This question came up during the April session of the Simply Scrivener Special webinar series.
Which project template should I use?
The developers of Scrivener anticipated many different types of material an author might want to write. For each, there is a separate template: Blank, Fiction, Non-fiction, Scriptwriting, Poetry & Lyrics, and Miscellaneous.
If you choose Fiction, there are then three more options: Novel, Novel (with Parts), and Short Story.
For a novel, the Manuscript part...