How to Organize Scrivener’s Binder for Novel Writing

Everyone organizes their writing process differently, but one question I’m consistently asked is how I organize my novel and my notes in Scrivener. Though the content changes from book to book, my Binder is pretty consistent. Why? Well, I’ve found these documents to be the most important to have accessible while writing. 

Let’s walk through my Binder and why it works.

Pitch: Authors should always have a pitch. Even if you have an agent and a publisher, you will need to pitch your book to them. The pitch is often the first thing I write. It gives me a solid idea of my book’s themes, content, and commercial viability. 

Titles: I’m always daydreaming titles while writing. Instead of spending too much time trying to decide, I just keep a file and drop them in as I go. They’ll be there at the end, so I can make a final decision. 

Songs: I keep a playlist and Pinterest board ready to go at all times. This helps me get back into the groove if I’ve been in a writing slump or had to go work on another project for a while.

Resources: Articles and other writing tips that I want to keep handy because I know I’ll need them. Right now, I have four articles on how to write spicy scenes. I’m fairly new to writing those. We’re always learning! 

Characters: This is my masterlist of characters. Scrivener has character profile options, but I find it easier to just keep an outline of all my characters together, especially since so many of them connect with each other. I also have a list of character names I’m considering for side characters since this book is still so fresh and in the first draft phase. 

Language: These are phrases or words that match the vibe of my book, but may not come to me super naturally. Think “baroque.” While I know the word, it may not be the first thing I think about when describing a room. It’s something I can add in later while revising. 

World Building: Similarly to my character sheet, I keep an outline of my world building. I have it organized by setting, magic system, and considerations. This page will change the most while I’m first drafting because I tend not to worry about solidifying my world building until I have my story structure solidified. I need to know what my story needs first, and that can change when characters’ throw curve balls at you. I’ll definitely do a more detailed post about world building soon!

Architecture: The architecture of this manuscript is very particular, so I’ve had to do a lot of research for it. I also know I won’t remember everything, so I’ve kept a detailed list, including why I choose certain aspects and not others. 

Manuscript folder 

Outlining folder: Simplified Order: This is my bare bones outline. For example, it’s 292 words right now, whereas my Organized scenes below adds up to 3,971. It helps to have a bare bones version when you’re deep into the middle and the domino effect of plot twists is in full force. I like to reference my foundation and make sure I’m not straying too far.  Organized: These are my “screenplay” versions of my upcoming chapters. I tend to write almost all the dialogue and describe what will happen. This is what I pull from when I start a new chapter. You can more about this process in How I Fast Draft Chapters. Unorganized scenes: these are scenes I’m still trying to figure out. I love them, but they don’t necessarily fit into the story yet. If you think of novel writing like a road trip–where I know where I’m starting, ending, and a few places in between–this document is a couple of tourist places I’d love to stop at and visit, but am unsure if the detour will be worth it. It’s my “maybe.” It often comes down to how my characters change and surprise me as a first draft. In many ways, this document holds all the multi-verses of my book.More scenes: More scenes I’ve come up with while writing. Even more unorganized than the initial unorganized ones I made above. I revisit this page continuously, and combine the scenes with the unorganized, then combine those into the organized. It’s like braiding! Given to CPs: If my chapter is in this folder, it means a critique partner has read and reviewed it. The comments are transferred on and waiting for when I want to revise. Written: These are written chapters I haven’t sent to my CPs yet. Right now, I’m bundling my chapters in threes, so I’m waiting on Chapter Six before I send more off. Drafting: The chapters I’m currently writing!Chapter 6: Where I currently am.Notes: The outline for Chapter 6 that I pulled from my Organized document. I line it up with Chapter 6 and write with them next to each other. I’m almost always in Split View mode. Chapter Titles: A list of titles I will use throughout the book. Notes: Notes that are super important right now. Ones I want to look at first. It’s often an emphasis of a character’s arc. For Natasha: Natasha is currently my only CP on this book right now, so I keep a running document of the questions I’m going to ask her when I send off the chapters. Makes it easy to send it off the second I’m ready, rather than reevaluate the pages for questions. 

Sequel folder: Yes, I already have ideas for a sequel even though I’m in Chapter Six of book 1. After writing two series and 18 novels, I’m pretty good at guessing which content will be better for a first book and what sort of content will need to be saved for when the reader knows the world and characters better. It’s often the twistier, more complicated magic that can’t realistic make it into a first book.

Cut folder: These are scenes that I know no longer fit the book. Whether it’s because I changed a fundamental aspect of who a character was or if I ditched an original concept, these scenes aren’t salvageable. But you never know when they will be the perfect fit for a different book! And guess what? I once used a scene from my Cut folder in the same book once my agent went through it and suggested almost the exact thing I cut out months earlier. Keep everything. 

Anyway, I hope this in-depth look into my writing process helps you with yours. If there’s a piece of them you’d like me to do a deeper dive on, please let me know!

Do you have organization tricks or tips?

I’d love to hear about it in the comments! 

~SAT