Skip to content

Scrivener on Ubuntu

Occasionally, I will install the latest version of Scrivener beta for Linux. It really hasn’t been very useful to me until now. But in messing around with it over the past few days, I can see that it has reached a very usable state. This is important to me, because my MacBook is slowly dying and I don’t want to replace it with another MacBook. I’m just not rich enough for the Apple ecosystem. Besides, I really love using Linux. So every time I use my Mac, I feel like a betrayer.

Anyway, enough of my sad, computer-using angst. Here is a screenshot of the latest port from the Windows version of Scrivener, running on Ubuntu. (Click picture to enlarge.)

This is a scene from my current WIP – Starveyors. I don’t think it will give any spoilers, so feel free to read this unedited, first draft snippet.

This is a stripped down version of Scrivener if you are used to the Apple version, but you know what? It still does 90% of what most writers need from the application. So I think it’s a win. When my MacBook finally croaks, I’l be replacing it with a decent laptop running Ubuntu and be in Geek heaven. I really hope this goes final soon and I can actually buy it for Ubuntu. The beta expiration workaround is getting old.

6 thoughts on “Scrivener on Ubuntu”

  1. Hi, Similar to Kabikaboo is another minimal note-taker called ‘Zim-Wiki’. It’s available for easy install through the download center. I’ve experienced a few hiccups with Kabikaboo, but Zim-Wiki appears to rock solid, and as easy a way to organize a hierarchical outline, or even the entire book. And, do you have any thoughts on Ywriter on Ubuntu (12.04) running under WINE? I want to write using Ubuntu.

    1. Mark – Zim-Wiki looks pretty cool. I’ll have to install and play with it. I have not used Ywriter with WINE. But I can recommend the program I use for novel writing – Plume Creator. A quick search for Plume on this site will pull up om many posts on it. Thanks for your comment!

  2. Benjamin,

    You can find the latest Scrivener for Linux here: http://www.literatureandlatte.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=19838

    But due to the fact that it’s pretty unstable, and not officially supported, you may want to try using something else. I use Plume Creator. Plume is Alpha software, but it runs more stable than Scrivener does on Ubuntu. Plume works very similar to Scrivener.

    You can find Plume Creator here: http://sourceforge.net/projects/plume-creator/

  3. Hi Toni,

    I have looked at both Trelby and Kabikaboo before. Trelby is primarily for screenplays, although I think they have a novel afterthought. Kabikaboo is great for organizing things for a novel, but other than that, it’s not really any better than a simple text editor.

    I wrote my last novel primarily in Gedit using a hierarchical file system. It’s doable, just not as easy as Scrivener.

    The last time I booted into Scrivener on Linux it was back to being twitchy, so I’m back to the Mac for finishing my WIP. I really hope they get the Linux port stable soon.

    Thanks for the comment!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *