome or FireFox.
It’s a good clipper, but it’s not as useful as EverNote’s. Although you can choose what OneNote notebook to file it in, you can’t specify beyond that with tags, and you can’t file it in more than one place.
Which brings me to Tags
Being able to add tags to a document in EverNote is great. For example, I’d be able to tag an 18th-century French recipe for roasted swans as 18th century, France, food, recipes and swans. This would allow me to narrow a search for a perfect detail regarding a roasted swan snack.
OneNote doesn’t have a tag function, alas—at least not that I can see.
What about cost?
I use EverNote heavily, so I need their Premium plan, which costs $5.83 US a month when paying annually. For that I get 10GB uploads per month, and am able to search PDFs. (For more information about Evernote pricing, click here.)
OneNote is included in an Office 365 subscription package. (Some claim it’s also now available as a free stand-alone, but I’ve not been able to confirm that.) Since I’m already subscribed to the Office 365 world, I can start using OneNote at no additional cost. With OneNote, I get unlimited uploads, so win-win.
Say what? A scanner app?
Scanning pages from books is too slow to be practical. I’m delighted with the Microsoft app Office Lens, which will send a image directly to OneNote. This will save me lots of time.
For example, I took the image below with Office Lens and sent it to OneNote at 10:30 am. In under 30 minutes, it was searchable and even the all-text extract was surprisingly good.
EverNote or OneNote or … ? My conclusion
I do need a database, but given the pros and cons of OneNote and Evernote, where do I stand?
Because of the expense and inconsistent, slow and inadequate OCR function of EverNote, I have decided to migrate my extensive EverNote database to OneNote.
I should mention, as well, that there are indications that EverNote might be heading into hard times, and I don’t want to be left in the lurch.
It’s possible to import EverNote documents into OneNote using their OneNote Importer app, but judging from this note—
The importer software described on this page is still available for you to download and use, but we’re no longer actively developing or supporting this tool.
—that may not always be possible, so migrating now is perhaps wise.
I’ve never been a Microsoft fan—Mac users aren’t their priority—but OneNote for Mac looks worthy, so I’m going to make the move. I’ve also purchased ABBYY FineReader Pro, and given that I will be unsubscribing from EverNote, I’ll be coming out ahead in more ways than one. :-)
The links below might be of interest.
Be aware that there are differences between OneNote for Mac and the mothership OneNote for PC users. Also, OneNote for Mac has been recently “updated”—but the changes have caused quite an uproar because it’s no longer possible to arrange tabs along the top, as in this example:
I would love to have such tabs back and I’m hoping the OneNote engineers succumb. Some long-time users are even advocating reverting to the 2016 version and vowing never again to upgrade.
This post is inspired by Book Riot’s “The Podcast” episode #292, “Our Favorite Non-Bookish Things of 2018.” What’s charming about this podcast is the chatter between Jeff and Rebecca, usually about books and the publishing and book worlds in general, but this time about Things.
My fave things of 2018? It has been fun to think back and decide.
My Wet Brush Pro! No more tangles. Yay! These brushes are great, but be sure to opt for the “pro.”
Four-wheeler luggage, in general. Finger light travel. No more shoulder pull!
Fountain pens! I’ve converted to writing with fountain pens this year — unless I’m writing on computer, that is. For a dependable, but guilt-inducing disposable, I have favoured Pilot Varsity.
Then I graduated to the cartridge Pelikano Up, which has a very comfortable grip, but a lid that doesn’t stick on when you’re writing and a sometimes scratchy nib. (I’ve bought several, so it’s simply hit and miss.) Too, it sometimes dries out on me. I do very much like how light it is, how comfortable it is to grasp, and how bold the line (my preference).
Inspired by an article in New York Magazine rating all sorts of pens (100!), I ordered the Pelikan Stola III, which I like very much — even though it, too, doesn’t have a lid that stays on when writing. It was rated 4.6 out of 5.0 in the article, a high rating indeed.
Then, for Christmas, I got a lovely Pilot Metropolitan fountain pen, which uses cartridges or ink, which I will likely convert to in time. (Less plastic, and the pen itself is metal.) It has a nice weight, reliable ink flow, smooth nib, and writes a pleasing not-too-fine, not-too-bold script. Plus, its lid stays on when I’m writing. It came in a classy box and is, all-in-all, a beautiful pen. From the review in the New York Magazine article and online, I gather that the newer models are less pleasing, so I’m going to treasure this one.
By the way, none of these pens are expensive.
The new Microsoft Word online picture search feature. (I never thought I’d have a rave thing to say about Word.) You may already have it and don’t know: go to Insert … Pictures … Online Pictures. It’s a great feature, especially if you’re writing a blog with illustrations.
Speaking of which, I adore the Mammoth doc.x converter plug-in for WordPress.org. I’m not fond of writing a blog post online. With Mammoth, I write a post in Word, and then easily upload the file to my blog and presto: there it is.
MasterClass on-line courses. These are extremely well done. I indulged in an all-access pass for one year: James Patterson, Judy Blume, Malcolm Gladwell, Margaret Atwood. The only drawback? Now I’m caught up in my one subject of interest: writing. Although … that new Dan Brown course looks tempting. :-)
Staples (Canada) ARC line of notebooks and accessories. I’ve long been a fan of Levenger CIRCA notebooks and accessories, but they are expensive to have shipped to Canada. I was euphoric to see that Staples in Canada has brought out a similar product that’s very reasonable in price. It’s not nearly as extensive, but what they offer is of exceptional quality. Consequently, I went just a little ARC crazy this year.
I decided to try to write a logline for my next novel because I had wandered into mucky territory in working on my plot. I’ve attempted this for several of my earlier novels, but never successfully. I can write a 500-page novel, but a one-sentence summary? This turns my brain into a pretzel.
What is a logline?
The term logline originated in Hollywood. According to some, film producers would get so many scripts to consider that they took to summarizing the story in one sentence and putting it on the spine of the manuscript so that they could easily find what they were looking for.
A more likely explanation, IMO, is this one, thanks to Ms. Google:
The term “logline” was first used in old Hollywood. The big studios would own hundreds of scripts, and the studio head would keep a log book that recorded concise summaries (or “loglines“) that described each script in the studio’s possession.
A logline (sometimes called the “elevator pitch”) summarizes the essence of a story in one sentence (sometimes two) between 20 – 30 words long.
How hard can that be?
Hard!
Why write a logline?
Writing a logline is a good way of discovering the core of your story.
A logline will help you keep focussed on that core while writing the novel.
A logline will be useful if pitching your book to an agent or publisher, should you need to do so.
A logline will be useful in marketing the novel once it’s published.
I’ve read that it’s best to use an (interesting) adjective + noun structure for any character mentioned in your logline, and to not use their names. (An exception to this last is to name characters of historical significance.)
Here’s Molly, the main character of The Next Novel (working title Raptor Girl):
A feral teen falconer with mysterious powers
Yes, I know: it doesn’t quite fit the two-word rule, but I’m going with it.
Her antagonist, young Master Pete, might be described as:
a predator
(or, simply) the Master
And the interesting adjective? Here are some I’m considering:
vindictive
vengeful
desperate
Although “desperate predator” is interesting, “vindictive Master” is clearer.
Next step: What does my protagonist want?
That’s the million-dollar-question, because my Molly (or any character, for that matter) wants many things:
She wants her father’s respect.
She wants him to come out of his depression, get over his grief.
She wants to save his life.
She wants to solve the mystery of her brothers’ death.
She wants to help her father fulfill her dead brothers’ last wish to compete in Queen Elizabeth’s White Falcon Gala.
She wants to escape Pete’s murderous vengeance.
She wants to save the lives of her raptors.
She wants not to be sent to the gallows for having saved them.
She wants to be a falconer, to live a life with raptors.
She wants to kiss the funny horse whisperer.
She wants to prove to the world that her white falcon is exceptional.
So: how to choose just one?
I began by looking for the one thing that might tie into several others.
This one might be key:
She wants to help her father fulfill her dead brothers’ last wish to compete in Queen Elizabeth’s White Falcon Gala.
Let’s give it the “why” test: Why does she want to do this?
Because:
It would help restore her father’s spirits.
It would honour her dead brothers.
It would prove how amazing her falcon is. (And what an amazing falconer she is, in turn, earning her father’s respect.)
So it’s a fairly central goal, except for one thing. Competing in Queen Elizabeth’s Gala could mean discovery by the Master, from whom she is fleeing.
Last step: the obstacle
So maybe this is the obstacle:
A feral teen falconer with unusual powers is intent on helping her father honour her dead brothers’ last wish by competing in Queen Elizabeth’s White Falcon Gala, although doing so could mean being sent to the gallows by the vindictive Master.
OK. Not bad, although at 41 words it’s far too long. Trimming it back will have to come. Loglines will change over time; they do not have to be written in stone.
After the suspicious deaths of her two brothers, a feral teen falconer with unusual powers must help her broken-hearted father honour her dead brothers’ last wish by competing in Queen Elizabeth’s White Falcon Gala, although doing so could mean being sent to the gallows by their vindictive Master.
Now to test it, to see if it follows the formula
Main character:
After the suspicious deaths of her two brothers, a feral teen falconer with unusual powers must help her broken-hearted father honour her dead brothers’ last wish by competing in Queen Elisabeth’s White Falcon Gala, although doing will likely mean being sent to the gallows by their vindictive Master.
Goal:
After the suspicious deaths of her two brothers, a feral teen falconer with unusual powers must help her broken-hearted father honour her dead brothers’ last wish by competing in Queen Elizabeth’s White Falcon Gala, although doing so will likely mean being sent to the gallows by their vindictive Master.
Obstacle:
After the suspicious deaths of her two brothers, a feral teen falconer with unusual powers must help her broken-hearted father honour her dead brothers’ last wish by competing in Queen Elizabeth’s White Falcon Gala, although doing so will likely mean being sent to the gallows by their vindictive Master.
The interesting thing about this exercise is that it solved a few plot problems. Before, competing in the Gala was something that happened almost by chance, which didn’t feel logical, much less dramatic. Also, the danger of discovery by Master Pete was never even considered. Now that possibility adds tension.
Plot problems outstanding
There are many outstanding plot problems to be solved, including solving the mystery of her brothers’ death and how to dispense with the vengeful Master.
Also, perhaps the one hook that’s most of interest to potential readers is that Molly will become Queen Elizabeth’s Master Falconer.
You can see how challenging it is to write a logline!
I’m a big fan of Save the Cat by Blake Snyder, and I’m looking forward to reading Save the Cat Strikes Back, which I understand has a chapter on loglines.
Speaking of Save the Cat, this post on logline templates for specific genres as defined by Snyder looks interesting. I’ll be exploring it soon.
I’m using Scrivener right now to write my next novel and most everything else I need to write … a speech, a workshop, etc.
Notice I said “right now.” It’s a bit of a love/hate relationship so far. For the short pieces, I jump in frustration to Word fairly quickly … only to recall why Word frustrates me. That said, the newest Word for Mac has an amazing feature — “Insert Online” pictures —which makes crafting an illustrated blog post a breeze. I’ll be using it for blog posts, for sure.
Ergonomic necessities
I love trying new systems (a new To Do List method, new Exercises, etc.), but I’m in systems overload right now. Back problems have forced me to change how I even go about writing. No more cozy in bed for hours with my latte and laptop. No more sitting with a notebook on my lap to write. Now I have to do what I’ve been told for years I should do: get up off the &%*# couch.
In short, I’m learning to adjust to a sit-down/stand-up desk, learning to put a 30-minute timer out of reach so that I have to move to turn it off. In short, there will be no more losing myself for hours in a cramped position while writing, but moving, moving, always moving.
There are often benefits in making changes. For example, I’m learning to dictate while moving. Yeah!
So end of the world? Hardly.
Plotting on Scrivener
Which brings me around to the initial subject of this post: an intriguing YouTube video on plotting with Scrivener. Every day I look for an article on writing to post to my Flipboard magazine. I always read the article to see if I feel it’s worthy, and this one absorbed me for quite some time. I’ve downloaded the template (the download link is toward the bottom of the page), loaded it into Scrivener and am going to give it a try. I’ll let you know what I think — once I stop moving, that is.
