yWriter Comprehensive Help File

This document was recovered from the lost yWriter google sites page, and is still a work in progress

SCENES. How do I?

? add 'notes? to a scene?

Open the scene. Go to notes tab. Once you have added a note, on the scene list, the icon changes from SC to an N icon. [When you add the first scene to any chapter on the main screen, the icon in the chapter list changes from CH to I (contains Information).

? add scenes to a chapter?

Click Scenes>Add multiple scenes' on the main screen and specify the number you want. There?s virtually no limit.

? change an unused scene to a used scene and vice versa?

Click scene>Toggle used/unused

? change the scene order within a chapter?

1) Go to the scene list.
2) Left-click on the scene and hold the button down.
3) Drag the cursor up or down to where you want the scene to be. Release the button.

? combine scenes?

On the screen list on the Main screen select the scenes you want by pressing Ctrl+ the scene you want. Then press. Scene> Combine selected Scenes.
Copy and paste

? complete the scene content page?

(1) Enter the scene title in the long, narrow text box below the viewpoint box.
(2) Below this you will find the description box. Enter a short summary of your scene (if you wish). This summary will form part of your auto-synopsis later. It is also used to generate Scene cards for printing. (If you plan to print scene cards keep your summary under about 40 words.)

? create scenes for characters when they are not 'on stage?

Create a character named character 'Offstage?!

? delete a scene from the Main Screen?

Go to Scene> Remove selected scene(s).
Go to Chapter>Remove selected chapter(s).

? drag scenes from one chapter to another?

From the list of scenes, press down the left mouse button and drag the scene across to the chapter you want. Release mouse button. The scene will now appear as the last scene in this chapter and you can move it to where you want.

? edit a scene?

From within yWriter, right click on the scene you want from the scene list on the main screen and select 'Open content with default RTF editor'. When
you're done, save the scene and close it, then right click again and select
'Finished with external editor'.

?. enter a scene description?

(1) Double click to open a scene from the scene list. Enter information in the description box at the bottom of the page below scene title. Notice the 'Next and 'Previous? tabs at the foot of the page so you can quickly write descriptions for all your scenes as you develop you storyline.
(2) On the main screen click Scene>Create New Scene

?find the scene description?

It is unnamed but easy to find. In the Scene editor window there is text box for the scene title, and below that is a text box for the scene description.

? find a use for the Items tab for?

There are many possibilities. To keep track of ships? movements. Store clues & red herrings (numbered in the order they are going to be used.) Create lists of clothing, jewelry, etc.

? find the scene summaries?

Double click on the chapter title. A pop up box will appear with read only scene summaries. These are the same words that you have written in the bottom text box of the contents screen in the Scene editor window.

? increase the space I want for 'Scene description? (bottom window in scene editor)

Move your cursor until just above 'Viewpoint?. When it changes shape, press left mouse button and drag up.
You can also move the description box to the details tab if you find it distracting.

? insert a scene into the middle of a chapter?

If you're editing a scene and you click 'Edit' then 'Add Scene' it'll create one directly after the current scene. 'Insert Scene' creates one just before.

? insert a new scene between two existing scenes?

(1) Create your new scene. (2) In the Scene list, click and drag it to the proper spot.

? make a certain scene its own chapter?

(1) Create a new chapter and move it to where you want it in the Chapter column on the left by clicking and dragging it to the correct spot in the list.
(2)Then go to the chapter where the scene is (scene view) that you want to have its own chapter and left click on the scene and hold the button down. Drag the cursor to the chapter you want to put the scene in (the one you?ve just created). It's like moving files between folders on your computer. Release the button to drop the scene into the chapter.

? make SCENE CARDS

Scene cards print from the scene description. There is no way to move all
the notes automatically.

? move from or to any scene or chapter quickly in the Scene editor window?

Right at the top of the page you will see two drop-down menus 'Ch' (Chapter) and/or 'Sc' (Scene) which will take you where you want to go.
Go to: http://sites.google.com/site/yWritersj/q/the-scene-editor

? move scenes into different chapters?

1) On the main project scene, left click on the scene you want to move and hold the button down. Drag the cursor to the Chapter in the Chapter list in which you want it to appear. Release the button. It will move to the end of those already present in that chapter. From there, move the scene to it correct position within the chapter.
2) If you prefer, you can drag and drop the scene in the StoryBoard feature. You simply drag the scene to where you want it to go.

? open more than one scene at the same time?

Double-click an entry in the scene list on the main screen. You can't open the same scene window more than once though - if it's open already, double-clicking in the list will bring that scene window to the foreground.

?open all the scene summaries in a chapter?

Double click on the chapter title

? outline my scenes first and pull them into chapters afterward?

You have to have at least one chapter to contain scenes. Suggestion: Mark a chapter as 'Other + Unused' and move it at the very bottom of the chapter list using it a place in which to dump various scenes.

? read all scenes in a chapter in a continuous format?

Select the chapter. In the main menu, click Chapter - Print Selected Chapter(s) .Click Yes The entire chapter will now open in your web browser, formatted and ready to read. (You don?t have to actually print it out!)

? review two scenes side by side?

Open a scene. Click the restore down button at the topmost right hand corner next to the delete button. Resize and drag page to left. Open another scene. Do same thing. You can now see them side by side... every

? restore the contents of one scene?

(If you just want to restore the contents of one scene, rather than mend an entire project, use Tools - View Autobackups and just copy/paste the scene content from the relevant backup.)

?set the status for any scene I want to complete?

Go to Edit selected scene> Details and Set the 'Status' by selecting 'Outline', 'Draft', '1st Edit', '2nd Edit' or 'Done' from the drop-down list.
Select one or more scenes in the Scene List on the main screen, right-click and setting the status.
Display the special list of all scenes in the project, selecting one, some or all of them, and setting the status there. Here?s this?

? set a scene to one side without deleting?

This is where the Toggle used/unused device comes in so handy.
You may create scenes with good ideas but for which you can find no place at the moment. Put them in a ?slush? pile ? you may still want to use them.
Right click you mouse on any scene in the scene list and you will see that you can toggle scenes on or off. If a Scene is still part of your story, it begins with the icon SC. If you toggle it to unused, the SC changes to U [unused]
Some people create a chapter with the title UNUSED. When too many scenes fill up the scene list they move these into this chapter.
TIP! If you create a chapter called UNUSED and toggled as unused, if you move a scene into this chapter, yWriter will regard the scene as unused whether you have toggled the scene unused or not. If you drag a scene into an unused chapter which hasn?t been toggled unused, simply dragging a scene into a Chapter called Unused does not make the scene appear as unused.
"Previous" and "next" buttons will still move you into the scene/chapter despite it being unused and you can still edit it if you want to.
When you export or print, you have the option to include or exclude unused scenes and chapters.
TIP! You will be reminded that a scene is unused because when you open it in the Scene editor the Description block at the bottom of the page has a bright orange/red background.

? spell check a scene?

Right click the scene in the main window and open content with external RTF editor option. Whichever editor is set as your default for .rtf files (Word, OpenOffice.org, or whatever you have installed) will open the scene. Word counts won't be updated until you open and close the scene with
the yWriter scene editor, so be aware of that.

... transfer a scene from another novel I have written to this one?

Answer

? update scene numbers automatically when I insert a new scene?

Answer.

? use Project notes?

The Project notes tab is on -- on the right hand side. It can be used or anything you like: (1) You can copy and paste tips in here to remind you how to take advantage of yWriter (2) For research information you need to find out (example: medication dosages, police procedures), (3) story telling ideas and tips, (4) Reminders (5) Anything you like.

? use scene descriptions and scene details?

Scene description refers to the key events that take place in each chapter scene details are the actual words of your book

? use the scene editor?s "split on * * *" option? From the scene menu?

If you rework scenes, you need to know for what purpose a piece of text is there. If you can?t give a clear answer but don?t want to delete us this. It?s a toggle switch. If you don?t use it you can mark the section as "unused".
Better explanation needed. I toggled this and part of my text vanished but where did it go to. Thank heavens for Ctrl-Z the undo button

? use scene notes?

In the list of scenes, double-click the scene. When the scene
opens, click the Notes tab.2. When viewing the list of scenes, click one and then look in the preview area below. Click the Scene Notes tab.
Scene > Print scene notes

? use the Help Button on the 'Scene editor? page?

When you click Help> Contents this takes you through to the Manual (HTML) This provides detailed information on the following (among other things): (1) Importing a work in progress (2) Importing an outline (3) Importing a single chapter (4) Adding a spell checker (5) Printing a work schedule (6) Backups (7) Restoring a damaged project (8) Running from a memory stick.

? write scenes that are easy to work with?

It?s much easier to work with very short scenes of perhaps less than 200 words
Some of them aren?t really stand alone scenes. You can fix that with a simple checkbox on the scene details form: Append To Previous Scene. When you print chapters out, scenes with this item ticked are printed on the end of the previous scene, without breaks. (This is overridden if you choose to print all the scene details.) The 'append to previous scene' doesn't work across chapter breaks - you can't set it on the first scene in a chapter.

Help I?ve lost a scene!

Exit (WITHOUT SAVING!!) and re-upload the scene, which means you lose no more than 5 minutes of work, if that. It helps to click 'save? a lot. (2) If that happens again, you should be able to CTL-z to get it back. (sometimes multiple CTL-z's depending on how many keys you pressed). If you undo too much, Ctl-y should put it back.

How many words can you have in a scene?

Technically it should be 2 billion words, but that would probably melt your PC.
It's better to keep your scenes under 5000-8000 words, as you can use the 'join to previous scene' checkbox in any scene to create invisible joins. Much easier to find things in shorter scenes than by scrolling through one very long one.

Under Settings>autobackups and punctuation, what does 'create a text file mirror when saving scenes mean? And what is the tick box for?

Answer

When clicking the ?next? button on the scene editing window, is the scene I?m exiting saved at that point?

It definitely saves. One writer says he never uses 'Save? only 'save and exit? or next/prev.

When I press the next button, will it open a new scene in the same chapter?

NO. If there's no existing scene in the current chapter, it goes to the
next scene in the next chapter. If you're at the end of the novel and click Next, it goes back to the beginning of the novel.

When do you mark scenes as unused?

For those occasions where you want to make massive changes, but might want to go back to them without going to a backup. ????

What is an unused scene and how do I 'use it??

You could experiment with creating unused scenes containing your notes about the 'real' scenes.

What does 'Mark known Scenes/Locations/items do?

Answer??

What exactly is the theory behind Action/reaction scene?

In Chapter 4 Swain answers the question on how to build a story.
Each scene, he says, will have a goal, conflict, and disaster.
yWriter refers to this as Action: goal, conflict, outcome. Swain says
that a scene is followed by a sequel which is reaction (to the
disaster), dilemma, and decision. yWriter refers to this as Reaction:
reaction, dilemma, decision. For Swain, the sequel turns the disaster
of one scene into a goal for the next scene. He suggests that a scene
will be at least four pages long with the sequel's length somewhere
between a paragraph and a page."