Blank Journal Template for Scrivener 3

Attached is a template for Scrivener version 3 that I created to to make setting up new writing journals easier. It includes features for fiction writers.

After seven years of using Scrivener to record my random musings in a project I call my Daily Writing Journal I’m finally getting around to closing this project out and creating separate journals for each year. To simplify this I’ve created a template for my journals which I’m sharing here.

Here’s what’s in it:

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The Courtship of Rich and Margaret

Does Margaret really think a cucumber is better than a man?

This is a scene from one of my works in progress, A Touch of Magic.


“Hello, Yvonne. Is the little woman home?”

“I’m sorry, Rich, but Margaret told me to tell you she’s not here,” Yvonne said with a twinkle. “I’m to tell you she’s gone out, and won’t be back until she’s had enough men to last her the rest of the year.” While she was saying this she grabbed Rich’s arm and pulled him to the hall that led to the back yard.

“Oh, you don’t mind if I wait until she returns, do you?” asked Rich, picking up on her lead. “I’ll just wait out here on the patio, if you don’t mind. Knowing her, she’ll be home soon.”

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The Ride

What if wizards had their own ride-hailing service? Would you want to take a Ryde?

This story of mine was recently published in the anthology A Flash of Dark Volume 3, edited by Scott W. Williams.


One thing that Scott Patton disliked most about attending St. George’s College of Magic was the lack of transportation options. There were no roads through campus, for one thing, only footpaths. In fact the only road that came near the campus was the one that ended in the parking lot in front of the Administration building. Of course, most of the instructional buildings were near there so it made sense for the faculty and staff, but it did nothing for Patton, whose cabin was about as far away from there as you could get and still be on campus. Some students had parking permits and parked their cars in that parking lot, but even if his car hadn’t been totaled in the spring, and his motorcycle crushed in the summer, that wouldn’t solve his problem today. He was simply exhausted, and didn’t feel up to hiking clear across campus to get to his cabin.

Someone had suggested another way. Maybe he should give it a try.

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Where Do Stories Come From?

“Mommy, where do stories come from?”
“Ask your Father, dear.”

Perhaps the most common question people ask writers is where do they get their ideas. It seems like no two authors use the same source. “Walk in a graveyard.” “From my own life.” “Going to art exhibits.” “Watch people and imagine their lives.” “Take long car rides.” “Listen to your family stories.” “Reimagine Greek and Norse mythology.” “Study the masters.” “Visit yard sales.” “Watch the news.” “Hang out in cafes, or bars.” “Watch movies.” “Get drunk.”

Those are just a sample of the answers.

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Markdown Test

Markdown Test

This is a test of using Markdown to create a blog post. This was originally written in Scrivener, using a blog post template that defaults the font to Courier and uses Markdown codes for indicating Headings, Lists, Links, and Bold/Italic formatting. Let’s see how it looks on the website.

Note: The original editing was done in Scrivener. On the website I used the WP Githuber MD plugin to convert from the Markdown format to HTML for display.

You can use this area for plain text writing, or you can use multimarkdown.

This is how to write an H2 subheading in multimarkdown

If you want to write a list using multimarkdown, just do this:

  • List item
  • List item
  • List item

You can create a lower-level H3 subheading like this

You can use multimarkdown to create ordered lists too. Just number each item as shown below. When your content is converted to HTML it will automatically created an ordered list which will be styled by your blog theme’s stylesheet.

  1. List item.
  2. List item.
  3. List item.

If you’d like to create a link using multimarkdown, just do this: anchor text

That will create a link to http://yourlink.com using the text “anchor text.”

Some other things you can do using multimarkdown are making text bold or using italics. You can even create a blockquote like this:

Your blockquote text would go here.

Close out your article by clicking the Compile button above, or go to File>Compile. Click the downward-pointing arrow to expand your compile options.

Check only the blog post you want to compile. From the upper drop-down, choose Format as: Original. From the lower drop-down menu, choose Compile for: MultiMarkdown to Web Page.

Click the Compile button to create the HTML version of your blog post. You can then copy and paste this HTML into your blog platform’s HTML or plain text editor.

Rising from the ashes, again.

It’s been a couple years. Much life has happened in that time, to me and probably to you. It’s time for me to resume an active presence on the Web.

I have been doing a lot of writing of late — over 250,000 words this year alone. I confess they aren’t all good words, but some of them are. In fact some of them are ready to share with my fans, or at least the people who drop by my website. I intend to resume posting my fiction on this website. The best of it will be protected by a “paywall” via Patreon. I hate to do this to you, but I have to eat, too. Plus I intend to offer some unique opportunities to people who have pledged to support me, at least a little.

This post is mostly an effort to get my feet wet at using Patreon. Hey! We all have to start somewhere!

As Bartles & Jaymes used to say, “We thank you for your support.”

Printer Woes

I have this little 140 page document I want to print, so I finally decided to set up my “print server”, a Dell PC running Windows Vista with a HP C4180 all-in-one and a Dell laser printer connected. I spent the morning vacuuming the grills and trying to find cables to connect everything. I’m using my TV as the monitor (I can almost read it without my glasses!) and everything is stuffed into my “entertainment center”.

I couldn’t find a VGA and a USB cable, so I bought replacements. $35. Oh, and while I have lots of paper I want to print this on postcards, so I had to buy more of those. $56. Combine these with some other stuff I got for this project and I’m already $132 in the hole.

The computer works fine, but is painfully slow. Not really an issue, but … Continue reading “Printer Woes”