Imagine if there was a way you could instantly spark new ideas, organize your thoughts and get more done every day.
As a writer, my brain is constantly loaded up with new ideas.
But I’ve found a way to quickly break down my thoughts, sort them out, and get organized, so that I can be productive. With a program called Scapple, I can think clearer, work faster and be more creative.
Besides writing novels, and I also have my own marketing business.
I’m constantly writing marketing materials for my clients.
Some of these are highly technical and complex topics, such as algorithmic trading or dental implants.
Every time I take on a new client, I essentially take a crash course in whatever product or service they sell, as well as the needs and wants of their audience.
It’s an enormous amount of information to process. Then I have to figure out how to write about it intelligently and effectively.
And I need to do it all under deadline.
How NOT to get organized:
I used to print out extensive notes, cut them all up into little scraps, and rearrange them on my desktop until they made some semblance of sense.
It was a monumental undertaking, but it was the only way to handle so much information at once.
But now, I can organize my thoughts right on the computer screen.
Introducing Scapple, your brain’s new best friend.
Scapple is a very cool app from Literature and Latte, the makers of Scrivener (and writers freakin’ love Scrivener, believe me).
It’s not an exaggeration to say that Scapple has transformed the way I write. In fact, I used it to help draft the article you’re reading right now.
The way it works is deceptively simple.
You start with a blank screen, then simply double-click to create a new note, and you can immediately start typing.
Then, you can drag the note anywhere you want on a virtual bulletin board. Rearrange your notes as much as you want, and drag them to create connections between notes.
In just seconds you’ll start having more ideas, and better ideas, then you ever did before.
I can’t recommend Scapple highly enough.
By the way, I have no business connection with the good folks over at Literature and Latte. This is a purely unbiased review.
So check out Scapple. It’s fast, it’s easy, and you can try it for free.
Who knows? You might just love it. Here’s the link:
https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scapple.php
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What’s the diff between scrivener and scapple and why use one vs. the other?
Great question! Scrivener and Scapple are completely different programs. I use both of them constantly, but for different purposes.
Scrivener is essentially a turbocharged word processing program, with plenty of bells and whistles to make it easier to write books. For example, you can drag and drop chapters to rearrange them, have multiple chapters open side-by-side, include your research materials, etc. Probably my favorite feature of Scrivener is the color-changing word count bar that gradually changes from red to green as you approach your target word count.
Scapple, on the other hand, is more like a virtual corkboard. You can create little notes, color code them, drag them around, connect them with dotted lines, etc.
I use Scapple mostly in the initial outlining stages of a project, where I used to use index cards and scraps of paper. Then I switch to Scrivener to write the manuscript.
Hope that helps!
P.S. If you’re looking for a simple, pared-down word processing program, simpler than Scrivener and easier to use than even Microsoft Word, I highly recommend Jarte (http://www.jarte.com/). I use Jarte for almost everything, including writing this comment.