Continuity

Continuity is important to novelists. It's jarring for a reader to find that the father is accidentally called by his son's name like I saw in a historical novel recently. Continuity errors creep in so easily, especially if the writer works across the entire manuscript instead of linearly. I've done it and I'm horrified when I catch those types of errors.

I've got a small spiral notebook that records all the names I've used and a brief description of who each character is, but still errors creep in because I can't remember when I've updated it. Sometimes a minor character shows up later in the book and a new, more apt name shows up with them.

What's your techniques for catching this type of error?
How do you keep up with all the people who populate your WIPs?
Do you have any suggestions for the rest of us, other than rereading closely?

Scrivener--Now I Understand!

Scrivener is amazing! I know you've heard that from a lot of writers. Add me to the list. I've blogged about it before--Scrivener! By Golly!--but that was before I really got the hang of some of the best bells and whistles. I first got the program in November 2011, but a dead computer in February delayed me. It's only now that I've had time to experiment and learn what it can do.

Like:

There's nothing like finding the perfect face for a character. Especially if--like me--you aren't very visually oriented.

Here's another one--a photo of a young Samantha beside the first time she appears in the story:

Or this one:

I drew this map after visiting Cartersville, Georgia. It's so close to Cherry Hill, I had to draw the map of it for the files. Without Scrivener, it would just be another piece of paper floating around my study. And who needs that! ; )

So, you can see, I'm enjoying myself even if my forward progress is a bit slow. ; )

How about you? Do you use Scrivener? What's you favorite tool?