Quick Reference

I don't know why I never found out about this before. (Probably because I didn't have the dual monitor setup to use it before). Scrivener has a function called "open as quick reference" that opens the current document in an independent window.

"Document," in Scrivener world, is a chunk of text with its own name. It is the lowest order of the nested organizing hierarchy.  Mine are scenes. Actually, I tend to write a full chapter in a document, then use the "Split" function once I'm done to turn it into individual scenes. 

So now I've got the new Gion scene open in the main Scriv window, one of the scenes I've cut and the chapter notes on the other monitor. Much easier to reference back and forth.

Now all I need is a wider monitor to really get some use out of this. My big monitor is connected to the gaming PC and if it wasn't, you know, Windows I'd be tempted to move Scrivener over to there for even more real estate.

***

So far the rewrites are going well and the story is feeling exciting again. But I'll see how it goes; I'm still on her first day in Tokyo. According to the Scapple layout I'm throwing out 8,000 words worth of scenes in a story that was just under 50,000 when I had to stop and rethink. But it isn't so much cutting as it is focusing and adding more intent. So some of the existing scenes may get longer. And I'm combining a few things -- like the Gion sequence, at least as much as I can.

So this is great for me as a writer. It is showing me that I can take what seemed to be a manuscript all tangled up with dependencies -- this scene needs to be here because it gives the information that causes this following scene to happen, etc. -- and break them all and rebuild another set that works just as well. I was starting to get concerned I couldn't do high-level editing.

It is really high-focus stuff, though. I can only do a few hours of it in a day before I need to take a break. Which these days is like as not driving aimlessly around Medici (Just Cause 3) on my big gaming monitor. I finally got the best sports car in the game into the garage. Had to steal a big Army helicopter off the Black Hand and sling the car under it to get it over the mountains...

***

And I still need to do the new covers. Trying to come up with a scheme that will work through the series and give it identity. Lot of work, and I'll be paying for help with all the things I'm not good at anyhow. But I did get a mock-up of the second book that I think might work:

Don't even worry about the Spielberg Gun there. If I go with this I'm doing a face-swap, adding the fedora, painting new hair from scratch, losing the extra belt, changing the colors on the clothing...and that's before getting into lighting to really sell the tunnel.

And I'm playing with the idea of running a filter then hand-painting portions on top of that to give it more of an illustrated and less of a Photoshop Paste-up look.

But that's all secondary. I'm not even assured I'll finish the Kyoto book. Much less write a fourth.