software for creative writing

Book Writing Software (2024): Top 10 for Writers

by Joe Bunting | 23 comments

Writing a book is hard. I've written fifteen books and at some point during each one I had the thought, “There has to be a tool, a piece of book writing software, that would make it easier to reach my writing goals.”

The good news is there  is  book writing software that can make the writing process and meeting your daily goals easier!

(The better news is that once you've found the right software, we have the best resources to help you finish your book, like this book idea worksheet , which will get you started on your book in just a few minutes. Get your free copy here. )

In this article, we will cover the ten best pieces of software for writing a book and look at the pros and cons of each. Click the links below to get our review on the best writing software.

Best Writing Software: Contents

• Google Docs
• Google Sheets OR Microsoft Excel
• ProWritingAid
• Publisher Rocket
• Microsoft Word
• Bonus: Note Taking Apps
• Bonus: Google Drive OR Dropbox

Worst Pieces of Software for Writing a Book

Before we discuss writing software that will help you write a beautiful book, it's important to understand (and eliminate) what will hurt your writing progress. At least while you're writing a book:

• Video Games.  Especially World of Warcraft (always, always, always!) but also Solitaire, Sudoku, Angry Birds, Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes, and Wild Rift/League of Legends.

• Facebook, TikTok, and Other Social Media Software.  Do I really need to say more? Fortunately there's a piece of book writing software for avoiding this very distracting software (see Freedom below). You can't write a book if you spend you writing time publishing social media posts.
• Other Productive Software Not Directly Associated With Your Writing.  Yes, it's good to reconcile your bank account on Quickbooks or make sure you're up to date on your calendar app, but responsible, well-meaning work can easily be an excuse for a quick distraction that turns into a major distraction from writing your book.

Set aside time for your writing every day and then stay focused. If you need a game, make writing your daily word count your game. If you want more “likes” on social media, imagine how great getting five-star reviews on your book will be.

If you need to check your bank balance several times a day, think about what your bank balance will be when you stop checking it constantly, finish your book, and become a successful author. Now let's talk about some book software for authors that can help you with your book writing process.

The 10 Best Pieces of Book Writing Software

First, there is no such thing as the perfect book writing software. No amount of key features or book writing templates or editing features will write a book for you. Still, these ten book writing software options can help. Take a look at the pros and cons of each:

1. Scrivener (Word Processor)

Scrivener  is the premier book writing app made by writers  for  writers. Scrivener's “binder” view allows you to break up your book into chapters and sections and easily reorganize it with drag and drop interface.

You can also get a high-level view of your book using the corkboard and outliner modes, allowing you to view book chapters, sections, or individual scenes as index cards. Project targets let you create word count goals and then track your progress daily. Its composition mode can help you stay focused by removing all the clutter.

Scrivener has formatting features for publishing (e.g. on Amazon or Barnes & Noble), as well as basic features for distraction-free writing, and has templates for novels, nonfiction books, screenplays, and more.

You can read our  full Scrivener review here .

To be fair, Scrivener also has its weaknesses. Formatting is more complicated than it needs to be and collaborating isn't easy, meaning it loses its effectiveness as soon as you bring on an editor (we recommend Google Docs for collaborating).

You can sync with your iPhone/iPad, but only through Dropbox, making it not as easy as it should be. It also has something of a learning curve, especially for its advanced features. But it more than makes up for that by being so helpful in the early stages of the writing process. Again, here are the pros and cons for Scrivener.

Pros of Scrivener:

• Easily manage a large book writing project (or screenplay) in the binder view
• Get a high-level view of your book's structure using corkboard and outliner views
• Manage your writing productivity with project targets and deadlines
• iPhone and iPad app

Cons of Scrivener: 

• Formatting can be overly complicated
• Learning curve
• ​Syncing with Dropbox isn't always easy
• No Android app

We believe in Scrivener so much, we published a book about how creative writers can write more faster using it. It’s called  Scrivener Superpowers .  If you’re using Scrivener or want a tutorial to save yourself time as you learn how to use it for your creative writing, you can  get Scrivener Superpowers here . You can also learn more about how to use the software with one of these resources:

• Scrivener Superpowers  by M.G. Herron
• 3 Reasons I Love Scrivener
• Microsoft Word vs. Scrivener

Cost: $59.99 for Windows, Mac

Scrivener  is the premier book writing app made by writers  for  writers. It's powerful set of tools allow you to write, organize, edit, and publish books.

• Easily manage writing projects
• Made by writers for writers
• Corkboard and outliner views
• Project targets and deadlines
• iPhone and iPad app
• Complicated formatting
• Steep learning curve
• ​Syncing isn't always easy

2. Dabble (Word Processor)

Similar to Scrivener, Dabble is a word processor that gives you the power to organize and rearrange scenes and chapters using drag and drop, manage your word count goals to keep to a deadline, and plot like a pro. (Screenshots seen here are in the optional dark mode.)

Dabble has a plot grid that allows you to easily see a macro view of your story. You can rearrange as needed, find plot holes easily, and make notes on each plot point as detailed as you like. 

Collaboration is easy. You simply add a co-author and they will be sent an invitation. They must also have a subscription or they will only be able to read the document. 

You can insert images in any scene or note, or add title images to chapters or full page images within or between chapters. You can even set cover art for the manuscript. 

Focus mode in Dabble is automatic. Simply start typing and everything else fades away. No need to worry about saving every few minutes either.

Dabble is cloud-based and automatically saves as you go. You can access your manuscripts everywhere: in your browser, on your phone, or in the desktop app. As you're writing, you can make notes and comments.

Don’t want to type? You can dictate. And when you’re done writing, there’s a Read to Me feature that reads your manuscript to you!

Cost : Subscription plans range from $10/month to $20/month; Lifetime access cost is $499; 14-day free trial 

Dabble is a word processor designed specifically for books. It gives you the power to organize and rearrange scenes and chapters using drag and drop, manage your word count goals to keep to a deadline, and plot like a pro. 

• Easy Learning Curve
• Streamlined collaboration
• Cloud-based syncing
• Built-in Dictation
• Easy Exporting
• Word count targets and deadlines
• Plotting tool
• Subscription service
• Lifetime access cost is high
• Only simple formatting options

3. Google Docs (Word Processing)

While Scrivener and Dabble are a great book  writing  software, once you get to editing and getting feedback, it begins to fall short. That's why Google Docs has become my go-to piece of book writing software for collaborating with editors, beta readers, and other writers.

It's free, easy to use, and requires no backups since everything is in the cloud.

Best of all are its collaboration abilities, which allow you to invite your editor to the document and then watch as they make changes, which are tracked in suggestion mode, and leave comments on your story (see screenshot below).

I also like the outline feature in the left sidebar. You can display it by clicking View > Show Outline. Then format the chapters and main sections of your manuscript as headings to make them appear in the document. You can then easily visualize and even click through your book to navigate it. This feature isn't as useful as Scrivener and Dabble's binder, but it makes navigating your book much easier.

While not the best for brainstorming, writing, or organizing your book, Google Docs, the free word processor available in Google Drive, is the single best word processor for collaborating with co-writers, beta readers, or editors.

• Real-time collaboration with editors, beta readers, or other writers
• Suggestion mode
• Outline View
• Few large-document organization features
• No productivity features
• Usually requires an internet connection

4. Google Sheets OR Microsoft Excel (Spreadsheet)

If you’d told me when I was first trying to become a writer that one of my most-used tools in my book writing software toolkit would be a spreadsheet, I would have told you I didn't major in English to have to use a spreadsheet.

But now, as I'm finishing my fifteenth book, I realize that I use spreadsheets almost daily. Spreadsheets allow you to get a sense of the elements of your book at a glance, and when you're working on a 300-page document, distilling it down to useable information becomes very necessary.

You might use spreadsheets for:

• Character tracking
• Breakdown of scenes
• A Foolscap/Beat sheet

Google Sheets is perfect for this because it's free and you can quickly share your documents with your writing partners, editors, or beta readers to get feedback.

Microsoft Excel is another great option, but Excel lacks the real-time editing with other users and is overall lacking in the collaboration functions. Still, if you already have Excel, it's a great way to quickly get started plotting your book or managing your project.

• Real-time Collaboration : Work with editors, beta readers, or co-authors in real-time.
• Speed : It's fast and responsive, which is useful for quickly developing an outline or managing a project.
• Cost-effective : It's so cost-effective it's free!
• Handling External Spreadsheets : Managing spreadsheets from other sources like Excel can be annoying.
• Internet Dependency : Although there's an offline mode, the overall experience is better with an internet connection.

• Familiar : If you already own or have used Microsoft Office, it should be familiar to you.
• Advanced Feature : Excel is slightly more powerful than Google Sheets (although for most writing related tasks, you will likely not need advanced features).
• Offline Access : Unlike Google Sheets, Excel doesn't require an internet connection, which is handy for working on-the-go.
• Cost : Unlike Google Sheets which is free, Excel comes with a cost as part of the Microsoft 365 Office Suite.
• Collaboration : Although Excel has collaborative features, they're more streamlined in Google Sheets.

5. Vellum (Book Formatting/Word Processing)

If you want to turn your book into an eBook, it's not that hard. Scrivener, Word, Pages, they all can format eBooks and print books. But that doesn't mean they'll look good. In fact, it takes a lot of skill and effort to format a printed book that looks good on any of those word processors.

That's why I love Vellum so much.

Vellum makes beautiful books.

Vellum picks up where Scrivener, Word, and Pages leave off, giving you a tool to make great looking eBooks and print books, usually in under an hour. The most important part of this is the previewer (see the image below), which lets you see how each formatting change or book edit you make will appear on Kindle, Fire, iPhone, Nook, and other eReaders.

It also has stripped-down, option-based formatting, which is perfect for designing both eBooks and print books. I really love this writing app!

Vellum is a book formatting tool to quickly and easily create beautiful eBooks and print books, often within an hour. It features a book previewer which allows you to see how your book will look on various eReaders and in print, and offers a simplified, option-based formatting to format beautiful books faster.

• Ease of Use: Easy to navigate and use, even for inexperienced writers.
• Quick Formatting: The simplified, option-based formatting lets you create books in as little as an hour.
• High-Quality Aesthetics: Delivers visually beautiful books.
• Book Previewer Tool: View how your book will appear on various eReaders as you work.
• Platform Limitation: Restricted to Mac users.
• Style Restrictions: Limited design and styling options can be a drawback for some.
• Cost: Higher price point compared to some other formatting software.

6. ProWritingAid (Grammar/Spell Check)

Can a grammar checker replace an editor?

Definitely not. But if you ask Alice Sudlow, our in-house editor, she'll tell you, “If you don’t have access to an editor (or if you do, but you don’t want to hire them to edit your emails or Facebook posts), software that performs grammar checks like  ProWritingAid  is an accessible, affordable alternative.”

If you struggle with grammar mistakes, sentence structure, spelling, or even writing style, ProWritingAid can help. It goes far beyond your built-in spellcheck. You should still learn grammar skills, but ProWritingAid can help you start to see the patterns and grow as a writer.

There's a free version that's very good. It can even be installed into your browser or Word processor, so you can check your grammar wherever you write.

The paid version, just $96 a year with our discount link (33 percent less than Grammarly ‘s price), gives you additional support on sentence structure, style, and vocabulary. Learn more about how writers can get the most out of ProWritingAid here .

• Grammar and Style Correction: Gives "as-you-type" grammar corrections as well as comprehensive style analysis to help you write clearer, more engaging prose.
• Writing Insights: You can learn a lot about your writing style with their detailed reports on readability, sentence structure, and more.
• Integration: You can integrate it with nearly any other writing tool or word processor..
• Subscription Cost: While more affordable than other options, there is a subscription cost for for full access.
• Overwhelming Feedback: Not all the feedback is useful, and without knowledge of the book writing process, you may get distracted by the amount of feedback.
• Internet Requirement: You must have an internet connection for most types of feedback.

• Easy to Use: User-friendly design (slightly more easy to use than ProWritingAid in my opinion).
• Spell-Check and Grammar Check: Detailed spelling and grammar check functionality.
• Goal-Setting Feature: It can help you tailor suggestions based on writing goals.
• Broad Integration: Works with many platforms (the Google Docs integration isn't very good though).
• Cost: While the free plan is robust, the premium plan is more expensive compared to ProWritingAid.
• Google Docs Integration: Lacks a fully functional integration.
• Big Picture Feedback: Does not provide as much overarching edits and style-based feedback as ProWritingAid.

7. Publisher Rocket (Book Marketing App)

How do you know if your book will sell? Wouldn't it be nice to know if there is a market for your book  before  you start writing? How do you find the most readers on Amazon for your published book? For all of these questions, Publisher Rocket has an answer.

Read our  full Publisher Rocket review here .

Publisher Rocket a book marketing research tool that helps you understand what readers actually want  and  how to connect with them with your books. Here are some things you can discover in Publisher Rocket:

• What phrases Amazon buyers are actually searching for.
• The psychology of how readers choose to buy books.
• How much money readers are spending on certain niches and topics.
• How much money specific books are making per month (for example, books that might be competing with yours).

I've personally used Publisher Rocket to take mid-list books to #1 bestseller status on Amazon. It's an amazing tool, perfect for anyone working on a book.

We also like KD Spy, another Amazon research tool (check out our review here ). You can compare and contrast the two tools below:

• Target Popular Keywords: Helps writers find specific phrases readers are using on Amazon to discover books.
• Market Understanding: Offers a clear view of what books are competing with yours (and how many sales they make, historically).
• Category Identification: Find the most relevant Amazon categories for your book.
• Cross-Platform Compatibility: Works on both PCs and Macs.
• Learning Curve: May require some time and education to fully utilize all features.
• Cost: One-time purchase required.
• Amazon-Centric: Tailored for Amazon, may not be as effective for other platforms.

• Amazon Category Research : Analyze Amazon book categories to understand competition and profitability.
• Keyword Tools : Provides niche and seed keywords to help in market understanding.
• Competition Snapshot : Ability to get an overview of your competitors.
• Traffic Light System : Visual cues to understand keyword difficulty and category competitiveness.
• Limited Keyword Data : Doesn't provide Amazon search numbers.
• Browser Extension : Limited to browser usage, not a standalone software.
• Basic Keyword Tools: Keyword functionalities are quite basic compared to Publisher Rocket.
• Dependent on Amazon : Insights are tailored for Amazon, may not apply to other platforms.

8. Atticus (Book Formatting/Word Processing)

Once you've  written  your book, how do you turn it into something people can actually  read ? If you're self-publishing, you need a tool like Atticus.

Atticus is a book formatting and word processing tool that allows you to take your manuscript and quickly and easily format it for publishing, including print and eBook formats.

But Atticus is more that just a formatter. It's an all-in-one solution for writers, giving you the organization features of Scrivener, the cloud collaboration features of Google Docs,  and  the book formatting abilities of Vellum. Yes, that's just as cool as it sounds!

It also works on all platforms, whether you're working on Windows, Mac, Chromebook, or even Linux. While I still love and use Vellum (see below), the benefit of Atticus is that it works for everyone, not just Mac users. Learn more about Atticus in my full review.

• All-in-One Solution : Combines writing and formatting capabilities seamlessly.
• Multi-Platform Availability : Available on PC, Mac, Linux, and Chromebook.
• Cost-Effective : Priced lower than some competitors like Vellum while offering similar capabilities

Cons: 

• Learning Curve : While intuitive, mastering advanced features may require some time.
• New Software : Being relatively new, it might have fewer features compared to established software, with some desired features planned for future updates.
• Crude Formatting : Out of the box formatting options aren't as refined as Vellum and will require more tweaking.

Atticus is a complete book writing and formatting tool that merges the capabilities of an online word processor with plug-and-play book formatting features. It can function as a one-stop solution for authors, with collaboration tools between authors, editors, and book designers, to take your book from idea to finished, publishable product.

9. Freedom (Productivity App)

One question writers always ask me is, “How can I stay focused enough to finish what I write?” I have too many thoughts on that for this article, but as far as using writing software to encourage focus goes, I recommend Freedom. It's my favorite writing tool for a distraction-free writing experience.

Freedom allows you to enter focus mode, blocking your biggest distractions, including both websites and mobile apps, for a set period of time. So when you mindlessly escape your book to scroll through Facebook, you'll find the site won't load.

You can also schedule recurring sessions, so that at a scheduled time (e.g. Mondays from 6 am to 10 am), you won’t be able to access the sites on your blocklist, even if you try.

There are other apps like this that we've written about before, notably Self-Control for Mac and StayFocused for Windows. But Freedom goes further, allowing you to block sites on both your computer  and  your phone, and enabling recurring sessions.

You can learn more about  how writers can get the most out of Freedom on our review here .

Freedom is a productivity app that can help writers in stay focused by blocking distracting websites and mobile apps for a designated period or during specific schedules, like during your morning writing time.

• Distraction Blocking : Helps you concentrate on writing by blocking distractions.
• Scheduled Focus Sessions : Schedule your focus mode in advance for recurring undistracted writing sessions.
• Mobile Device Syncing : Getting it working with mobile devices can be a bit challenging.
• Bypass Possibility : It's possible to find ways around its blockers if one tries hard enough.

Cost: $29 / year for Pro version, which I use and recommend (there's also a free trial available)

10. Microsoft Word (Word Processor)

Again: no piece of book writing software is going to write your book for you. If you're looking for the next “shiny new toy” to help you write your book, it might be an excuse to avoid doing the hard work of writing.

Most of us learned how to use computers by using Microsoft Word, or a program like it. Word gets the job done. Sure, Scrivener is a little better for books, but I wrote my first book on Word and it's fine.

I wrote a long review of  the pros and cons of using Word to write books —the main problem is that as your document grows, it becomes more and more difficult to work with, whereas with Scrivener, it becomes easier—but the point is, if Word is what you have, don't let that stop you from finishing your book.

You don't need a fancy tool to plan a book in the early stages, like if you draft a character description for your protagonist, or in the editing stages, like if you want to make comments on scene details.

As Jeff Elkins said in  his review of Word , “If you aren’t already putting in the hard work to be the kind of writer you want to be, it doesn’t matter what new writing software you invest in. It is not going to help.”

Microsoft Word is the industry standard word processing software. While limited in its features for writing books, it provides a familiar platform for writers to create, share, and review their work.

• Familiar Interface : Known and used by many, making collaboration easier.
• Extensive Features : Provides a wide range of writing and formatting tools.
• Cost : Requires a subscription to Microsoft 365.
• Lack of Book Writing Features : Despite its extensive feature set, it lacks specialized tools for book writing included with applications like Scrivener or Dabble.
• Lack of Real-Time Collaboration : While it offers some collaboration features, it falls short in real-time collaborative editing compared to some cloud-native applications like Google Docs.

Cost: $69 / year with Microsoft 365 (includes Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook, and other Microsoft software)

Note:  Another word processor we can't recommend is yWriter, which while it has a cult following and was designed by a fellow novelist, seems to be out of development and has no support for Mac/OSX.

BONUS #1: Google Drive OR Dropbox (Cloud Backup)

There's nothing worse that finishing a great writing session and going to save your work, then your computer crashes and you discover you've lost your best writing. It's enough to send any writer into the throes of grief and depression. There's a simple solution, though: save a copy of ALL your writing to the cloud using Google Drive, Dropbox, or BOTH.

Here's my process:  I have all my Scrivener book files saved on a folder on Google Drive on my computer. Then, Scrivener automatically backs up every few minutes to a Dropbox folder. That way, I know I will always have the document I need, no matter what happens. Best of all, both of these apps have free plans, making it extremely foolish NOT to use them.

Pros of Drive:

• Universal cloud backup
• Automatically syncs
• Free or inexpensive

Cons of Drive:

• Setup is a bit tricky the first time
• Maybe you WANT to lose your writing when your computer crashes

Cost: Free with Paid options

Sign up for Google Drive here »

Sign up for Dropbox here »

BONUS #2: iOS Notes OR Evernote OR Ulysses OR Bear (Note Taking)

When I'm writing for a long time, I like to get up and go for a walk. Sometimes, I wish I could continue writing while I walk. Other times, I find myself brainstorming ideas while I'm not at my computer, typing it up on my phone, and then wanting to easily move what I wrote to my laptop without having to go through the hassle of emailing it back and forth to myself.

That's where note taking apps like Ulysses and Evernote come in.

iOS Notes, Ulysses ,  Evernote , and  Bear  are note taking apps that allow you to sync between all your devices, so you have what you need wherever you are, ideal for jotting down ideas or thinking through your book while you're out and about.

While Scrivener recently released an iOS app which allows you to sync between devices, their process is clunky and requires you to purchase both the mobile and desktop apps. These note taking apps make the process much more seamless.

Like Scrivener, they all have a binder-like sidebar that allows you to move documents around. None of them are designed specifically for books, so they may take a little configuring to make it work for you, but once you have one set up the way you want, it's very intuitive.

And while I hate Markdown, a markup language that allows you to format your text, I actually like the paired-down formatting options Ulysses and Bear give, especially for brainstorming. Overall, I wouldn't convert from Scrivener to any of these apps, but as supplements, they work great.

Pros of Evernote:

• Sync notes between devices
• Write as you go
• Capture ideas

Cons of Evernote:

• Free plan is limited
• Becomes clunky as you get more notes
• Better for note taking than managing a large writing project

iOS Notes  Cost: Free with any iOS device

Get the app here »

Evernote  Cost: Free with Paid options

Ulysses Cost: $45 Note: Ulysses is only available for Mac, either in the App Store or from their website.

Bear Cost: $1.49 monthly / $14.99 yearly Note:  Bear is also only available for Mac, either in the App Store or from their website.

Bonus #3: Hemingway App (Style Checker)

Most writers think their sentences are easier to read than they are. You think you're coming across clearly, that your writing makes sense, but then someone reads it and comes away with something totally different. Hemingway App (sometimes called Hemingway Editor) helps with that.

Hemingway App is a free website that checks readability. You can copy and paste your writing into the website's input box. Then it will grade your writing based on your used of   adverbs , passive voice , and sentences as units . Hemingway App is useful, but even the best book writing software can’t replace a good editor.

Pros of Hemingway:

• Fast, easy style advice

Cons of Hemingway:

• Somewhat arbitrary advice
• Hemingway himself would fail

Cost: Free!

Try out Hemingway App here »

The 30+ Tools Every Writer Needs

Writing is no different, and while the right software is important, it's just one of the many tools you need as a writer.

That's why we published a list of all of our favorite tools for everything related to being a writer.

You can  download our tools for writers guide for free here .

The Most Essential Book Writing Software

Imagine it's three thousand years ago.

You're sitting around a campfire with some of your family and friends, tired from the day's work. You begin to tell a story. It's one you've told before, told a hundred times. You can see faces around the fire, the children with their eyes wide, the men and women who have heard the story before but still enjoy it because it brings meaning to their lives.

Storytellers—writers—have existed since the beginning of humanity. They didn’t always have book writing software. They didn't have the printing press or the internet. They didn't always even have the alphabet to write their stories down. Instead, storytellers had their imaginations, their voices, and a rapt audience. Y

ou don’t need book writing software to write a great story. Book writing software can make the process a little faster or easier, but the truth is great stories will always exist, no matter what kind of software we have.

The only three things essential to writing a great book:

• Your imagination
• A desire to tell your story

That’s all you need. Do you want to write your book? If you do, then do it. Write it. Nothing is stopping you except you.  So go get writing.

What pieces of book writing software do you use?  Let us know in the comments .

The world is full of powerful software to help you write your book. In the end, though, all these tools are just that—tools. The stories you imagine and your discipline to put the words on the page are far more important.

So for this practice, set aside all the fancy software. Eliminate all the bells and whistles and open up your computer's native text editor (TextEdit for Mac or Notepad for Windows).

Take fifteen minutes to write without any distractions.

Continue your work in progress, or start a new story based on this prompt: A student discovers one of their teachers is not what they appear to be.

When you're done, share your writing practice in the Pro Practice Workshop . And if you share, be sure to leave feedback for your fellow writers!

Joe Bunting

Joe Bunting is an author and the leader of The Write Practice community. He is also the author of the new book Crowdsourcing Paris , a real life adventure story set in France. It was a #1 New Release on Amazon. Follow him on Instagram (@jhbunting).

Want best-seller coaching? Book Joe here.

Work with Joe Bunting?

WSJ Bestselling author, founder of The Write Practice, and book coach with 14+ years experience. Joe Bunting specializes in working with Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Historical Fiction, How To, Literary Fiction, Memoir, Mystery, Nonfiction, Science Fiction, and Self Help books. Sound like a good fit for you?

23 Comments

Dragon NaturallySpeaking software. Following a comprehensive beat sheet (created in a screenwriting format), I dictate into MS Word. Grammarly sits to the side. 1000-2000 words a day. Requires a larger screen (mine is a modest 24″) and some computing horsepower. Very effective.

Good one! Personally I use dictation every once in a while, but it’s not my thing. Glad it’s working for you!

What is the type of writing you do? And when your ready to publish how does it work? Do you send a file containing the said work or print off, etc?

I just purchased ProWriting Aid. Its editor, grammar, sentence structure and readability scales. There’s a free app but i wanted the pro. I’m excited about this. I’ve had scrivener on my computer for 2 years and still use word. Learning Scrivener is overwhelming to me.

My practice from my current WIP:

“Please, Captain, may we take his body? Merk did have family.” Harper twisted his cloak in his hands.

“Aye. Do that.” Adam walked to the door, tapping the flat of the sword against his hand as he walked, doing his best to insure the blade touched the plate as little as possible. As he passed the bar, he grabbed the waiting pitcher of ale.

Outside, he found Carter leaning against the tavern wall, staring up at the moon. Without looking over, Carter spoke. “Come to arrest me?”

Adam snorted and passed him the pitcher. “No. Not for killing that filth. You know why his bounty was so high so quickly, right?”

Carter took a sip of the ale. “He carried it with him.”

“Gods, no. He built it entirely here.” Adam leaned against the wall of the building opposite of Carter. He pulled a small pouch and rolled a cigarette. “He killed the governor’s daughter in an argument.”

Carter looked over at his friend. “I thought the Thieves’ Guild didn’t go for killing?” “They don’t. They only took him on as a favor to his previous guild.”

“Let me guess: Assassins.”

Adam pointed at Carter. “Got it first try.”

He offered the cigarette to Carter who declined with a raised hand. Putting it between his lips, he patted his pockets. Carter leaned forward and snapped his fingers, producing a flame for the cigarette. Adam drew in a bit of smoke and nodded at his friend.

“Thanks.” He exhaled a pleasant smelling ring of smoke and glanced at Carter’s empty hand. “You can do magic now?”

“No.” Carter shook his head. “This is due to a minor cantrip on a scroll.”

This was cool and pulled me right into the story. Good work!

My personal favorite is Microsoft Word. It’s easy to use and I’m comfortable with it.

Here’s my practice. I’d appreciate comments/feedback! —

Julia finally slammed into the ground at the bottom of the steps. Swallowing back a sob, she pushed up on her hands and knees and cringed at the shooting pain in her shoulder, which had taken the brunt of the fall.

“Get back here, you little brat,” Sean shouted behind her.

A gasp shuddered into her lungs and she leapt to her feet and broke into a sprint up the sidewalk. She looked over her shoulder. He was still behind her. He shoved people out of his way and kicked over a baby stroller as he charged toward her.

Julia clamped a hand over her mouth as the baby in the stroller wailed. The woman who’d been pushing the stroller righted it and hushed the baby, stroking its head.

Julia kept pumping her legs, but nausea swished in her stomach and a sharp ache started in her chest. How could Sean treat people like that?

She’d probably never know the answer.

Cutting down an alleyway, Julia darted through puddles from the recent rain and chugged quick breaths.

Sean’s yelling voice echoed behind her. “When I get my hands on you I’m going to finish what I started.”

Breathing hard, she yanked herself to a stop by the rung of a ladder and lunged onto it, taking the rungs two at a time. She was shaking. Sean had tried to hurt her once. She wouldn’t let him do it again. Not without fighting back this time.

The ladder quivered and she stopped climbing to stare down between her shoes. Sean ascended, his hands quick on the rungs, his cold blue eyes swallowing her.

A gulp of air rolled down her throat and she pulled herself up faster. She kept her eyes focused high, fixing them on the handles at the top of the ladder. Memories slid their tentacles into her mind. Images of Sean looming over her, holding her down. Her own voice pleading.

Tears welled in Julia’s eyes and she blinked them away. She just had to focus on going up. To the roof. Once she reached it, she could either go into the building through a roof entrance or she could jump to the next building. She’d make it. She had to.

Julia curled her tired, chafed fingers around the vertical handles at the top of the ladder and hauled herself up onto the roof.

Then a hand clamped around her ankle.

I personally use a combination of my notebook, Google docs, Grammarly, Hemmingway editor, and thoughts and critiques from my writing friends. Best thing about paper: it doesn’t have internet.

So true! I find that I can write faster on a computer, but I love the focus you get from writing on paper.

It helps me, sometimes, I think, to feel the words as I write them, which I don’t get when I type. It does make it more of a pain to edit, though it does make it harder to permanently delete whole sections of writing and start over from scratch.

I use Scrivener to write and format my books and recommend it though the learning curve is steep if you want to take full advantage of all its features. But I would recommend the following items.

Pro Writing Aid does so much more than Grammarly. Checks for style, diction, overused words, and things I’d never even heard of before I started using it. there is a free version but the paid version which syncs with Scrivener is a less expensive subscription than Grammarly.

Excel is so limited. I’d recommend Airtable. It is far more flexible and I use it for everything from characters, to accounting, to research, tracking promotions, reviews and more. There are templates for authors. It is intuitive and will do just about anything you want. Support is excellent. Airtable is has a free version (which is all I need), sharable and collaborative.

Then there is Aeon Timeline for plotting and planning. It helps keep your story in order. It is flexible, customizable, and syncs with both Scrivener and Ulysses. It is not expensive and not a subscription, pay once and it is yours.

Rescue time has a free version that helps you track your time spent on various tasks and websites and is useful to prove to the IRS that you are indeed a full time author.

I use all these things daily in my writing. Check them out. They will probably help you too.

I would recommend using FocusWriter to block out any notifications and other programs which are running

Thanks for the great article. I use Google Docs right now and will check into some of the resources you recommended. I am an Astrologer and am writing my first basic Astrology book. I wasn’t clear whether the free handout for novelists would be appropriate for this project, and would appreciate your feedback.

The Hemmingway App no longer free. But $19.99 isn’t much to pay.

Wattpad (which isn’t on the list) is a very good writing site.

Have you had a look at The Novel Factory? Full disclosure, it’s made by me and my tiny team – but it’s starting to really get traction as we get so much positive feedback about how it’s helped people make progress like never before…

Another one you might like to try is http://wavemaker.co.uk It’s new and helps with the planning stages in particular. Disclaimer- I wrote it, but thought you’d like to have a look at least.

For free versions, try One Note. I’ve been using it for years.

I want to write a technical book that would be formatted such that it would be like a textbook and have horizontal bars that would separate topics. I need the ability to repeat essential elements of techniques repeatedly and denote them in various fashions. Any software come to mind for that?

This is all so confusing for a first-time historical fiction novel writer like me. So far, I’ve been using Libre Office, but I’m finding that it’s becoming hard to keep my files organized. I am not great with computers, and am easily overwhelmed with so many options.

What would be the single best software for me to stay organized, have an automatic back-up system, and collaborate with others?

Totally get it, and great question.

For everything you described, Dabble would be the best bet ( https://thewritepractice.com/dabble ). Good luck!

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• Testimonials

Typewriter. Ring-binder. Scrapbook. Scrivener combines all the tools you need to craft your first draft, from nascent notion to final full stop.

Watch the video

Scrivener takes tools familiar to writers everywhere and integrates them in new and exciting ways.

Why use Scrivener?

Start a new chapter: Scrivener 3 is now available for macOS and Windows.

Find out more

No matter what you write, Scrivener brings together all of your notes, research and writing so that it’s always at hand.

For writing. And writing. And writing.

Scrivener is the go-to app for writers of all kinds, used every day by best-selling novelists, screenwriters, non-fiction writers, students, academics, lawyers, journalists, translators and more. Scrivener won’t tell you how to write—it simply provides everything you need to start writing and keep writing. When Scrivener launched in 2007, book writing apps were a niche category. Since then, many apps for writers, especially novel writing software, have appeared (and just as many have disappeared again). Scrivener remains one of the most popular and loved, with millions of downloads, hundreds of thousands of users, and numerous best-selling and lauded books written in it. Be sure to check out our testimonials page to hear from some of our users who think that Scrivener is the best software for writing a book, screenplay or other long text.

Grow your manuscript your way

Tailor-made for long writing projects, Scrivener banishes page fright by allowing you to compose your text in any order, in sections as large or small as you like. Got a great idea but don’t know where it fits? Write when inspiration strikes and find its place later. Grow your manuscript organically, idea by idea.

See the forest or the trees

Whether you plan or plunge, Scrivener works your way: hammer out every last detail before typing a word, or carve out a draft and restructure later. Or mix your methods and do a bit of both. In Scrivener, everything you write is integrated into an easy-to-use project outline. So working with an overview of your manuscript is only ever a click away, and turning Chapter Four into Chapter One is as simple as drag and drop.

Research within reach

Need to refer to research? In Scrivener, your background material is always at hand, and you can open it right next to your work. Write a description based on a photograph. Transcribe an interview. Take notes about a PDF file or web page. Or check for consistency by referencing an earlier chapter alongside the one in progress.

Getting it out there

Once you’re ready to share your work with the world, compile everything into a single document for printing, self-publishing, or exporting to popular formats such as Word, PDF, Final Draft or plain text. You can even share using different formatting, so that you can write in your favorite font and still satisfy those submission guidelines.

Scrivener 3.3.1 Requires macOS 10.13+ Release Notes

Scrivener 3.1.4.1 Requires Windows 8+ Minimum display resolution 1024x768px Release Notes

Scrivener 1.2.2 Requires iOS 11+ Release Notes

Show Scrivener for macOS macOS Windows iOS

From Blank Page to Book—Your Way

Scrivener unites everything you need to write, research and arrange long documents in a single, powerful app. At its heart is a simple ring-binder metaphor that allows you to gather your material and flick between different parts of your manuscript, notes and references with ease. Break your text into manageable sections of any size and leave Scrivener to stitch them together. Integrated outlining tools let you plan everything first or restructure later. And as your project grows, you’ll find that Scrivener grows with it.

Piece it Together

Switch instantly between editing your manuscript one section at a time and together as a whole. Working on a long text is easier when you break it into smaller pieces, and Scrivener gives you complete control over how small (or large) those pieces are. Novelists can write each scene in a separate document, or whole chapters as one; theses can be split into arguments or chapters or paragraphs. However you take it apart, Scrivener’s innovative “Scrivenings” mode lets you put the pieces together and edit them as though they were all part of a single document.

Familiar Text Editing

If you’ve ever used a word processor, you’ll feel right at home in Scrivener’s editor. Add bold, italics and all the other formatting you’d expect. Highlight phrases that need work. Add comments and annotations. Make lists, or insert images and tables. And by switching to page view, you can see the pages fill up as you type.

With Styles, you can indent a block quote and make its text smaller at the same time—or make a heading large and bold with one click. You can even tell Scrivener to format all your block quotes one way when creating an ebook and another way when producing a PDF.

Already have writing or research in other apps? You can import all sorts of files into your Scrivener projects, including Word and OpenOffice documents, plain text files, Final Draft scripts, images, PDF documents, movies, sound files and web pages.

The corkboard is one of the writer’s most familiar planning tools. But before Scrivener, if you moved index cards on the board, you’d also have to reshuffle the sections those cards represented in your manuscript to reflect your changes. In Scrivener, every section of your project is attached to a virtual index card. Scrivener’s corkboard lets you step back and work with just the synopses you’ve written on the cards—and when you move them, you’re rearranging your manuscript at the same time.

The corkboard is one of the writer’s most familiar planning tools. But before Scrivener, if you moved index cards on the board, you’d also have to reshuffle the sections those cards represented in your manuscript to reflect your changes. In Scrivener, every section of your project is attached to a virtual index card. Scrivener’s corkboard lets you step back and work with just the synopses you’ve written on the cards—and when you move them, you’re rearranging your manuscript at the same time.

Find the structure of your writing with Scrivener’s powerful outliner. Like the corkboard, the outliner lets you work with an overview of a chapter, a part, or even your whole manuscript—but puts even more information at your fingertips. Arrange your draft however you want using folders and subfolders. Review synopses of what you’ve written so far or summarise what you need to write next. Check word counts. View meta-data. And when you suddenly realise your epilogue would work better as a prologue? No problem. Easily reorganise everything using drag and drop.

Templates and Icons

Create templates that can be used as the basis for new sections in your project, such as character or location sheets for planning a novel. Assign custom icons to your templates (or to any section) to make them easier to pick out in the outline.

Screenwriting

Whether you’re drafting the next blockbuster, writing for the stage, or penning a comic, Scrivener’s familiar scriptwriting features deal with the formatting, leaving you free to focus on the action. And when you’re done, you can print directly from Scrivener or export to industry-standard software such as Final Draft.

Tools for Non-Fiction

With support for footnotes and the ability to import and refer to a library of research, Scrivener is the ideal tool for non-fiction writers, too. Templates for writing papers in MLA, APA and other common formats are available right out of the box.

Whether you’re drafting the next blockbuster, writing for the stage, or penning a comic, Scrivener’s familiar scriptwriting features deal with the formatting, leaving you free to focus on the action. And when you’re done, you can print directly from Scrivener or export to industry-standard software such as Final Draft.

View Documents Side by Side

Need to check for consistency with something you wrote in Chapter Two? Writing a description based on a photo? Scrivener makes it easy. You can split Scrivener’s editor and have up to four different documents open in the same project window at once. Whether you’re translating an interview, transcribing an audio file or transforming rushed notes into careful prose, your research is always within reach.

Need to check for consistency with something you wrote in Chapter Two? Writing a description based on a photo? Scrivener makes it easy. You can split Scrivener’s editor and have up to four different documents open in the same project window at once. Whether you’re translating an interview, transcribing an audio file or transforming rushed notes into careful prose, your research is always within reach.

Full-Screen Writing

Blank out the rest of the world while you write—or at least the rest of the screen. One click and everything else fades away, leaving just you and your words. Prefer an old-school green-text-on-black theme while you write? Or perhaps a countryside scene backdrop to serve as inspiration? Scrivener’s full-screen composition mode is fully customisable; how it looks is up to you. This is  your  writing space, so get comfortable and get typing.

Blank out the rest of the world while you write—or at least the rest of the screen. One click and everything else fades away, leaving just you and your words. Prefer an old-school green-text-on-black theme while you write? Or perhaps a countryside scene backdrop to serve as inspiration? Scrivener’s full-screen composition mode is fully customisable; how it looks is up to you. This is  your  writing space, so get comfortable and get typing.

Set Targets and Track Progress

Set word or character targets for your entire manuscript or for sections within it—or set a target for the current writing session. Keep track of word and character counts as you write, and then check the Writing History to see how much you have written each day.

Use meta-data to record and find useful information. Colour-code sections using labels, track the progress of revisions by applying a “Status”, and assign keywords for anything you want. You can even create your own meta-data fields to suit the demands of your project.

Collections

Collections let you create lists of related documents from anywhere in your project. Build smart lists that automatically show you documents that need more work, or scenes written from a particular point of view. Want to track which chapters are flashbacks? Just throw them in a “Flashbacks” collection.

Use meta-data to record and find useful information. Colour-code sections using labels, track the progress of revisions by applying a “Status”, and assign keywords for anything you want. You can even create your own meta-data fields to suit the demands of your project.

Collections let you create lists of related documents from anywhere in your project. Build smart lists that automatically show you documents that need more work, or scenes written from a particular point of view. Want to track which chapters are flashbacks? Just throw them in a “Flashbacks” collection.

You Choose the Tools

Different writing projects demand different thought processes, and Scrivener’s flexible interface adapts to the work at hand. Arrange index cards along coloured lines on the corkboard—perfect for tracking different storylines or thematic developments. Experiment and place cards anywhere in freeform mode. Choose which columns are shown in the outliner—or create your own. Use the corkboard or outliner to browse through research while you write. Make a mess or keep it simple. Whatever you’re writing, you get to choose the tools that work for you, and everything else stays out of your way.

Different writing projects demand different thought processes, and Scrivener’s flexible interface adapts to the work at hand. Arrange index cards along coloured lines on the corkboard—perfect for tracking different storylines or thematic developments. Experiment and place cards anywhere in freeform mode. Choose which columns are shown in the outliner—or create your own. Use the corkboard or outliner to browse through research while you write. Make a mess or keep it simple. Whatever you’re writing, you get to choose the tools that work for you, and everything else stays out of your way.

Print, Export, Publish

Scrivener has everything you need to prepare your manuscript for sharing with the world. Write in your favourite font and then print using formatting tailored to submission guidelines. Export to a wide variety of file formats, including Microsoft Word, RTF and OpenOffice. Save screenplays to Final Draft format with script notes intact. Generate PDF files ready for self-publishing. Create Epub and Kindle ebooks to sell on iBooks or Amazon, or for proof-reading on an e-reader. You can even use MultiMarkdown for LaTeX support and more.

Never be afraid of rewrites. Before embarking on a major revision, take a “Snapshot” of a section and you’ll be able to return to the earlier version whenever you want. Can’t remember what you changed? The “Compare” feature will show you.

Auto-Save and Backups

Scrivener automatically saves while you work, meaning you never have to worry about when you last hit “Save”. And for extra peace of mind, Scrivener can automatically back up your projects whenever they are opened or closed—perfect for ensuring there’s always a recent backup stashed safely away.

Write Anywhere

Take your manuscript with you wherever you go. Scrivener is available for iOS, macOS and Windows, so you can spread out on a big screen, sync using Dropbox or transfer with iTunes, and then pluck your book from your pocket and carry on writing on your iPhone. (Licences sold separately.)

Never be afraid of rewrites. Before embarking on a major revision, take a “Snapshot” of a section and you’ll be able to return to the earlier version whenever you want. Can’t remember what you changed? The “Compare” feature will show you.

Scrivener automatically saves while you work, meaning you never have to worry about when you last hit “Save”. And for extra peace of mind, Scrivener can automatically back up your projects whenever they are opened or closed—perfect for ensuring there’s always a recent backup stashed safely away.

Scrivener unites everything you need to write, research and arrange long documents in a single, powerful app. At its heart is a simple ring-binder metaphor that allows you to gather your material and flick between different parts of your manuscript, notes and references with ease. Break your text into manageable sections of any size and leave Scrivener to stitch them together. Integrated outlining tools let you plan everything first or restructure later. And as your project grows, you’ll find that Scrivener grows with it.

Switch instantly between editing your manuscript one section at a time and together as a whole. Working on a long text is easier when you break it into smaller pieces, and Scrivener gives you complete control over how small (or large) those pieces are. Novelists can write each scene in a separate document, or whole chapters as one; theses can be split into arguments or chapters or paragraphs. However you take it apart, Scrivener’s innovative “Scrivenings” mode lets you put the pieces together and edit them as though they were all part of a single document.

If you’ve ever used a word processor, you’ll feel right at home in Scrivener’s editor. Add bold, italics and all the other formatting you’d expect. Highlight phrases that need work. Add comments and annotations. Make lists, or insert images and tables. And by switching to page view, you can see the pages fill up as you type.

Formatting Presets

Already have writing or research in other apps? You can import all sorts of files into your Scrivener projects, including Word documents, plain text files, Final Draft scripts, images, PDF documents, movies, sound files and web pages.

Find the structure of your writing with Scrivener’s powerful outliner. Like the corkboard, the outliner lets you work with an overview of a chapter, a part, or even your whole manuscript—but puts even more information at your fingertips. Arrange your draft however you want using folders and subfolders. Review synopses of what you’ve written so far or summarise what you need to write next. Check word counts. View meta-data. And when you suddenly realise your epilogue would work better as a prologue? No problem. Easily reorganise everything using drag and drop.

Scrivener has everything you need to prepare your manuscript for sharing with the world. Write in your favourite font and then print using formatting tailored to submission guidelines. Export to a wide variety of file formats, including Microsoft Word, RTF and PDF. Save screenplays to Final Draft format with script notes intact. Create Epub and Kindle e-books to sell on Amazon or elsewhere, or for proof-reading on an e-reader. You can even use MultiMarkdown for LaTeX support and more.

Scrivener unites everything you need to write, research and arrange long documents in a single, powerful app. At its heart is a simple ring-binder metaphor that allows you to gather your material and flick between different parts of your manuscript, notes and references with ease. Break your text into manageable sections of any size and leave Scrivener to stitch them together. Integrated outlining tools let you plan everything first or restructure later. And as your project grows, you’ll find that Scrivener grows with it

Scrivener unites everything you need to write, research and arrange long documents in a single, powerful app. At its heart is a simple ring-binder metaphor that allows you to gather your material and flick between different parts of your manuscript, notes and references with ease. Break your text into manageable sections of any size and leave Scrivener to stitch them together. Integrated outlining tools let you plan everything first or restructure later. And as your project grows, you’ll find that Scrivener grows with it

Find the structure of your writing with Scrivener’s powerful outlining tools. Work with an overview of a chapter, a part, or even your whole manuscript. Arrange your draft however you want using folders and subfolders. Review synopses of what you’ve written so far or summarise what you need to write next. Mark sections with a status such as “To Do” and assign coloured labels. And when you suddenly realise your epilogue would work better as a prologue? No problem. Easily reorganise everything using drag and drop.

Find the structure of your writing with Scrivener’s powerful outlining tools. Work with an overview of a chapter, a part, or even your whole manuscript. Arrange your draft however you want using folders and subfolders. Review synopses of what you’ve written so far or summarise what you need to write next. Mark sections with a status such as “To Do” and assign coloured labels. And when you suddenly realise your epilogue would work better as a prologue? No problem. Easily reorganise everything using drag and drop.

Set word or character targets for your manuscript or for the current writing session. See how much you’ve written in each section with the live word and character counter, which updates as you type.

With support for footnotes and the ability to import and refer to a library of research, Scrivener is the ideal tool for non-fiction writers, too.

If you’ve ever used a word processor, you’ll feel right at home in Scrivener’s editor. Add bold, italics and all the other formatting you’d expect. Highlight phrases that need work. Add comments and annotations. Make lists and insert images. You can even add your favourite text tools to Scrivener’s special keyboard row, putting them right at your fingertips.

Eyes tired of staring at a bright screen? Switch to Scrivener’s gorgeous Dark Mode. The whole app transforms so that all of your text becomes light against a dark background.

Eyes tired of staring at a bright screen? Switch to Scrivener’s gorgeous Dark Mode. The whole app transforms so that all of your text becomes light against a dark background.

Share your manuscript with the world. Export to Microsoft Word or as an RTF file. Save screenplays to Final Draft format with script notes intact. Generate a PDF. Scrivener lets you customise how your exported manuscript looks, so you can write in your favourite font and then print using formatting tailored to submission guidelines.

Scriptwriting

The corkboard is one of the writer’s most familiar planning tools. But before Scrivener, if you moved index cards on the board, you’d also have to reshuffle the sections those cards represented in your manuscript to reflect your changes. In Scrivener, every section of your project is attached to a virtual index card. Scrivener’s corkboard lets you step back and work with just the synopses you’ve written on the cards—and when you move them, you’re rearranging your manuscript at the same time. ( iPad Only )

The corkboard is one of the writer’s most familiar planning tools. But before Scrivener, if you moved index cards on the board, you’d also have to reshuffle the sections those cards represented in your manuscript to reflect your changes. In Scrivener, every section of your project is attached to a virtual index card. Scrivener’s corkboard lets you step back and work with just the synopses you’ve written on the cards—and when you move them, you’re rearranging your manuscript at the same time. (iPad Only)

Need to check for consistency with something you wrote in Chapter Two? Writing a description based on a photo? Scrivener makes it easy. Using the “Quick Reference” feature, you can view two different documents at once. Whether you’re translating an interview, transcribing an audio file or transforming rushed notes into careful prose, your research is always within reach. ( iPad Only )

Need to check for consistency with something you wrote in Chapter Two? Writing a description based on a photo? Scrivener makes it easy. Using the “Quick Reference” feature, you can view two different documents at once. Whether you’re translating an interview, transcribing an audio file or transforming rushed notes into careful prose, your research is always within reach. (iPad Only)

Use meta-data to record and find useful information. You can colour code sections using labels, and you can track the progress of revisions by applying a “Status” such as “To Do” or “First Draft”.

Find and Replace

Pull down in the documents list to search the whole project for a phrase, or bring up the editor’s Find bar to find and replace text in the current document.

Who uses Scrivener?

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Book Writing Software to Help You Create, Organize, and Edit Your Manuscript

Writing a book is no cakewalk. I ought to know—I’ve done it nearly 200 times.

But plenty of quality tools help make this challenge easier.

The right book writing software can help you:

• Organize your writing
• Gain self-confidence
• Write more crisply

Software writing programs you may want to check out:

(Full disclosure: If you buy any of these, I get a small commission at no cost to you. But these tools have helped enough writers to where I would recommend them even if I didn’t get a dime!)

**Editor’s Note: Since the initial publishing of this post, ChatGPT has emerged and changed the way people research, write drafts, and create content. However, this post stands as one that help you accomplish the three goals listed above. For more on ChatGPT and its effect on the publishing industry, stay tuned!**

• 15 Book Writing Software Programs That Can Make Your Life Easier

1. Scrivener

Scrivener is the ultimate book-organization tool.

It allows you to view your notes, research, outline , and writing all in one place, and you can print your whole manuscript with the click of your mouse.

There’s a bit of a learning curve, but Scrivener comes with tutorials, and many other such aids are easily found online.

It may look overwhelming at first (I’m still learning it myself), but it’s worth the time and effort.

Just give yourself time to get familiar with the basics.

• Virtual corkboard feature for note cards organization
• Drag & drop outliner
• Works with Windows, Mac, iPad, and iPhone
• Easily applicable within Microsoft Word and many other programs
• Steep learning curve*

*I benefited from great teaching programs like Learn Scrivener Fast , plus Scrivener itself comes with a built-in tutorial.

Price: $60 for Mac and Windows

Click here to buy Scrivener .

2. google docs.

Google Docs is a great collaborative tool. My team and I are literally a thousand miles from each other, and we use this program virtually every day.

It’s a free, standard word processor that allows multiple people to work on the same document simultaneously. I’m working on this document in Google Docs right now.

Just as with Track Changes in Word, an agent or editor or accountability partner can help fine-tune your work-in-progress in Suggestion Mode. You accept or reject the suggestions, and you can both comment in the margin.

Other advantages:

• Easily share your work-in-progress via email or a link
• Access from any device
• Performance slows when tracking changes on documents of 80 or more pages
• Unable to toggle between Tracked Changes and Final Version without accepting all the changes

Price: Free

Click here to start using Google Docs .

Freedom allows you to temporarily block apps, websites, and social media across all your devices so you can focus on writing (don’t worry, people can still reach you in an emergency).

You can even schedule the app to work automatically when you need it most — when you’re writing.

If you’re like me, you’ll be glad for the freedom from online distractions where “just a few seconds” turns into hours of unproductive net surfing. Freedom can help you focus and increase your productivity.

And it works on all devices.

Cost: $8.99 per month, $39 per year, or a $199 lifetime fee.

Want to block distractions while you write?

Click here to get Freedom .

4. prowritingaid.

ProWritingAid offers grammar, style, and writing suggestions as you write—for you to accept — or reject — at the click of a button.

It integrates with the apps and programs you use most, like:

• Google Docs
• Google Chrome
• Microsoft Word

Other pros:

• Detailed explanations
• Built-in Thesaurus
• Context-focused grammar checker
• Free version
• You need a premium account to access its best features

Price: $30 per month, $120 for 1 year, or $399 for life

I recommend trying the free version first.

Click here to get more info on ProWritingAid .

5. grammarly.

Similar to ProWritingAid , Grammarly can help fine-tune your writing.

It automatically checks spelling and grammar, whether you’re writing a book or an email.

The premium version also:

• Checks sentence structure
• Monitors word choice
• Guards against plagiarism
• Examines style
• And much more
• Google Chrome plugin for easy use on the web
• No Scrivener integration
• Doesn’t work on mobile devices

Cost: $30 per month, $60 per quarter, or $144 per year.

Try the free version first.

Click here to get Grammarly .

6. Novel Factory

A creative writing software that guides you through the novel writing process. 

Novel Factory prompts you to:

• Write your story’s premise
• Develop characters
• Follow the Hero’s Journey outline 

It offers: 

• A built-in word processor
• A split screen view

The Novel Factory is a progressive web app, which means it works in a browser, but you can also download it to your local machine – both Windows and Mac.

Cost: Starts at $7.50 per month, with discounts for annual memberships.

Click here to start using Novel Factory .

7. hemingway editor.

Focuses less on grammar and spelling and more on writing style. 

It highlights: 

• Sentences to be edited, whether lengthy and complex, passive, or unnecessary 
• Overused words
• Easy to understand and use 
• Suggests alternatives to overused words
• Allows text formatting
• Teaches much more concise, straightforward writing
• Suggests edits and offers tips to improve overall writing style
• Ranks your writing by grade level
• Eliminates most adverbs
• Doesn’t take voice or style into account

Cost: Free if used on the Hemingway Editor website (you can then copy/paste into your document), $19.99 to purchase your own version.

Click here to start using Hemingway Editor .

8. Evernote

A note taking app that allows you to:  

• Sync with other devices
• Share notes with anyone who has access to your account
• Save screenshots, web articles, and PDFs in one place
• Search easily within the program 
• Customize templates
• Scan and save documents
• Integrate with other programs (like Google Docs)

Cost: Basic Evernote free, Premium $14.99/month, Business $17.99/month

Click here to start using Evernote .

Designed by a writer for writers , yWriter is a word processor that helps organize your novel into scenes and chapters. 

The program: 

• Tracks words per chapter and total word count 
• Allows for the breakdown of scenes, note-taking, character description, and scene details and goals under separate tabs within each chapter

YWriter currently runs only within Windows.

Click here to start using yWriter .

10. ulysses.

A simple word-processing software for Mac users.

• A distraction-free interface
• Saves all your writing in one spot
• Easily sync documents with other devices
• Split-screen view
• Auto-save and backup
• Allows you to set and track writing goals
• Allows you to publish directly to WordPress and Medium

Con: does not assist in developing characters or plot .

Cost: App download free, subscription $5.99/month or $39.99/year

Click here to start using Ulysses .

Allows your to professionally format books for publication. 

Available for Mac users only, the software is free, but you must purchase a package before exporting a file for publication. 

• Allows you to design and format a book 
• A variety of styles
• Easy import capabilities
• Editing within the app
• Allows preview of print or e-books 
• Easy export
• Allows unlimited exports, depending on program purchased
• Not word processor
• More expensive than similar tools
• Available only for Mac 

Cost: $199.99 for publishing unlimited e-books, $249.99 for publishing unlimited e-books and paperbacks

Click here to start using Vellum .

12. focus writer.

A bare-bones word processor. 

In full-screen mode, toolbars disappear until you scroll over them. 

• Simple, customizable design
• Allows you to track writing goals (by time or word count)
• Available for text only
• No spell check

Click here to start using FocusWriter .

13. milanote.

Hailed as “Evernote for creatives,” a visual story-telling tool for Mac users.

It enables you to: 

• Organize notes all in one place
• Use as a whiteboard or storyboard
• Upload images
• Save images, text, and weblinks
• Upload images and text from your phone

Other Pros: 

• Flexible drag and drop 
• Allows team collaboration
• Limited export options: PDF, PNG image, Word file, or plain text
• Available only on Mac and the web

Cost: Basic version free, premium version $9.99/month

Click here to start using Milanote .

14. fastpencil.

Offers tools for self-publishing. 

• Write within the platform or upload a manuscript
• Format your book
• Publish in e-book and print (ISBN and retail barcode included)
• Distribute and sell your book worldwide
• Manage sales and royalties
• Cannot use offline
• Expensive beyond writing, designing, and formatting 

Cost: Free, with additional paid publishing packages

Click here to start using FastPencil .

15. bibisco.

…an all in one project management tool for your novel. 

It acts as a word processor, organizer, and a creativity guide all at the same time.

For Outliners, bibisco allows creativity in your organization. You can interview your characters, create a timeline of events, and track your chapters in one place. 

It works for Mac, Windows, and Linux. 

• Creative tools to flesh out characters, places, items, and events in your story world
• Free version without many restrictions
• Easy to use, almost no learning curve
• Simple design 
• Great organizational tool for Outliners
• 30-day money-back return policy
• Paid version says “pay what you want,” but the minimum is 15 euro, which will be a little more in US dollars 
• Open-source software still receiving updates (be sure to save often, even with the autosave feature)
• No mobile app 

bibisco has a free version and a premium version that starts at $47 for a one-time purchase.

Click here to start using bibisco .

Faith-Based Words and Phrases

What You and I Can Learn From Patricia Raybon

A Guest Blog from Stephen King—Yes, that Stephen King

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Home / Book Writing / Best Book Writing Software 2024 [Writing, Editing & Focus]

Best Book Writing Software 2024 [Writing, Editing & Focus]

As an author, finding the right book writing software can make a world of difference in your book writing process . The best tools can save you time, reduce frustration, and even make the long journey of writing a novel or nonfiction book more enjoyable.

Bottom Line : After years of experience and thorough testing, I’ve found that Atticus is the best book writing software available. It’s not just a great writing program, but it’s also excellent for formatting. For those seeking a free word processor to make your writing process easier, I recommend Google Docs.

• The best free and paid book writing software (plus the cost and pros/cons of each)
• The best book editing software
• Other software every writer should have (to help with everything from focus to book marketing)

Table of contents

• 1. Atticus: Editor's Choice
• 2. Scrivener: Best for Pure Writing
• 3. Sudowrite: Best AI Book Writing Software
• 4. Google Docs: Best for Collaboration
• 5. Microsoft Word
• 8. Apple Pages
• 10. Squibler
• Book Writing Software We Don't Recommend
• Best Book Writing Software Comparison Table
• The Best Book Editing Software
• Other Software Every Writer Should Have

Why am I Qualified to write about the Best Book Writing Software?

Let's face it, there are many people out there that write these kind of articles by just doing some research on what others say, and regurgitating it out without actually trying the best writing software themselves (or worse, have AI write it for them). That's not the case here.

As someone who's been publishing books for over 13 years, I've seen many book writing apps come and go. Some seemed promising, while others never quite enhanced the writing process as they promised.

As a matter of fact, while I was working for Apple, I was given one of the first ever copies of Scrivener (a writing software we'll discuss a bit later). Over the years, I've truly tried many writing apps for my own book creation, including some free book writing software options.

However, there's a lot more to the writing process than just dabbling in a novel writing software. I have certain preferences that other authors don't agree with and vice-versa. What works for me might not work for you.

So, in order to create a top-notch review of the best book writing software programs, I sent out surveys to my readers, and talked to some heavy-hitting authors in the industry – many of which I have been a consultant to as well.

Based on my observations, the results from those surveys, and talking with some of the most well-known authors out there, I feel very strongly that this is a subject I can truly tackle.

So, with that, let's jump into a list of what I think is the best overall writing software in the industry and I'll even try to break them down into best categories based on their strengths.

Atticus is the best all-in-one novel writing software for writing and formatting a book . It provides full capabilities for both of these tasks and works on Mac, Windows, Linux, and Chromebook. If Scrivener, Google Docs, and Vellum had a baby, its name would be Atticus.

Can I write a book in Atticus? Absolutely! It’s built with goal tracking and other tools that make writing in Atticus a way to increase your writing momentum.

How much does Atticus cost? Atticus is a one-time fee of $147 USD. That includes all future updates, which you will receive at no extra cost. Forever. No subscriptions.

Pros for using Atticus to write a novel:

• Available on all platforms
• More affordable than alternatives
• Easy to use
• Combines features of Vellum and Scrivener
• Works as a formatting software and a word processor

Cons for using Atticus to write a novel:

• Not all features are available at launch

Why not Vellum? Atticus is not only better and more feature-rich than Vellum, but it’s also over $102 cheaper. For a detailed comparison, check out our Vellum vs Atticus article .

In the end, I really like this software. It’s clean and super easy to use. Because it can handle both writing and formatting, this is my go-to software and the one I will use for the rest of my writing life.

Scrivener is an amazing creative software developed by Literature & Latte that lets you view multiple documents at once, set writing goals, leave yourself brainstorming comments for later, and even import research files to keep on hand. Scrivener's extensive features allow authors to refine their writing style, making it an invaluable tool for serious writers.

What is the most complicated program for writing a book? The most complicated program for writing a book is Scrivener in my experience. It’s inexpensive and its myriad features more than make up the price tag.

Read my more in-depth review of Scrivener version 3.0 .

How much does Scrivener cost?

• Scrivener costs $49 (one-time) for Mac or Windows.
• It’s $19.99 for iOS devices (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch).
• If you use both Windows and Mac, you can buy the combined bundle for a discounted price of $80. You get a separate license for each platform.
• Reduced pricing of $41.65 is available for “students & academics.”
• Click Here , and then use Kindlepreneur’s unique discount code ( KINDLEPRENEUR ) to get 20% OFF your purchase.

Follow these steps to use my discount coupon.

Before you purchase it, you can try Scrivener’s full trial for 30 working days, for free. 30 working days means that Scrivener only counts the trial days when you actually open the app and work on it.

Within Scrivener, you open projects, not documents. Its developers realized that one project itself can entail endless files and folders and spreadsheets, so they made it incredibly simple to navigate through multiple documents within the same Scrivener project. Also, you can find some excellent Scrivener templates for just about every creative writing form out there.

Unfortunately, when I imported a TXT file into Scrivener, it seemed to undo all italics I had in the file. I had no formatting problems when importing DOCXs or RTFs.

Pros of using Scrivener:

• Organizes entire projects in one file with easy access to countless documents and research
• Corkboard with index cards, split-screen, and outliner working views makes it ideal for longer or more complicated works
• Comments, notes, and synopses are all simple to make for future reference
• Composition Mode erases all distractions and lets you write on a screen of nothing but text
• Customizable toolbar
• More affordable than its competitors
• Can export (or “compile”) projects as EPUB, MOBI, PDF , RTF, RTFD, DOC, DOCX, OTD, HTML, TXT, or even FDX, MD, or FOUNTAIN files

Cons of using Scrivener:

• Can open DOCX files but not DOC files or ODT files
• No real-time collaboration or co-author capabilities
• There’s a learning curve to learn all of Scrivener’s advanced features (check out this crash course tutorial on Scrivener)

One of my favorite aspects of Scrivener is that you can customize the toolbar.

Some authors will want the Dictionary feature on their toolbar, while others want the Insert feature. When editing, you may add the Comment button to your toolbar, or the Add button when you’re first compiling your project.

Sudowrite is a powerful AI writing tool specifically designed for fiction authors. It offers a comprehensive suite of features to assist writers throughout the entire creative process, from brainstorming to editing. Sudowrite's AI-driven features ensure that authors can focus on the actual writing, enhancing creativity and productivity.

• $19/month for 225,000 credits per month
• $29/month for 1,000,000 credits per month
• $59/month for 1,000,000 credits per month
• Extensive feature set tailored for fiction writing
• Story Engine for guided novel creation
• Excellent tools for first drafts, revisions, and brainstorming
• No content restrictions, suitable for all genres
• Unique features like “Show Don’t Tell” rewrite and plot twist generator
• Interface can be overwhelming with numerous features
• Higher price point compared to some alternatives
• Some features may need refinement

Key Features:

• Story Engine for step-by-step novel creation
• First Draft and Guided Write for prose generation
• Expand and Rewrite tools for enhancing existing text
• Brainstorming tools for various story elements
• Canvas for organizing notes and outlining

Sudowrite stands out as one of the best AI tools for fiction authors, offering a guided experience that doesn’t require extensive prompt engineering skills. While it may have a steeper learning curve due to its many features, it provides unparalleled support for fiction writing, making it an excellent choice for authors looking to integrate AI into their creative process.

Google Docs is a useful browser-based writing app that is free and available to anyone with a Google account. However, Google Docs may not be able to handle a lengthy manuscript.

Our team uses Google Docs for writing our blog posts because it’s the easiest way we’ve found to all work on one document at the same time, add comments, see revisions, and even chat. (Google spreadsheets can also be a useful tool, especially for outlining.)

What is the best free software for writing a book? The best free software for writing projects is Google Docs, if your book is short. Apple Pages or yWriter may be better for longer books, as far as the free stuff goes.

Read my more in-depth discussion on writing a book in Google Docs .

Many users experience major lag when editing a document with more than 15,000 words — not even half the length of a novel.

I’ve known authors who used Google Docs because it was free and convenient, then had to give it up. Why? Because you have to wait five seconds for every sentence to appear after you type it once you surpass 15k-25k words.

Pros for using Google Docs to write a novel:

• Autosaves every change you make and every version of your manuscript along the way
• Free to use with a Google account
• Accessible on any device
• Built-in Headings and Title functions make navigating your document simple using the table of contents
• Designed with real-time collaboration in mind
• Probably the most convenient word processor on this list, especially for bloggers and coworkers

Cons for using Google Docs to write a novel:

• Cannot handle large documents (15,000 words plus) without huge latency problems
• Cannot export to PDF at a higher word count
• The grammar checker is not as robust as MS Word, let alone Grammarly or ProWritingAid

As you can see by this screenshot, Google Docs offers a whole host of formatting options, constant autosaving (as long as you’re online), and extensive sharing/collaboration capabilities.

Microsoft Word is the industry-standard word processor — for better or worse. When you ask the average person what they think of when you say word processing, a majority will say MS Word.

What software do most writers use? Most writers probably use MS Word because it is the gold standard of word processors, even if it shouldn't be (yep, I said it).

The famous DOC and DOCX file formats come from Microsoft's ubiquitous software. Many publishers ask for manuscripts to be submitted in DOC or DOCX files, and nothing else. (It's easy to convert another file format into DOC or DOCX.)

Can I write a book in Microsoft Word? Yes, you can write a book in Word. However, I would not recommend it.

Read my more in-depth instructions to use Microsoft Word to write books .

My biggest problem for Word? It was designed for writing anything — not specifically for writing novels or long nonfiction books. It was not created by authors, nor for authors.

Word is tolerable for shorter works; however, if you're really looking for the best book writing software, Word does not measure up to its competitors.

Interesting fact: Stephen King uses MS Word to draft his book manuscripts. He uses Final Draft to write screenplays.

How much does Word cost? Microsoft Word costs $139.99 as a one-time purchase. You can also spend $6.99/month (or more) for a subscription to Microsoft 365, which includes Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook, and 1 TB of cloud storage on the OneDrive.

You (and up to 5 other people) can try out Microsoft Office for FREE during a 1-month trial.

Pros for using Word to write a novel:

• “What you see is what you get” formatting
• Many book editors prefer Word documents (DOC, DOCX)
• Comes with a bunch of handy templates for books, essays, resumes… you name it!
• It's industry-standard, so you'll find this software on public library computers and company computers and everywhere in between

Cons for using Word to write a novel:

• Difficult to use if you don't work in a linear fashion
• Cumbersome for writing lengthy novels and other books
• Must use a separate tool, such as Calibre, to export as ebook (EPUB/MOBI, etc.)
• Updates every few years, which creates a brand new learning curve each time

Simon Hayes (AKA Spacejock) developed yWriter to be the best free, standalone app for fiction writing.

It encourages writers to write scenes, not chapters — since scenes are smaller and more manageable. Also, you can input data into multiple fields concerning each scene and chapter. This provides authors with a wealth of raw data they can analyze at any time.

You can even set goals for words per day or words per hour.

Read my more in-depth review of yWriter .

How much does yWriter cost?

• Free on Windows/macOS
• $3.99 on Android
• $4.99 on iOS

All in all, yWriter is great for authors who love analyzing how many chapters each character is in, how many scenes are in each chapter, etc. For authors who don't care about that, this may sound foreign. But I know a lot of writers who pour over the metadata of their novel almost as much as they pour over the actual story.

Pros for using yWriter to write a novel:

• Breaks down novels into chapters and scenes
• Stores snapshot backups of your work automatically
• Great tools for character development
• Offers the data-hungry author a wealth of useful data points

Cons for using yWriter to write a novel:

• Does not come with templates
• Doesn't export EPUBs or Amazon Kindle's native file format
• Not for minimalist writers
• Not the most elegant design — looks dated

Ulysses is a simple, clean, yet customizable app for writing longer projects. Your work syncs automatically between your devices, or you can choose to store work locally. Ulysses also offers light and dark modes, allowing users to customize their writing environment for better comfort.

Unfortunately, Ulysses works only on Apple products.

The price has gone up in recent years. Ulysses now costs $5.99/month or $49.99/year. They also offer a free 2-week trial.

Read my more in-depth review of Ulysses , as well as my comparison to Scrivener .

Pros for using Ulysses to write a novel:

• Clean interface for distraction-free writing
• Drag and drop functionality concerning scenes and chapters (called the library)
• Ability to add filters to scenes and chapters
• Export to PDF, DOCX, HTML, or EPUB with ease

Cons for using Ulysses to write a novel:

• Only available on Apple devices (macOS and iOS)
• Price is a yearly or monthly subscription model, instead of one-time
• No collaboration functionality
• No built-in templates (though you can find them online)
• Steep learning curve if you are not familiar with markdown
• Not available for PC users

Pages is Apple’s free text editor which lets you write, edit, comment, and collaborate. It is streamlined, yet versatile, offering a distraction-free writing experience.

Like most basic word processing programs, Pages can apply text styles and formatting to your words. You can insert images, graphs, and more. And they look great with Pages’ layouts.

Similar to Google Docs, Pages allows real-time collaboration via iCloud. The original author can decide who is allowed to edit or view only.

However, Pages is all about making every page look fantastic — hence the name. It’s not meant to be a strong word processor.

Pages is free for anyone with an Apple account from the Apple Store. Pages comes pre-installed on Apple devices.

Pros for using Pages to write a novel:

• Probably the easiest-to-use word processor on this list
• Absolutely free with every Mac or iOS device (Or use it on a browser )
• Has helpful “Track Changes” and “Smart Annotations” features
• Comment features can be used by an author trying to organize their thoughts or a collaborator editing the work

Cons of using Pages to write a novel:

• Every real-time collaborator in Pages needs an Apple ID
• Lacks a Draft View that displays text without page headers or footers
• Not meant to process words, so much as produce good-looking pages

As you can tell from this apple.com screenshot, Pages works cross-platform and seamlessly collaborates between devices.

This beautiful display (Novlr's best feature) shows Novlr's simple word processing in Night Mode. From Novlr's website.

Novlr is a simple word processor with just a few added perks.

The Novlr Proof Reader (grammar and spell check) is on par with Grammarly, which is amazing — a lot better than Google Docs or MS Word. And Novlr offers in-app writing courses to help get the most out of its features.

It doesn't come with story templates like other premium word processors. And its formatting options are surprisingly limited.

A subscription to Novlr costs $10/month or $100/year. They also offer a 2-week trial for free — no credit card required. In my estimation, though, Novlr is not worth the money.

Pros for using Novlr to write a novel:

• Constant autosaving
• Can sync with Google Drive and Dropbox
• Offers Day, Evening, and Night mode to set the mood with color schemes
• Tracks progress with the Analytics tab
• Works both online and offline

Cons for using Novlr to write a novel:

• Limited formatting options, including for front matter and back matter and print-friendly formatting
• The analytics tab is nice but very limited — only gives stats for today, this month, and this year
• No collaborative editing

If you'd like to learn more, I have a full Novlr review you can check out.

Squibler is another tool that many authors use for writing books, plotting, and managing their projects. It features several appealing features such as a clean organizational system, writing templates, and more.

It is built more as a project management system, meaning it’s ideal for authors who work on big interconnected stories together.

You can also use it to write virtually any kind of written material, from technical writing to novels to a screenplay.

But how much does Squibler cost? Well, it’s a little pricey at $9.99/month with no lifetime price. That means you’re paying $120 every year. This is why we recommend Atticus which has a lifetime price of $147, meaning you’ll never have to pay for it ever again, and all future updates come at no extra cost.

Read my more in-depth review of Squibler .

Pros for using Squibler to write a novel:

• Great organizational features
• It has a lot of writing templates for all sorts of writing types and styles
• It exports to any file format that you need

Cons for using Squibler to write a novel:

• It’s expensive
• There’s no distraction-free mode or dark mode
• The app can lag a bit
• It lacks advanced formatting features

While the following software options have their merits, we believe there are better alternatives available:

• Bibisco : While it offers character-focused tools, Scrivener provides a more comprehensive writing experience.
• Vellum : Atticus offers similar formatting capabilities at a lower price point and works on all platforms.
• FocusWriter : While it provides a distraction-free writing environment, other options like Scrivener's Composition Mode offer similar features with more robust writing tools.
• LibreOffice : Although it's free, Google Docs provides a more modern and collaborative writing experience.

For more detailed reviews of these software options, check out our full reviews: Bibisco Review , Vellum Review , FocusWriter Review .

The importance of good editing cannot be understated. While editing software can never replace a real-life editor, these softwares can noticeably improve your writing.

Editing and proofreading software can fix typos, check grammar, and improve your readability. Premium editing software even checks for clichés and passive voice.

Here are the 4 best book editing softwares that any book writer would benefit from:

• ProWritingAid ($40/year or $140/lifetime) checks not only your spelling and grammar, but checks for readability, filler words, and clichés. It works with Scrivener, Google Docs, and MS Word. Check out my full review of ProWritingAid .
• Grammarly ($0 for the free version, $139.95/year for the premium version) is a neat editing tool that finds spelling, punctuation, and grammar mistakes (as well as handy explanations) that works as a browser extension or an app to download onto your computer. Even the free version is a great tool for any writer. Check out my full review of Grammarly .
• Hemingway Editor is a FREE website and desktop app that highlights and color codes passive voice, adverbs, complex words, and difficult-to-read sentences. However, it does not give you suggestions on how to improve your writing. Check out my full review of Hemingway .
• AutoCrit ($0 for free version, $30/month or $297/year for premium version) is an online book editing software that offers writers unique editing suggestions. AutoCrit shows writers surprisingly insightful problems to change in their book, such as filler words, unintentional repetition, shifts in verb tense, and even slow paced paragraphs. You can compare your work to famous authors’ works, too, with AutoCrit’s Summary Score — which is why AutoCrit is ideal for fiction writers in particular. Check out my full review of AutoCrit .

Plus, if you're looking for a plagiarism checker, here is a free one you can use. Grammarly includes one as well with their paid version, while ProWritingAid using a token system.

Writing your book is only half the battle.

If you'd like to learn more about the art of writing, be sure to check out the masters at MasterClass . These courses are led by prolific writers like James Patterson, Margaret Atwood, Malcolm Gladwell, and more.

Also, we authors have got to market and sell our book as well as write it. 

Below are several tools to help with not only writing but being a successful author:

• Publisher Rocket is a must for your book marketing research, including hot keywords and AMS advertising .
• Evernote allows you to share countless “notes” with beta readers, collaborators, other authors, classmates, family members. It is the coolest app for note-taking and -sharing.
• IAWriter’s minimalist, award-winning design cuts out distractions, like rulers and toolbars, and even blinds everything out except the sentence/paragraph you’re writing. Its Focus Mode might just change your life.
• Ommwriter offers a calm writing environment and meditative tracks to listen to while you write.
• Freedom productivity app helps you stay focused by blocking distracting websites and apps for scheduled writing sessions.
• Write or Die is a somewhat humorous and perhaps helpful tool that gives writers “tangible consequences” if they don’t meet a word count goal or time spent writing goal . Consequences include annoying sounds (such as “Never Gonna Give You Up”) or Kamikaze mode which deletes whatever was just written.
• A Plotting Software such as Plottr, Novel Factory, or Plot Factory. Each of these will help you plot your book, build compelling characters, and build your world .

Verdict: What is the Best Writing Software?

You should use Atticus ‘ word processing software to write your next book. If you're looking for a free download, use Google Docs for smaller works, or Apple Pages if you're a Mac user.

I use Google docs to write my articles because it allows me to coordinate with my team and my editor. For blog posts and intracompany documents, easy collaboration is key.

However, that doesn't cut it when I have a 30K or even 100K-word book to write. When writing a book, I need the best book writing software out there. Google Docs just can't handle it.

Atticus is the only writing program I use for writing my books . Download it today.

I need book writing software that will easily help me to research, outline, reorganize, write, collaborate, and edit. Atticus has me covered.

No monthly or annual fee? Atticus is a one-time purchase.

Dave Chesson

When I’m not sipping tea with princesses or lightsaber dueling with little Jedi, I’m a book marketing nut. Having consulted multiple publishing companies and NYT best-selling authors, I created Kindlepreneur to help authors sell more books. I’ve even been called “The Kindlepreneur” by Amazon publicly, and I’m here to help you with your author journey.

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How to write a book using google docs, how to write dark fantasy: a guide for new authors, how to write a book using microsoft word, sell more books on amazon, amazon kindle rankings e-book.

Learn how to rank your Kindle book #1 on Amazon with our collection of time-tested tips and tricks.

121 thoughts on “ Best Book Writing Software 2024 [Writing, Editing & Focus] ”

This is a great breakdown of the option! One thing for Google docs: I just finished a first draft with 76k words and it didn’t lag at all for me. When I first loaded the doc it would take a few seconds, but once it was all showing the writing didn’t have any latency. I could see if you had a custom font installed or maybe add-ons, it could slow down. But so far it’s been smooth and stable for me.

That’s awesome to here.

LibreOffice is a branch of Open Office with a much more active user community for support. Hemingway teaches better writing. Has a free online version for checking your writing and a downloadable app for actually writing on your device. The app can be used as a replacement for FocusWriter. And, of course, Grammarly both free and for a fee is a can’t live without.

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16 Best Novel Writing Software for Authors

By Millie Dinsdale

Table of Contents

What to look for in a novel writing software, top writing software for novels, how to select the best writing software for novels.

Writing a book is challenging. Novel writing software makes it just a bit easier.

Book writing software will not write for you, but they can help with organization, tracking, ideation, planning, concentrating, editing, and proofreading.

But they all have unique features and are designed for different kinds of authors. So, how do you select the best one for you?

We’re here to help you along the way. This is a list of our top 16 favorite novel writing software options. For each tool, we have looked at the price, usability, customizability, features, and integrations.

The type of novel writing program you need will depend on what type of creative writer you are. Are you a planner, a pantser, or somewhere in between? Do you write fiction or nonfiction? Do you want a tool that can generate content or not?

Let’s look at each of these questions in more detail.

Planners vs Pantsers

Planners outline their entire novel before writing. Pantsers jump into writing with little to no plan. Plantsers are somewhere in between, planning some sections but not others.

Planners will benefit from independent outlining graphs, character plotting, world-building planning maps, and more. If you’re more of a pantser, you may want plotting features that are integrated into the writing process rather than separate from them.

Fiction vs Nonfiction

Although many of the features that fiction novel writers and nonfiction writers need are similar, there are a few differences.

Fiction writers may benefit from pronoun checkers, world-building features, dialogue suggestions, and name and place generators.

Whereas nonfiction writers may use fact and consistency checkers, timelines, tables, the ability to add diagrams, and more.

Content Generation

Content generation is a polarizing topic in the writing community. Some love it, and others would rather not use it.

Before choosing a software, it’s useful to decide whether you would like rephrasing options and help with idea generation, or if you would prefer a sleek word processor with minimal AI features.

ProWritingAid

ProWritingAid is a novel writing software that can help take your manuscript from draft to publish-ready.

The tool offers 25+ reports you can use to help your writing shine. The Repeats report keeps your writing engaging. The Readability report provides suggestions to cut vague words, replace clichés, and remove sticky sentences. Plus, there is a thesaurus, consistency checker, and much more.

In addition to this, you can also see in-tool articles, videos, and quizzes so you can learn and improve as you go.

With a Premium Pro license, you also get access to Sparks, which is an AI generative tool that provides more options than almost any other software on the market. With Sparks, you can improve fluency, summarize text, add sensory descriptions, expand from notes, make present or past tense, add dialogue, quotes, emphasis, counterarguments, and so much more.

Integrations : Windows, Mac, MS Word (Windows & Mac), Google Docs, Scrivener, Final Draft, Chrome, Firefox, and Edge.

Price : ProWritingAid has three pricing options: Free, Premium, and Premium Pro. The free version allows users to access 25+ reports with a 500-word limit. The Premium plan has an unlimited word count, and it costs just $10 a month. The Premium Pro plan comes with 50 rephrases a day and costs $12 a month.

Conclusion : ProWritingAid is a brilliant all-around writing tool for novelists that helps with the drafting, editing, and proofing stages. Try it for free today .

The Novel Factory

The Novel Factory is a novel writing software that helps writers from outlining to writing.

It has features that help with outlining, plotting, character creation, world-building, writing, and word count tracking. It also has a variety of templates in different genres to help writers plan their novels.

One of the most useful elements of the tool is the organization. Keep all your notes on characters, plots, and the world in one place, making it easy to search through later.

Integrations : Windows, Mac, Android, iPads, and iPhones.

Price : There are three plans: Basic, Standard, and Premium. The Basic plan allows you to write one novel a year and costs $75. The Premium plan is designed for writers who publish multiple books a year, and it costs $600.

Conclusion : The Novel Factory is a useful tool for writers of general fiction. However, if you are a nonfiction author, or if you need advanced world-building help, there are more suitable writing apps out there.

Scrivener is a software that helps authors write books, and many authors swear by it. It’s designed for fiction and nonfiction authors and screenwriters.

It offers features like book bibles, character management, plot tracking, formatting and exporting options, and more.

One of the most popular features on offer is the goals and tracking, which are both especially useful during NanoWriMo. You can set overall writing targets, or targets for a particular session, and there is a handy bar available to track your progress.

Integrations : MacOS, Windows, and iOS.

Price : There are two licenses available: a standard license and an educational license. Each license is for a lifetime, and they both cost under $50 each. The licenses are specific to MacOS or Windows, so if you would like both, you will need to purchase two licenses.

Conclusion : As long as you are okay with a steep learning curve and minimal learning resources, then Scrivener is a brilliant piece of software with some innovative features and an excellent price.

Fictionary is an editing software that is specifically focused on developmental (or story) editing.

The tool has 15 different insights including blurb and synopsis, story arc, word count per scene, characters, and story map.

One of the best parts of Fictionary is the onboarding. There are tutorials and articles to help you use every single feature, so you will get the most out of your purchase from day one.

Integrations : Microsoft Word, Safari, and Chrome.

Price : There are three subscriptions: StoryTeller, StoryTeller Premium, and StoryCoach. Each subscription is available to purchase on a yearly or monthly basis. The cheapest plan allows you to edit three manuscripts at a time and costs $19 a month. The most expensive plan is $396 a year and is designed for professional editors.

Conclusion : Fictionary is an excellent tool in a writer’s arsenal, especially if you are a visual learner, but it is not a stand-alone software. You will also need a tool like ProWritingAid to help you with the line editing and proofreading.

Novlr is a writing software created by writers.

The features on offer include a basic writing interface, organizational features, statistics tracking, the ability to set motivational goals, style help, and export options.

There are also free courses and guides available that help writers to improve their craft.

Integrations : Online only.

Price : There are three basic plans available: Starter, Plus, and Pro. Starter is free and gives you access to five projects. Plus costs $5 a month and gives you unlimited projects, plus the ability to comment. Pro offers some additional features that are powered by ProWritingAid, including a proofreader, thesaurus, and advanced grammar and style checks.

Conclusion : Novlr is a lightweight tool with a clean, easy-to-use interface, which is a great option for writers looking for a lighter-touch tool that gives you full autonomy.

Atticus is writing software created by Kindlepreneur. It works online and offline and helps with writing and formatting.

The writing feature is a word processor with a few novel specific features, such as chapters and covers.

The formatting feature is where Atticus really shines. There are templates and a custom theme builder you can use to format your book, and then you can publish on Amazon, Apple Books, and more.

Integrations : Windows, Mac, Linux, and Chromebook.

Price : There is only one plan available, and it is a lifetime plan. It costs $147 to format an unlimited number of e-books and books for print.

Conclusion : Atticus is one of those tools that is good already but will clearly be great in the future. It’s an affordable way to format your book, but for now, you will still need some complimentary writing tools in order to give your story the best chance.

Bibisco is a book writing software designed for authors.

It allows you to create a novel structure, use mind maps to track relationships, organize your world-building, visualize your story timeline, and analyze chapter lengths and the points of view throughout.

You can also set writing goals, include words per day and words overall, and track your progress in the app.

The tool is available in 15 languages, including English, French, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Turkish, and more.

Integrations : Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Price : There are two plans: Community and Supporters. The Community plan is free and allows you to create unlimited projects. The Supporters edition is a one-time payment that also includes mind maps, dark theme, distraction free mode, and more.

Conclusion : This is a great option for writers with a limited budget who are just getting started on their writing journey. 

Ulysses is a writing app designed specifically for Apple users. There isn’t currently a Windows integration.

It has a clean UI for distraction-free writing. The tool also offers dark mode and full-screen writing mode, so you can customize your experience.

It also has brilliant features for organization, including filters, which allow you to find content quickly. Keywords allow you to categorize work, and groups allow you to collate work, for example, different levels of draft for the same project.

Integrations : Mac, iPad, and iPhone.

Price : There are two plans: Personal and Business. The Personal plan can be shared with up to five family members, and it costs $39.99 per year. The Business plan is priced per user and offers the same features as the personal plan.

Conclusion : Although the features are useful, similar ones are available for free in other tools. But if you struggle with organization and like to keep everything in one place, it may be worth trialing.

Vellum is a book formatting desktop software available on Mac only.

It offers import capabilities, different book styles, book set creation, previews, layout and design options, e-book generation, and print generation.

The most popular features in Vellum are the eight book styles. All you need to do is select a style, and the software will change the headings, quotations, paragraph breaks, body text, headers, footers, and more.

Integrations : Mac.

Price : There are two plans: Press and Ebooks. With the Ebook plan, you can format e-books, and with the Press plan, you can format e-books and paperbacks. Both plans are one-time purchases.

Conclusion : Although it is an intuitive software, there are now other tools that offer more for less.

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word is an often-indispensable word processor designed for everyone who writes.

It offers a sleek UI, text formatting, styles and themes, grammar, punctuation, spelling corrections, templates, and customizable page layouts and designs.

One of the most popular features is the ability to collaborate. You can track changes, which is useful for editors, add comments, compare and merge documents, view version histories, and collaborate in real time.

Integrations : iPhone, iPad, Mac, Windows, and Android.

Price : The price for Microsoft Word as a stand-alone application is $159.99. Alternatively, you can pay for Microsoft 365, which includes Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneDrive.

Conclusion : For what it is, it’s expensive, but the almost universal adoption means that it’s still a popular option. Although, we recommend you use a more advanced content editor with writing reports alongside Microsoft Word.

ChatGPT is an online chatbot that can answer questions conversationally. It was built on ChatGPT-3.5, an AI model that was developed by OpenAI.

It uses a natural language processing technology (NLP) to understand messages, make inferences, and generate replies. The program uses information that is publicly available on the internet, information from licensed third parties, and information from users and human trainers.

It has a few limitations. For example, it’s only trained on information up to September 2021, the tool generates responses that can be biased, and it does not check grammar comprehensively.

The interface is simple. You simply add a prompt and ask ChatGPT to generate content. You can then edit the prompt and regenerate responses.

Integrations : Online and Android, iPhone, and iPad apps.

Price : Free.

Conclusion : Despite its limitations, ChatGPT is a great free online tool that can generate ideas, names for people and places, and more.

LanguageTool

LanguageTool is a paraphraser, text editor, and grammar checker.

It can fix punctuation mistakes, help with formatting, and allow you to set up your own style guide. Premium users also have access to unlimited rephrasing, while free users are limited to five per day.

Additionally, LanguageTool works in over 25 languages, including English, Spanish, French, and Italian. Although it doesn’t offer the option to translate any text.

Integrations : Chrome, Edge, Google Docs, Firefox, and more.

Price : There are three plans: Free, Premium, and Teams. The Free plan offers basic features, with the advanced features behind a paywall. The Premium plan offers four payment intervals, with the cheapest being the two-year plan, and the most expensive being the monthly. The Teams plan is priced per number of users and offers additional features like team style guide and dictionary.

Conclusion : LanguageTool’s price is on the lower end, and it offers a fair selection of features. However, the lack of a plagiarism checker, tone checker, and structural reports means that creative writers may need to carry out additional edits.

Like ProWritingAid, Grammarly is an AI writing tool that checks grammatical errors in your writing in real time. It’s designed to streamline the writing process and reduce writing errors.

It’s available for multiple different English dialects, including British English, American English, Canadian English, and Australian English.

Some of its most popular features are spell check, engagement ratings, citation generator, grammar check, synonym checker, readability score, writing style suggestions, plagiarism detection, tone adjustments, and writing assistant.

Another popular feature is the paraphraser, which allows you to reword sentences, emails, articles, academic work, and more.

Integrations : Windows, Mac, MS Word (Windows & Mac), Google Docs, Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge.

Price : Grammarly offers four different subscriptions: Free, Premium, Business, and Enterprise. The Free plan is simple and corrects written mistakes. The Premium plan includes rewrites, plagiarism checks, and more. The Business and Enterprise plans are designed for teams and organizations, and they include enhanced security and customized integrations.

Conclusion : This is a generalized tool that is suitable for most types of writers. However, if you are looking for a targeted tool that offers customized writing options for creative writers, other tools may be better suited.

QuillBot is a writing tool that is designed for students and working professionals.

QuillBot offers seven features: paraphraser, grammar checker, co-writer, plagiarism checker, summarizer, translator, and citation generator. The best known of these features is paraphrase, which has a variety of modes, including standard, fluency, and creative.

The tool is available in over 20 languages, including English, Spanish, German, and French.

Integrations : Chrome, Google Docs, Microsoft Word, and more.

Price : There are two plans available: Free and Premium. The Free plan is limited and gives users an idea of what the tool can do. The Premium plan includes all the features and is available in three different payment plans: annual, semi-annual, and monthly. The annual plan costs $99.95 a year, and the monthly plan totals to $239.40 a year.

Conclusion : QuillBot is a popular tool for students and business writers, but the features aren’t optimized for creative writers.

Ginger is an AI-powered writing assistant and proofreading tool designed for all types of writers.

The tool offers basic grammar and spell-checking, which you can accept and correct in bulk, a translator, a rephraser, text-to-speech, and more.

The translator is the feature that sets Ginger apart. It allows you to translate into 50 languages, plus it can proofread text in those languages, too.

Integrations : Microsoft Office, Gmail, Chrome, Safari, Edge, desktop and mobile apps, and more.

Price : There are six plans: Free, Monthly, Quarterly, Annual, 2-year, and Teams. The monthly plan is $19.99, and the 2-year plan is $120 overall. The Teams plan is $4.99 per month per member. Each paid plan offers the same features.

Conclusion : It’s a top choice for English second language (ESL) creative writers because of the translator, but for native English speakers, it doesn’t have as many advanced features as some of the other writing tools on this list.

Google Bard

Google Bard is a conversational AI tool that is available in over 40 languages to the public in 230 countries and territories.

It has three different generative options: understand, create, and explore. Understand provides specific details and information to help users understand a topic. Create generates text based on a user’s prompt. Explore is for general requests and exploration.

The tool also offers voice commands, translation in over 100 languages, and a share feature, which allows you to continue and refine responses with others.

It can be used to ideate before planning your novel or give you fresh ideas when you hit a blocker during the writing stage.

Integrations : Chrome, Opera, Firefox, Safari, and Edgium.

Price : Free to everyone aged 18 and older.

Conclusion : It’s useful for providing information for general use, and it can be useful to spark ideas. But, as it’s artificial intelligence, it isn’t very creative, so you can’t rely on it.

As writers, we know each writer has different requirements, and there is software out there for everyone. To find the right software for you, consider the price, features, integrations, and ease of use.

Price : Novel writing software ranges in price from $0 to $500+ per month. Before falling in love with a tool, decide what your budget is.

Features : What are the top features that you do or don’t want? With thousands of tools on the market, you are bound to find one that fits your needs.

Integrations : Where do you write now, and does your new tool need to be compatible with your current tools? Integrations can speed up onboarding and reduce the learning curve of a new tool.

Ease of use: Do you prefer a tool that you can start using right away, or are you okay with a learning curve? If your chosen tool is complex, double-check it has the resources and support you need to get up to speed.

And that’s a wrap. Our top 16 favorite novel writing software and a few tips for choosing the perfect tool for you.

If you’re looking for a tool that can help you with every aspect of the novel writing process, from ideation, to drafting, to editing, to proofing, then why not give ProWritingAid a try ?

Not only do we offer a 3-day money-back guarantee for our yearly and lifetime memberships, but we also offer a free plan that will allow you to test our 20+ reports on up to 500 words of your text.

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Millie Dinsdale

Millie is ProWritingAid's Content Manager. A recent English Literature graduate, she loves all things books and writing. When she isn't working, Millie enjoys gardening, re-reading books by Agatha Christie, and running.

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It will come as little surprise that we think the Novel Factory is the best writing software. That’s because we’ve spent the last ten years trying to work out what makes novel writing software great, and then building it.

Nonetheless, we are aware that writers’ needs vary, and that there are apps out there that are more established or have a different focus or a development team with different areas of expertise.

So we have genuinely done our best in this review to give an honest rundown of some of the best novel writing software options, analysing their strengths and weaknesses. But we’ll start with the one we know best.

The main strengths of Novel Factory are its intuitive, clean design and the wealth and detail of the novel writing resources.

As well as providing a word processor, features for creating plots and managing subplots, and areas for keeping notes on characters, locations and items – the software integrates what some have described as ‘an MA in writing’.

As well as the Roadmap, which is a step-by-step guide to writing a novel, it includes detailed character development questionnaires, world building guides and plot templates based on popular genres.

So it’s not just the car, but the engine and map as well.

The software has a section for setting your writing targets, and then automatically updates colour-coded graphs so you can track your progress towards them.

It also autosaves your manuscript and has version history, so you can access previous drafts of your writing.

And as the data is centrally stored, it’s easy for writers to collaborate on a single novel, always able to access the latest changes.

If we have to focus on the weaknesses of the Novel Factory, then we have to admit it’s not the cheapest option out there. Writers on a tight budget may not be able to stretch to $7.50 per month. We hate the idea of anyone being priced out, so we do run promos a few times a year which bring the price down, and we offer educational discounts and occasionally free licences on a hardship basis (get in touch with us for more info).

Is the Novel Factory the best novel writing software for me?

The Novel Factory is perfect for new writers, who want to learn their craft while writing their first novel.

It’s great for planners, who want to use established structures to make their story skeleton bullet-proof and develop complex characters with desires, flaws and internal conflicts.

It’s the right fit if you want somewhere to keep track of all supporting data, as well as writing the novel itself, and if you want options to work Online and Offline, as it suits you.

It’s good for visual learners, who appreciate being able to add a lot of images, who like to see how different aspects of the novel link together and who like everything clearly categorised and aesthetically appealing.

It’s less useful for writers who want something more freeform, or something where they can set up and rearrange the categories themselves. And discovery writers may prefer something a bit more streamlined and simple, as they may not need the additional sections for supporting data.

Click here to find out more about the features included in the Novel Factory 3.0, or click here for a free 30 day trial .

No novel writing software list would be complete without Scrivener – the Goliath of the writing software world.

Scrivener was one of the first apps to appear on the market, and is by far the most well-known program today.

The main strengths of Scrivener are its flexibility and richness of features. It has had a long time to mature, and take into account feedback from its huge community, so it is packed full of features, from index cards to name generators. It offers goal tracking, word counts and places to keep your notes.

Plus, because the community is so huge, you can take advantage of freely shared resources, such as character and plot templates.

Scrivener is very reasonably priced at £47, and is available for Mac, PC and even IOS (though the licences for each of these are sold separately), though there isn’t a web-based version.

The widely accepted main weakness of Scrivener is the other side of the coin of its strength – it’s complexity.

The ‘steep learning curve’ is cited by many as a real issue, and while there are dozens of courses to help you get to grips with the intricacies of the program, people who are trying to write a novel are usually already struggling to find enough time just to write their manuscript. And it’s quite a big ask to require someone to invest dozens of hours learning a program before they’re even sure it’s the right one for them.

Is Scrivener the best creative writing software for me?

Scrivener is a great app, with tons of fantastic features, and there’s a reason it’s used by so many writers.

As they state on their website, they, ‘won’t tell you how to write’, so this it’s best suited to an experienced novelist who has time to learn the features and work out how to use them to plan and write their novel.

It offers a lot of flexibility and customisation so, you can use the tools in lots of different ways, to suit your style.

But for a newer novelist, who is just learning their craft and might want a little more guidance, it can be a bit overwhelming, while not offering guidance on how to actually write a novel.

And having so many choices can also lead to decision paralysis, or not really knowing the best way to proceed, so it probably won’t suit people who are less comfortable with advanced technology and customisation.

Click here to find out more about Scrivener and get a free trial.

YWriter is another veteran piece of software which is widely respected and loved.

YWriter contains all the key features you’d expect from novel writing software, including clearly defined places to keep track of your characters , locations, scenes, chapters and somewhere to write your novel.

A big strength is that it allows you to link everything together and handily cross-reference, and it has lots of tools to keep track of your word counts and progress.

The main weakness of yWriter is that it’s not clear where to start when you first open it, and the word processor takes a while to find. Also, some sections of the interface are a bit primitive, requiring you to enter code syntax, rather than offering a proper graphic user interface where you can simply, click, drag and drop.

The characters, locations and tools tabs are all fairly straightforward, but the interface is all table-based, which can get a bit monotonous. While you can add images to characters, locations and items, they’re not displayed in the main interface for quick reference.

Like Scrivener, it doesn’t give you any guidance on how to actually write a novel.

Is yWriter the best free novel writing software for me?

While yWriter isn’t the most intuitive software to use, or the most fully featured, it has one major advantage which, for many writers, will rocket it above all the competitors.

That is that it is completely free.

For a free product, yWriter is quite phenomenal and it is extremely generous of the developer to give away such a great app with no charge at all. Of course, you can donate to help support future development, but even the suggested donations are only up to $24.95 as a one off.

So if you are looking for dedicated software to keep track of the key aspects of your novel but you’re on a tight budget, then yWriter is a fantastic option.

Click here to find out more about yWriter.

Fictionary is an online creative writing software that approaches the process from a different point of view. Instead of starting with an idea and helping the writer grow it into a full novel, Fictionary has a stronger focus on improving your manuscript after you’ve written it.

The main strength of Fictionary is its analytical capabilities once you import your manuscript. It can help you get an overarching view of your story arc.

It has an attractive interface and a sidebar with lots of useful prompts to help you think about various aspects of each scene.

The ‘Plot’ section of the sidebar gives useful prompts to encourage you to consider the type, role and goals of each scene.

Likewise, the ‘settings’ section offers useful prompts to help you think not only about the practical details of your setting, but also how it impacts the story.

The main weakness of Fictionary is that the data is only as good as what you enter, and the analysis relies a lot on your own understanding of story and character.

It offers a lot of numerical analysis and helps you identify tangible things such as chapters or scenes which are excessively long, or which contain excessive numbers of characters, but whether those things are actually an issue or not depends a lot on context and your own choices, and at the end of the day, the quality of a novel can’t be boiled down to statistics.

Also, everything is viewed by scenes, so you can’t get much of an overview of your plot, apart from the quite limited Story Arc.

Also, like Novlr, it doesn’t have much support for plot structure development or developing your characters, which isn’t that surprising, since its focus is on after you’ve written the novel. You can enter your characters, but the data is limited to name and whether that character is POV. You can’t add any further information, or images. You can add information about locations to each scene, but there’s no database of locations that stands alone.

It’s also the most expensive option on our list, at $20 per month or $200 per year.

Is Fictionary the best novel editing software for me?

Fictionary is useful if you’ve already written a manuscript and you want to analyse it to find out where the inconsistencies or weak areas are.

It’s great if you love obsessing over data, and it can help you think about aspects of scenes to make them stronger and more compelling.

It’s not very useful for new novelists who want to learn how to write their first novel, or for planners who are looking for tools to structure, outline and develop characters before writing their novel.

Click here to find out more about Fictionary and get a free trial.

Atticus is a newcomer to the market, created by established self-publishing marketing guru, Dave Chesson.

The key unique strength of Atticus is its formatting and publishing functions. As a self-published author, Dave rightly recognised that there were few options on the market that allowed you to easily ready your manuscript for self-publishing – and even fewer if you weren’t on a Mac.

Atticus allows you to easily select between various formatting styles, and export your novel to a ready-to-go ebook format for all the major self-publishing platforms.

In conjunction with that, Atticus includes dedicated spaces for front matter and back matter, and it allows you to set writing goals, and even select which days of the week you plan to write, which is a nice touch.

It works in a browser, and you can also download apps for Windows and Mac, making it one of the most cross-platform options out there.

It’s got a slick, attractive, highly intuitive interface. It even features a cute cartoon dog – what’s not to like?

The weakness of Atticus compared to other novel writing software, is that it doesn’t offer any areas for keeping track of characters or locations, managing your plot. Of course if you don’t need those features, then that’s not a problem at all.

It also doesn’t get into the business of teaching you how to write a novel, so if you’re a beginner looking for more craft guidance, you’ll need to find that info somewhere else.

It doesn’t offer any free trial, which could be quite off-putting to some people, and the price isn’t that cheap, at $147, though that is a one-off cost. Asking people to pay that much without having been able to poke at the software first demands quite a lot of trust, though there is a no-quibble 30 day money back guarantee.

Is Atticus the best novel formatting software for me?

Atticus is almost certainly the best option for actively self-publishing authors who have a reasonable budget available and prefer to just get on with writing their novels without doing a lot of additional work creating character profiles, locations sheets or planning documents.

It offers a clean interface for writing, and easy formatting and publishing to all the major platforms, something very few of the other options offer.

On the other hand, if you’re looking for more comprehensive novel writing software which includes features and functions to help you keep track of characters, manage your plot and subplots and give novel writing advice, then Atticus is not that sort of one-stop-shop.

Click here to check out Atticus.

Write It Now

Write it Now is a desktop based novel writing software app available for both Windows and Mac, with a wide range of features, but quite a cluttered, dated interface.

The main strength of Write It Now is the wide range of features it includes.

As well as having sections to keep your characters, locations, events, props, notes and research, it has some cool tools which are rare in other programs, such as character relationship charts.

There are some prompts and guidance with regards to characters, such as including their birth and death date, and their relationship to other characters, but ‘personality’ is limited to sliders on different personality traits, such as ‘health’ or ‘aggression’.

Another strength is that it includes places for front and back matter, and offers a wide range of export options.

By far the biggest weakness of the software is its interface. Balance, style and consistency are lacking and it’s cluttered with fussy icons. And while at the top level the sections are quite intuitive, many of the buttons within the sections are quite confusing and it’s unclear what the intent behind them is, even after you’ve clicked them.

Finally, it doesn’t appear to offer many overview options, so apart from the tree list on the left hand side, you can’t view all of your characters at a glance. There also doesn’t seem to be a way to get an overview of your plot structure.

Is Write It Now the best novel planning software for me?

Write It Now is good for writers who are comfortable with technology and like to have lots of detailed features and functions, and who want to be able to drill down into lots of detail, and customise the software to suit themselves. And who aren’t that fussed about aesthetics.

It’s also a good option for users who prefer Desktop software, as many of the novel writing apps out there now are solely web-based.

It’s not good for people who value an aesthetically pleasing, intuitive interface. It’s also not good for people who want to keep things simple.

It doesn’t include any guidance on how to write a novel, so it’s less useful for new novel writers.

Click here to check out Write It Now.

FocusWriter

FocusWriter is a super-simple, free app to help writers focus and avoid distractions.

It’s biggest strength is exactly what it says – its focus. Its main objective is to minimise distractions, so you can get on with writing your novel.

It also has some customisation options, so you can change the background image to something you like and it’s available in multiple languages.

Its weakness is that it doesn’t offer anything else.

There is nowhere to keep track of any supporting information, such as that of characters, locations, items, research or notes. Of course, it doesn’t intend to offer those things, but if you want them – that’s a problem.

There’s no support on how to write a novel, and despite its simplicity, the interface still manages to look slightly dated.

Is FocusWriter the best novel writing software for me?

FocusWriter is perfect for authors who just want to get on and write a manuscript and not faff around with lots of planning and research. So it’s far better suited to discovery writers, rather than planners.

People who like to have a completely clear desk, and who find clutter impacts on their train of thought, will find FocusWriter the perfect solution.

If you’re looking for a more fully featured program, which will help keep track of supporting information, as well as the manuscript itself, then this is not the app for you.

Likewise, if you’re a new writer who wants a program that integrates guidance, templates and novel writing advice, then this is not a good option.

Click here to download FocusWriter.

Bibisco is a desktop based app with a clean, uncluttered layout and a good range of features.

It’s main strengths are the simplicity of its interface and the fact it has sections for all the major aspects of novel writing.

It’s nicely laid out, with the option to add images to things such as characters and locations. It has graphs to visualise things such as chapter lengths and character and object distribution. Another great feature is the character relationships tool.

It includes quite a few character development prompts, though how you fill them in is a little confusing at first, and it’s not possible to easily see all the information at a glance, you have to keep clicking to drill down, and then clicking to go back up to the top level again.

Another nice touch is the popup help boxes that appear as you move through the app, giving you extra hints and tips without making you grind to a halt to complete a lengthy tutorial.

The biggest weaknesses of the software are the fact that it has no free trial, and the lack of clear flow of overarching structure to the software.

This is one of the only programs that doesn’t offer a free trial. The price is very low (only $18, though you can pay more if you feel inclined to), so you could just take a punt on it, but it seems a big ask to require people to fork out before they’ve ever had a chance to take it for a test drive and see if it suits them.

The other issue is that it’s not always clear the best way to use the software. For many this is fine, as they’ll use it how they please – but if you’re looking for something that will guide you through the novel writing process, you’ll be disappointed.

Is Bibisco the best novel writing software for me?

If you’re looking for a low-cost desktop app to keep track of key information relating to your novel, then Bibisco is a great choice. It has a nice clean interface, contains all the key sections you could require with a few nice extras, and is very modestly priced.

However, if you’re a discovery writer who just wants to get writing, it’s unlikely to suit you, as the emphasis is on supporting data, rather than the manuscript. It actually takes a while to find the word processor.

And if you’re a planner looking for a way to shuffle around plot points and get a bird’s eye view of your structure, Bibisco doesn’t provide that.

It also isn’t designed for new writers who are looking for guidance on how to actually write their novel, as it doesn’t contain that sort of information.

Click here to find out more about Bibisco.

Wavemaker is a smart novel writing app which contains a range of useful features for novelists.

Like yWriter, it is a labour of love by a single developer who wanted to create software for his own writing, and like yWriter it is also available for free, with a gentle encouragement for you to donate money so he can spend more time on it.

It’s a progressive web app, which means it runs in a browser, but continues to work if you go offline, syncing as soon as it gets a connection back.

Our favourite Wavemaker strengths are its range of elegant planning features and its beautiful interface.

Wavemaker contains several different ways to plan your novel and gather your notes, each slightly different to take into account different ways of processing information, but allowing you to drag and drop items, and link ideas and notes in different ways.

It includes tagging, which can be very useful for cross-referencing and sorting, and it has a sidebar so you can view some of your notes while writing your manuscript.

It is very clean and pleasing to look at, and using the tools is very intuitive.

The main weakness of Wavemaker is that while it is a great selection of tools, they don’t integrate in any coherent way. You can’t enter info in one and then view it in one of the other sections to get a different perspective. There’s no flow, where you start in one section, then when that’s complete, move to the next. Then again, the freeform way will work better for many people.

Also, the tools mostly stop at the top level functionality, so they do what they say, but there’s not a lot more below the surface.

It doesn’t have any novel writing teaching resources, so people who are looking to write their first novel will need to find that information somewhere else, and there’s little in the way of prompts, to show you how to develop characters or settings, or structure a plot.

Is Wavemaker the best free novel writing software for me?

Wavemaker is great if you want a flexible, intuitive and aesthetically pleasing toolbox for working out the plot of your novel.

It will also be good for discovery writers who want a clean interface which works online and offline.

It’s less useful for new writers who are looking for writing craft guidance, or for those who like to see how all their data links together across the different sections.

Click here to check out Wavemaker.

Novlr is a web-based novel writing app with a beautiful interface, a bunch of great features and plenty of resources to help teach you how to write a novel.

One of the biggest strengths of Novlr is how attractive and pleasing it is to look at, with its slick layout. For some people, this may be considered unimportant compared to the features available, but for many of us a clear, uncluttered interface helps our thoughts flow more clearly.

It also offers spelling and grammar suggestions, in the same way Word does, which not many novel writing apps do.

It autosaves and creates a version history, which gives great peace of mind.

It includes word count info and even motivational messages when you achieve your goals.

One of its weaknesses is the price – it is among the higher priced apps at $100 per year.

Another potential weakness (though could be a strength, depending on your point of view), is that it doesn’t have any features relating to characters, plotting or locations. The focus of Novlr is solely on the manuscript, so any related research or development you want to do has to be done elsewhere.

Is Novlr the right story writing software for me?

Novlr is perfect for discovery writers (also known as pantsers), with its beautiful, clean interface, proofreading tools and version history.

It’s also good for new writers as, like the Novel Factory, it has an integrated course to help you write your novel.

It’s not so useful for writers who are looking for a more all round software, which will give them somewhere to keep track of their cast of characters, offer plotting tools and world building resources.

Click here to find out more about Novlr and get a free trial.

In summary – what is the best novel writing software for you? Our top three recommendations, for planners, pantsers, and those on a budget.

As we’ve seen, if you’re looking for novel writing software, you’re spoiled for choice. You can find software that will take care of all your supporting novel data, such as characters and locations, or you can find absolute minimalist apps to help you avoid distractions.

There is software that teaches you how to write a novel, and there’s software that gives you imaginative ways to view your data, such as index cards, mind maps and relationship charts.

Some of the software is perfect for discovery writers, while others are a dream come true for planners.

Some are aesthetically pleasing and calming to look at and use, while others prioritise highly customisable detail.

The right software for you will depend on your personal preferences and priorities, but here’s a summary of our top three favourites, for the most diverse requirements:

Here are our top recommendations:

• Best all round novel writing software: The Novel Factory
• Best minimalist writing software: FocusWriter
• Best free novel writing software: Wavemaker

Whatever your needs, we hope you find the tool that’s a perfect partner for your novel writing future!

Unlock your writing potential

If you liked this article by the Novel Factory, then why not try the Novel Factory app for writers ?

It includes:

• Plot Templates
• Character Questionnaires
• Writing Guides
• Drag & Drop Plotting Tools
• World Building resources
• Much, much more

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When You Write

The Best Writing Software for Authors in 2024 [Free & Paid]

Whenever I come across the question “what is the best writing software?” I tend to focus on something else other than the answer.

To be precise, I start to think contemporary writers really have it easy. A hundred years ago or earlier, this wouldn’t have been an important question.

Don’t get me wrong, I honestly think writing is still a laborious task.

But when you consider that the likes of Shakespeare, Hemmingway, and Ted Geisel, among countless others who never used writing apps to polish their work, the premise that “it’s a bit easier to write nowadays” becomes a bit more accurate.

The process of writing has evolved—we dumped the quill for a pen, then came a typewriter, and finally a computer.

Now we have all sorts of writing tools at our disposal, such as our top-rated Scrivener ,  but finding the right one for “you” can be a bit of a hassle.

That is why I decided to lift some of that burden off your shoulder and review some of the best free and paid writing software for authors available in 2024.

Let’s get started.

Our Top 3 Book Writing Software at A Glance

The best book writing software, 1. scrivener.

Best Overall

When it comes to book editing software, you need to have tools that have a writer’s soul—made for writers by inventive writers.

Scrivener isn’t your standard word processor; it isn’t your regular grammar checker either.

Scrivener—a book-writing software program developed by an aspiring writer called Keith Blount back in 2007—is a package consisting of a typewriter, ring binder, and a scrapbook in one tool.

The software tool comes with valuable features like corkboards, pre-set formatting, templates, file importing, metatags, automated document listing, and many others.

These features are perfect for novelists, scriptwriters, academics, lawyers, translators, journalists, students, and other professional writers .

Key Features:

• Has the Cork Board and Outliner: Easy and convenient organization of notes and book sections.
• Hit the Ground Running: The templates give the user a head start because it saves him/her the time it takes to set a genre-based workspace.
• Goal and Progress Tracking: Scrivener’s customizable Goals and Targets are so important for tracking your progress. They are also helpful when you’re running against a deadline and want to know if you’re picking up the pace or not.
• Weigh your Work : The Snapshots enable you to compare rewrites to original notes.
• Made with Novelists and Fiction Writers in Mind: this software comes with specialized features for novelists and fiction writers, including the Linguistic Focus (MacOS) / Dialogue Focus (Windows).

Scrivener has separate payment plans for the three supported platforms— macOS , iOS , and Windows and they cost $49, $19.99, and $45, respectively.

What I Like About Scrivener

Scrivener has a bunch of features and capabilities that I like. It has customizable interfaces, the desktop apps work offline, offers a very generous trial period, and has specialized features for novelists and fiction writers.

What I Didn’t Like About Scrivener

I found out that Scrivener requires a separate License for each supported platform—which was a bummer. On top of that, the tool doesn’t have a plagiarism checking feature. Oh, did I forget to mention the steeper learning curve?

2. Write! App

Write! is another distraction-free text editor that offers an elegant workspace for you to create notes, to-do lists, create blog posts, novels, and texts of many different kinds.

In Writer App!, you’ll find similar features of a good word processor that have been neatly packed into a well-groomed interface.

It’s sort of like a regular word processor on steroids.

And it has some sleek looks too; Writer App has a browser-styled minimalistic interface that utilizes tabs to help you navigate— for bloggers and writers, the user interface alone is an appealing appetizer.

But the app isn’t all about the looks; here are some of the essential features and their benefits.

Key Features and Benefits

Two distraction-free writing options: To do away with distraction, you have two options:

• Either you use the “Full-Screen Mode,” which basically blocks all the features except for the outline and document interface.
• Or the “Focus Mode” that turns your screen into some sort of a typewriter—it only displays the sentence or paragraph with the blinker.

Sync Your Work : Write! App offers a cloud syncing feature, conveniently enabling you to access your work from any device you use. But, the sync feature comes at an extra cost of 4.95/year.

Collaborate with Your Team: Write! App allows you to publish your work directly to the web and get a share link which you can use to share and collaborate your work.

The tool costs $24.95 annually.

What I liked About Write! App

The goal-setting features, the customizable interface, and the sharing and publishing features.

What I Didn’t Like About Write! App

There are a bunch of things that I didn’t like (not necessarily related to the tool’s functionality). The tool has no trial period, no app for mac.

Novlr is less complicated than Scrivener; a shorter learning curve and simplicity offers relief to users that found Scrivener some sort of rocket science.

It has a feature that turns it into a distraction-free tool; it eliminates all the other distractive features. The tool also checks for grammar errors, gives cheerleading leading one-liners when you are about to achieve a goal, and helps track your progress and performance.

Novlr also has an ambient-dependent color setting, which feels comfortable and sometimes stimulating.

The good thing is since it’s cloud-based, you can access the tool from any device via a web browser.

Key Features and Benefits :

• Share or Keep Your Work Safe: Novlr can automatically sync with both Google Drive and Dropbox. This way, you can easily share your draft with a co-author, book editor, or an entire project group.
• Write Within the Language’s Rules : Novlr comes with a grammar checking feature that prevents your text’s syntax and semantics from derailing.
• Chase Goals and Achieve and Manage Your Objectives: Helps you track your performance and customize your goals
• Offline Writing: you don’t essentially need a working internet connection to use the app.
• Focus Mode – remove all kinds of distractions and stay focused on writing and editing.

But all these features come at a healthy price of $100 per year.

What I Like About Novlr

I like the offline capability, the Auto-save feature, the software’s suggestions for various writing styles, and the trial period.

What I Didn’t Like About Novlr

It is relatively expensive, exports fewer file formats, and is not available as a mobile app.

4. Microsoft Word

This list wouldn’t be complete with this word-processing warhorse—Microsoft Word.

Most contemporary middle-aged writers grew up using Microsoft Word and can literally point to any of its tabs with their eyes closed.

This veteran word processor is neat and is the most underrated writing tool nowadays.

It’s just like the beautiful wife you’ve had for years, and then she becomes a 5 out of 10 just because you’ve spotted some new “Jenny” on the block.

But… do not be fooled; MS Word is still the “OG” of the writing software category.

This tool still comes equipped with core features like translation, grammar checking, web publishing, and other standout features.

Here are some of these features (a mere glimpse of what MS Word has to offer):

• Custom Styles : Whether you want to customize headings, subheadings, or subtitles, the tool allows you to tweak your text however you like.
• Easy to Use Custom Navigation Pane : once you’ve customized the styles, the headings and pages appear in a very intuitive sidebar called the navigation pane. You can rearrange the headings by dragging them in the navigation pane.
• Automatic links: you can easily link a word or sentence to a place in the same document or a web page. This is convenient when you want to publish your document in digital formats—a reader can simply click on the link and jump to the desired content or page.
• Automatic Table of Contents : MS Word lets you create a table of contents to which is also hyperlinked the headings.
• Mailing : easily send your manuscript to an editor, straight from Word. You can either mail your document to a single recipient or multiple email accounts.
• Track Changes : the tool also lets you track, accept, and reject changes you or anyone else makes to your document. You can set the tracking feature on or lock tracking—whatever is your cup of tea, eh?

There are a bunch of Microsoft 365 plans available—too many, almost inconveniently too many. So for conciseness sake, I’m only going to list the basic plans (for personal and family use):

• Microsoft 365 Family – free for one month; $9.99 monthly or $99.99 yearly
• Microsoft 365 Personal – costs $6.99 per month and $69.99 yearly
• Office Home & Student 2019 –offers a one-time purchase priced at $149.99 (for both Mac and PC)

The pricing section doesn’t seem concise, but I had to exscind almost 75% of Microsoft 365’s catalog pricing plans.

What I Like About MS Word

The app is packed with powerful formatting options, templates for almost anything, and an easy-to-use interface.

What I Didn’t Like About MS Word

No virtual boards like some of the other dedicated writing software programs I’ve listed.

Ulysses has been in the game for a very long time. In fact, it is the software that inspired Scrivener.

And just like Scrivener (which seems to have overtaken it), it has a modern, streamlined interface and is stuffed with essential features for a modern writer. Ulysses provides document management, file syncing, style editing, and many other essential capabilities.

It is the perfect book writing tool for serious authors because it allows the writer to organize the manuscript in a clean, focused writing environment.

Improves Focus & Productivity: Ulysses comes with features that allow writers to completely focus on writing and increase their output.

It has a distraction-free interface that helps you get around in no time-such as; typewriter mode, keyboard navigation mode which enables you to operate Ulysses via keyboard only, markup-based text editor, and many other customizable features.

Offers Sufficient Organization & Management: Ulysses offers a wide range of organizational tools that helps writers organize their work from something as small as note-taking to a bulky novel. The tool has:

• A unified library for your texts
• Hierarchic groups which let you organize your drafts
• Enables you to attach additional information such as images, PDFs, notes, keywords, and others.
• Filters which allow you to narrow down your library’s content according to keywords, text occurrences, et cetera.
• Writing Goals for tracking your daily objectives, set word or character limits, and overall progress.
• Auto-Save & Automatic Backup feature, which automatically saves your work and keeps local backups.

Versatile Synchronization and Export functions: With Ulysses’ syncing capabilities, you write anywhere without repeatedly setting the tool . Ulysses offers full iCloud sync, macOS-iOS sync (iPhone to iPad to Mac), and you can add Dropbox folders to your text library.

Ulysses also boasts of a versatile export function; among other capabilities, you can export your document as a Markdown file or HTML code, DOC, PDF, and other file formats. You can also publish your text directly to medium and WordPress.

Ulysses costs $5.99 monthly or $49.99 yearly. It also has a 14-day trial period.

What I Liked

The tool comes with a lot of perks. Still, there were some special ones including effective document management, progress tracking tools, multiple view options, and the direct WordPress and Medium publishing feature.

What I Didn’t Like

I didn’t like its exclusivity to Apple devices. I thought that it only affects the owner’s revenues more than anything else.

6. Manuskript 

Manuskript is an open-source tool for writers including novelists, journos, and academicians.

It comes close to providing the same features as its paid counterparts. It has an Outliner for you to hierarchically organize your work, allows you to set writing goals and has a feature called the “Novel Assistant,” which helps develop a random idea into a lucid plot by using the “snowflake method.”

The tool lacks cloud collaboration and other essential elements that paid tools have.

“If it doesn’t cost you money, don’t complain sonny!”

• Outliner: This feature lets you organize your ideas and little pieces of your story hierarchically. You can arrange and rearrange whichever way you like.
• Avoid Unnecessary Detours: With the Distraction-free mode, you can get rid of all distractions that impede the pace of your writing process.
• Monitor your Progress: Set personal goals
• Novel assistant:  You can utilize the snowflake method to develop your basic ideas into a coherent plotline or a full-fledged story with characters, plots, and comprehensive settings.

What I Like About Manuskript

Firstly, it’s an open-source tool. I also like how the “Novel assistant” adds something extra to your writing, the spell checker, and language translation.

What I Don’t Like About Manuskript

The app might be a bit difficult to install for people who are not tech-savvy.

7. Livingwriter

Here’s another tool with a shorter learning curve but stacked with all the necessary features to help you write your book—from the plotting phase right up to the publishing stage.

Livingwriter has an intuitive interface that was designed to make you feel comfortable right from the start.

You can collaborate with your co-authors and share your live chapters or the entire draft with an editor. The tool lets you restrict the view, comment, and editing permissions of your editor, proofreader, or co-authors to protect your work.

• Casually Organize and Plot Your Stories: Utilize the tool’s sidebar to arrange your chapter notes quickly.
• Get A God’s-Eye View of Your Writing: rearrange your plot lines or your book simply by dragging and dropping notes on the app’s board.
• Focus Mode : For a distraction-free writing experience, the right sidebar, which displays details on Chapters and Story Elements can be turned off, leaving the editor window only.
• Set Writing Goals: Writing goals enable you to observe differences in your writing pace and see how much content you have written.

Liivngwriter offers a 14-day trial. If you’re hooked, you have to choose between two payment arrangements: either pay $9.99 monthly or choose to fork out $96 once a year.

What I Like About Livingwriter

I liked the Grammarly Integration, the free trial, and its collaboration capabilities.

What I Didn’t Like About Livingwriter

I didn’t like the fact that the tool is not available as a desktop app and wasn’t ideal for screenwriting.

Although Dabble’s interface is more streamlined and intuitive than most of its competition, it is stuffed with features similar to those that Scrivener and its closest competitors have.

Well of course I used the word “stuffed,” but Dabble still has less features than Scrivener.

The tool comes with features like a word tracker, Cloud Sync, plot grid, and Spelling and Grammar checkers, among others.

Take a look at what you’ll be getting when you have Dabble as your writing software.

• Plot the “Bestseller Course”: One of Dabble’s most essential features is the Plot Grid.  With this feature, you can arrange plot lines and plot points in a notecard format. By dragging and dropping the notecards, you can develop basic ideas into a detailed scene chart.
• Up your Game—Focus: Dabble let’s switch into focus mode as you type, which reduces the distractions.  You can also customize the interface manually to give you a more focused writing space.
• Keep Track of the Mileage: Dabble has a goals module that keeps track of the daily word count. In the right module, there’s a bar graph that shows you the daily written amounts.

Dabble offers three plans: Basic, Standard, and Premium. The plans cost $5, $10, $15 respectively.

What I Like About Dabble

I like the Intuitive dashboard, the grammar checker, and the free trial

What I Didn’t Like About Dabble

There is one thing that I disliked about this tool; it isn’t ideal for writing screenplays, short stories, scripts, and other formats.

9. Google Docs

Google is the best Microsoft Word alternative—one of the most preferred writing tools out there. And just like its buddy, the word processor is supplemented by Google Sheets and Google Slides in G Suite by Google.

Unlike MS Word though, Google Docs tool is a cloud-based editor (although docs can be accessed offline). With the app, you can edit your docs offline and online (tablets, PCs, and phones).

This isn’t your sufficient Scrivener alternative though; it lacks the tools for you to seamlessly jump from one subsection of a bulky chapter to another section in another chapter. I usually use it for blog posts and other short reads.

Take a look at some of the standout features that Google Docs has to offer:

• Add Fonts: Just like MS Word, Google Docs lets you add fonts to its library, the good thing is that you don’t need to download and install the fonts separately.
• Enjoy the Voice to Text Feature: if you don’t feel like typing, you can utilize the voice typing feature and the app will translate your recording to text.
• A Variety of Styles: Google Docs comes with lots of different styles for formatting your text.

Google Docs Pricing

Google Docs is free, but you can purchase Google Workspace plans for you to get more storage space and other benefits of Google’s apps.

A Few Other Notable Pieces Of Writing Software Worth Mentioning

• Quoll Writer

What Makes the Best Book Writing Software?

Most writers I know are over 30, the average age being 40. Now, these seasoned wordsmiths have been doing all their writing using Word for a very long time.

For them to adopt a new tool to use in the writing process, the tool needs to have something extra special, an extra oomph!

They are not just going to start using a tool just because someone says it’s good (I’d expect the same attitude from you too), but some of the factors I have listed below would do a lot to convince them, and they’re the ones you should be considering before you decide which book writing software is the best for you.

How to Decide Which Book Writing Software Is Best for You?

The following are things to consider before choosing a book writing software:

Offline Functionality

Having a tool that only works online is okay, but sometimes writers take writing excursions to a remote location to get their writing juices flowing again.

They might choose an area with no internet connection and need their Scrivener working full time whilst they’re there.

Or the internet might be working just fine, but the writer might decide to go offline. Offline writing software comes in handy in such situations. 

Desktop App

Nobody expects to write or edit a whole 100k novel in a web-based text box. That would just kill the fun of writing the book.

Conveniently most good writing apps have desktop apps.

And the app ought to be available for both macOS and Windows (although I’ve listed some tools which are only available either as macOS apps or Windows apps).

Distraction-Free Writing

Focus is so important, especially when you’re writing bulky creative pieces.

But writing on a laptop or tablet computer offers plenty of distractions. With notifications flying in from everywhere, your unfinished movie staring at you, et cetera.

A good writing app needs to be able to block all these distractions from your writing environment.   

To achieve this, some apps go full screen and inhibit inessential background processes while others turn into a typewriter and only display the text being typed.

Easy or Steep Learning Curve

Although a steeper learning curve indicates the sophistication of a writing app, some tools are just complicated for no substantial reason.

If an app like Scrivener has a steeper learning, it is for a very good reason: the tool is stuffed with comprehensive features that help you from the first step to the publishing stage of your manuscript crafting process.

However, Scrivener is an exception (the steeper presents an investment into a Rambo of a book writing software), and writing tools need to be easy to master.

Tracking Your Progress

The best writing tools are equipped with features that help see how much ground you’ve covered.

They furnish you with stats to help you track your writing progress and set personal milestones.

Writing tools like the veteran MS word allow you to easily track, accept, and reject the change made to your document.

Scrivener and other tools like it have virtual boards called Cork Boards where you can organize, plan, and keep track of changes made to your draft.

Cost of Software

The overall cost of writing ought to be the least of your worries. The concern should be what you want from software.

If you are paying $49 to use Scrivener, it means you are paying for all its features.

But, are you using all of them?

If all you need the tool to do is help you outline your book and check some grammar and spelling mistakes , then you’re overpaying.

You can use a less sophisticated tool that costs less but has the basic features which you need.

But if a tool has the perfect features for your project (no major inessential elements), then pay up, buddy!

Is Free Writing Software as Good as Paid Software?

The answer—put simply—is no.

Free writing software is sufficient, but paid ones usually are more developed with better user features.

Free writing software tools feel like regular milk, but the paid have this extra edge, a thickness that feels more like condensed milk. The developers always make sure to stuff the paid ones with more indispensable features to make them way cooler than the free version.

And if a tool is completely free, then it probably generates revenue using other sources. Such tools usually bombard you with ads and lack many essential features you’d typically find in a paid tool.

So, the free ones will do the job for you, just not as efficiently as their paid counterparts.

What Software Do Most Writers Use?

The ‘word processor’ market has been flooded with a lot of software, but there is one that has stood the test of time.

The Granddaddy of word processors—Microsoft word. It’s been here for decades and still reigns as the most used writing software even though other apps do a better job.

The issue lies with trust. The tool still has millions of users (in the US only), and its popularity has never been matched anywhere else in the world.

What Writing Software Do Famous Writers Use?

1. stephen king.

The bestselling horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novelist uses MS Word for manuscript and Final Draft for screenplays.

2. J.K Rowling

The Harry Potter author uses MS word. She once tweeted that she writes her very first draft using pen and paper then transfers it to Word.

3. Sabba Tahir

 The bestselling author of a YA fantasy series uses both Scrivener and MS Word. Sabba starts out in Scrivener, then after organizing the book she moves it to Word and finishes it there.

4. Jeff Goins

Jeff is a best-selling author of books, including Real Artists Don’t Starve and The Art of Work. He uses Scrivener to craft his bestsellers.

So, What’s the Best Book Writing Software?

Scrivener , without Doubt.

It is so good that new apps strive to be the perfect copies of this standard-setting tool.

Just imagine, it completely tramples the app it was accused of copying.

And I have talked about the steep learning curve about a thousand times and why the case is so…

You can’t build something this good and expect the average joe to quickly and easily master it.

Almost anyone can drive a Cadillac, but how many can get a spaceship to mars?

You get the idea.

Recommended Reading...

Best dictation software in 2024, best essay writing software: 16 apps that can help you write perfect essays, scrivener vs word: which is the better book writing software, vellum vs scrivener: which is better for writing and formatting your book.

Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. We try our best to keep things fair and balanced, in order to help you make the best choice for you.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

© 2024 When You Write

The 15 Best Novel Writing Software for Authors

Do you really need novel writing software?  That answer depends on who you ask, of course…but ask any seasoned, career novelist and they’ll tell you: Efficient novel writing software is an integral part of any fiction author’s writing routine. 

At first glance, the idea of novel writing software might seem a little superfluous. Can’t you just use a standard word processor?

While it’s possible to learn how to write a novel using standard software, it might not be the best approach. A novel intended for self-publishing is a complex project, requiring drafting and redrafting, as well as collaboration with others. Specialist novel writing software can make the production process much smoother. 

To make your life a little easier, we’ve produced a guide to the best novel writing software out there.

Here is a rundown of your main novel writing software options, along with which operating systems each works with, the associated price, and the pros and cons of each tool.

This guide to the best novel writing software covers:

1. autocrit.

AutoCrit is an automated editing tool aimed at fiction authors.

The software works by analyzing real bestselling novels of different genres to come up with guidelines on aspects such as pacing, the number of adverbs, and if your word choices are cliche or not. 

On top of providing feedback on the style of your prose and its technical competence, AutoCrit acts as a word processing environment and basic grammar and spellcheck. 

How much does AutoCrit cost?

AutoCrit is available at three different price points:

• Free . Basic access to the word processing, spellcheck, and grammar check features of AutoCrit. 
• $30 per month . Access to the basic capabilities in the free plan plus the full suite of editing reports that are the main feature of AutoCrit.
• $144 per year . The same access to the editing reports found in the $30 per month plan as well as access to two free courses on varied writing and improved dialogue.  

Which platforms is AutoCrit available for?

AutoCrit is available in the cloud. To use it, you need a machine capable of logging in online. There is no app to download, so no requirements in that area. 

What are the pros and cons of using AutoCrit?

So what are the advantages and disadvantages of using AutoCrit as your novel writing software?

Pros of AutoCrit:

AutoCrit takes its data from real novels. If you’re interested in comparing your work to some of the titans of the genre you write in (see our list of book genres here), AutoCrit is a good choice.

Many AutoCrit users have reported that the software’s suggestions match up well with those made by human readers. 

Cons of AutoCrit:

One common criticism of AutoCrit is that its suggestions sometimes lack context. For example, it might criticize you for repetition, even if that repetition was a stylistic choice.

Bibisco is a small novel writing software made by an Italian author. 

Its major selling point is the ability to plan your novel with different narrative strands and that it allows you to add in-depth notes and planning cards for different scenes.

Bibisco is attractive as the best writing software for novels. The free version offers a lot of functionality while the paid option is available on a pay-what-you-want basis. 

Bibisco is a good choice of novel writing software for authors who want to make notes on their novel without being weighed down by a complex interface. 

How much does Bibisco cost?

In terms of value for money, Bibisco is superb. It’s a passion project from its creator, and that’s reflected in its pricing.

The Community Edition of Bibisco is available for free . This is a fairly functional version of Bibisco, but lacks some important options, such as the ability to export to epub. 

If you want the full edition, go for the Supporter’s Edition of Bibisco. This is available on a pay-what-you-want basis . It includes features such as timelines and writing goals as well as the ability to export your novel to epub. 

Which platforms is Bibisco available for?

At this time, Bibisco is available for users of:

• MacOS Mojave

What are the pros and cons of using Bibisco?

So what are some reasons to consider using Bibisco, as well as some signs that this novel writing software might not be the right choice for your needs?

Pros of Bibisco:

On the plus side, Bibisco has an intuitive and easy-to-understand design. This isn’t one of those novel writing software options that require you to put hours and hours in to learn how it functions. It’s also great to see a value-for-money passion project produced by the author community. 

Cons of Bibisco:

In terms of its drawbacks, some users of Bibisco have reported that they find writing scene by scene to be a little frustrating , at least at first. Also, compared to some of the more powerful book writing software options on this list, Bibisco doesn’t offer full editing feedback and capabilities. 

Bibisco is worth a look if you want an intuitive novel writing assistant, made by an author with the author community in mind.

3. Dramatica

Of all the apps on this list claiming to help you write a better novel, Dramatica is arguably the one with the loftiest aims.

Rather than presenting itself as a novel writing software product, Dramatica claims to have a unique philosophy on the concept of story itself. 

Dramatica is a tool providing an in-depth look at story structure and character motivation .

To get a feel for the lens through which Dramatica sees stories, check out how it breaks down the indie film classic Donnie Darko . 

How much does Dramatica cost?

If you want to try out Dramatica, you have both free and paid options. There are also different editions for Windows and Mac, as follows: 

• There is a free demo of Dramatica available for both Windows and Mac.
• The paid version of Dramatica for Mac, Dramatica Story Expert 5, costs $199.95.
• The paid version of Dramatica for Windows, Dramatica Pro, costs $119.95. 

Which platforms is Dramatica available for?

Dramatica is available for Mac and Windows , but each platform has a different version.

Dramatica Story Expert is the version for Mac, offering a greater level of functionality than the Windows version.

Dramatica Pro is available for Windows and is similar to the Mac version but a little less powerful. 

What are the pros and cons of using Dramatica?

So what are the strongest and weakest aspects of Dramatica?

Pros of Dramatica:

While a lot of the novel writing software in this guide offer similar levels of functionality, Dramatica brings something different to the table. The way it analyzes story and character is truly unique and like nothing else out there. A lot of major fiction and screenplay writers have thrown their support and praise behind Dramatica. 

Cons of Dramatica:

If you’re looking for novel writing software that helps you with structure and grammar, Dramatica might be more powerful than you need it to be. Not everyone will agree with (or want) to learn the theory and philosophy underpinning Dramatica. Those who do will find there is a learning curve involved in understanding its take on story.

Dramatica is one of the most interesting and unique products in this novel writing software guide. While it won’t be right for every aspiring novelist, if you like the sound of its philosophy of story and character, it will give you a unique insight into your writing. 

4. FastPencil/Opyrus

For years, FastPencil was a standalone writing and collaboration platform available in the cloud.

Now, it’s part of a larger self-publishing services package that has been rebranded as Opyrus.

The novel writing software is still known as FastPencil, so we will refer to it by that name for the rest of the review.

How much does FastPencil cost?

FastPencil is no longer available as a standalone product. Instead, it’s available as part of an Opyrus package, available at three different price points:

• Free. Access to only basic features.
• Personal. $45.67 annual billing or $4.95 per month. 
• Professional. $138 annually or $14.95 per month. 

Which platforms is FastPencil available for?

If you want to use FastPencil, you simply need any computer capable of logging into the cloud. 

What are the pros and cons of using FastPencil?

So what are some advantages and disadvantages of opting for FastPencil as your choice of novel writing software?

Pros of FastPencil:

Unlike some of the other novel writing software out there, FastPencil has been going a long time. There are two decades of experience behind the product. 

Cons of FastPencil:

While FastPencil is good at what it does, it doesn’t bring anything unique to the table. You can get a lot of the same functionality elsewhere at a lower price point .

Also, now that FastPencil is part of the wider Opyrus system, many authors will find that they don’t need everything they are paying for. 

By all means, see if you like the way that FastPencil helps you craft a novel, but we feel the majority of authors are better off looking elsewhere for their novel writing software. 

5. FocusWriter

At this point in our guide, you’ll notice that some novel writing software options aim to offer almost every function you could think of, while others try and do one thing well. 

FocusWriter is very much an example of the latter. This isn’t a tool that aims to pack itself full of bells and whistles.

Instead, FocusWriter aims to solve a common pain point for novelists – the ability to drill down into your work, get into a creative flow state, and make progress on your word count target.

FocusWriter does this by offering a very minimalist writing environment, with some degree of customization . You can set timers and goals to help you write.

Ultimately, FocusWriter doesn’t offer everything you need to produce a novel. However, for times when you’re distracted, it might just help to improve focus . 

How much does FocusWriter cost?

FocusWriter is available for free on every platform, but if you’re a fan of the tool, you have the option to leave a tip and support its creator. 

Which platforms is FocusWriter available for?

At this time, FocusWriter is compatible with:

What are the pros and cons of using FocusWriter?

So what are the best and worst things about using FocusWriter as your novel writing software?

Pros of FocusWriter:

FocusWriter is a great choice if you’re finding it hard to make progress with your writing. You can create a minimalist, distraction-free environment that is customized to your needs. 

Cons of FocusWriter:

The major downside to using FocusWriter is it doesn’t offer the functionality you need to produce a novel. It will help you break through periods of writer’s block , but you’ll need different novel writing software for planning, editing, and exporting your work.

FocusWriter is a great choice to get you out of a sticky situation where you’re struggling with your word count. For every other stage of the novel writing process, it probably isn’t the smartest choice. 

6. Milanote

Milanote is a tool that allows you to gather together ideas and inspiration and store them in mood boards and mindmaps. 

One specific application of Milanote featured on its website is its use as a novel planning tool. You can create book outlines , make character information cards, and more. 

There’s no denying that Milanote is a stylish-looking novel writing software option. But how much will it set you back, and is it right for your next book?

How much does Milanote cost?

You can try out Milanote for free, but the paid option has a lot more functionality.

• Free – Store 100 notes, images, and links without the ability to search.
• $12.50 per month or $119.98 annually – Allows for unlimited notes, images, and links and full search functionality.

Which platforms is Milanote available for?

If you want to give Milanote a go for yourself, you can get it for:

What are the pros and cons of using Milanote?

So which kind of novelist might find Milanote a good choice of novel writing software?

Pros of Milanote:

Milanote is very stylish and easy to use. If you are prone to moments of inspiration on the move and want to ensure they aren’t lost, Milanote is a great way to capture them and use them as creative fuel for a novel. 

Cons of Milanote:

Perhaps the major drawback to Milanote is its cost. You need to be comfortable with paying for a research and planning tool, albeit a really good one.

Ultimately, if you’re looking for an all-in-one novel writing software, Milanote isn’t it. If you are comfortable using a separate tool for research and planning, consider checking out Milanote. 

7. Novellus

Novellus is an affordable solution for novelists that offers some advantages over a standard Word Processor app.

Unlike a standard word processor document that quickly becomes cluttered and unwieldy, Novellus allows you to better organize a lengthy project into different scenes and sections. 

Novellus also offers some functionality as a proofreading aid. While this will never take the place of a human editor, it will help you send your editor cleaner text to work with.

How much does Novellus cost?

Novellus is available for a one-off cost of $29.99 . This is an advantage if you don’t like signing up to a subscription plan. 

Which platforms is Novellus available for?

At this time, Novellus is available only for MacOS . 

What are the pros and cons of using Novellus?

How should you weigh up if Novellus is the right novel writing software for you?

Pros of Novellus:

Novellus is preferable to using a standard word processor. Its functionality will make planning and keeping track of your novel far easier. 

Cons of Novellus:

Unless you have MacOS, you won’t be able to use this novel writing software. Also, for a slightly higher investment, you can purchase a more powerful solution.

Although Novellus isn’t the best choice for the majority of self-published authors, if you’re using MacOS and want an affordable upgrade over a standard word processor, Novellus may work well for you. 

Novlr is a stylish, specialist writing tool intended just for novelists. 

When you use Novlr, you enjoy better planning and organization capabilities than those offered by a standard word processor.

There is also upcoming support for features such as the ability to connect with designers and editors directly through Novlr. In addition, Novlr is now writer-owned!

How much does Novlr cost?

Novlr has multiple price options, including:

• Starter – FREE
• Plus – $5 a month or $48 a year
• Pro – $18 a month or $168 a year

You can even pay $499 for lifetime membership and co-ownership of this novel writing software!

Which platforms is Novlr available for?

Novlr is available on any device capable of logging into the cloud, which makes it one of the best writing apps for Android or iOS.

What are the pros and cons of using Novlr?

So, why should or shouldn’t you choose Novlr as your novel writing software?

Pros of Novlr:

Novlr is a stylish novel writing software that will help you create a comfortable virtual writing environment . It also offers productivity and tracking advantages over more standardized solutions. Plus, you can even invest in being a co-owner of the software!

Cons of Novlr:

There aren’t many downsides to Novlr if you like using it! Overall, Novlr is an attractive place to write your next novel.

9. Scrivener

Scrivener has a cult following among the writing community. It’s a novel writing software option famed for both its power and complexity.

If you ask around about Scrivener, many writers will admit that they find it a bit intimidating to learn. What many writers don’t know is that the latest version of Scrivener is a lot easier to use than earlier editions.

In terms of planning, writing, and even exporting your novel, Scrivener offers a level of power not found elsewhere. 

If you’re willing to learn how to use it, Scrivener is the only novel writing software you’ll ever need. 

How much does Scrivener cost?

Scrivener has one of the best free trials in the whole industry, and is available at an affordable price point to buy as a one-off software:

• 30-day free trial , even use on non-consecutive days
• $49 macOS standard license
• $49 Windows standard license
• $19.99 for the iOS version of Scrivener 

Which platforms is Scrivener available for?

At this time, Scrivener is available for:

What are the pros and cons of using Scrivener?

So how can you decide if Scrivener is the best choice of novel writing software for your book?

Pros of Scrivener:

In terms of sheer functionality, Scrivener is unmatched. It does anything and everything you could dream of when writing a novel. It’s also available at a one-off price point , so you avoid being tied into an expensive monthly or annual subscription. 

Cons of Scrivener:

The major downside to using Scrivener is its learning curve . However, since the release of Scrivener 3, the software is a lot easier to learn and use than older versions were. 

10. Storyist

If you’re looking to produce a novel or screenplay, and you happen to use Apple products, Storyist is one option available to you.

As well as full word processing capabilities, Storyist has outlining and story development functions that you won’t find in Microsoft Word. You can also easily create and track info on your characters to avoid any errors or gaps. 

How much does Storyist cost?

Storyist is available at two price points, depending on if you choose the mobile or desktop version:

• Storyist for iOS $19.00

Which platforms is Storyist available for?

If you’re a Windows or Linux user, Storyist isn’t available to you. 

It’s currently only available for:

What are the pros and cons of using Storyist?

Should you use Storyist to write your next novel?

Pros of Storyist:

Storyist is a good choice for screenwriters. Its functionality is also useful for novelists, but it seems that screenwriting is Storyist’s prime concern.

As a one-off purchase, it’s more affordable than the majority of subscription novel writing software options. 

Cons of Storyist:

Most novelists will find software intended for novelists only, rather than screenwriters and novelists, to be a better fit. Windows users are out of luck here.

11. The Novel Factory

The Novel Factory is available as both a downloadable app and a cloud login platform.

It aims to give novelists a specialist environment to work on their book, full of features not found in standard writing applications. 

Some of the features created with novelists in mind include the ability to store information on and track your characters, access detailed notes about the different locations your novel takes place in, manage version control for different drafts, and to set targets and writing goals .

How much does The Novel Factory cost?

To get started with The Novel Factory, you have three options:

• Basic – One novel and 50MB of storage for $75 a year
• Standard – Unlimited novels and 500MB of storage for $198 a year
• Premium – Unlimited novels and 5GB of storage for $600 a year

Which platforms is The Novel Factory available for?

The Novel Factory can currently be used in two ways:

• Downloaded app. Available only for Windows.
• Cloud login. Available for any device capable of logging into the Cloud. 

What are the pros and cons of using The Novel Factory?

So what are the good and bad points of using The Novel Factory as your novel writing software?

Pros of The Novel Factory:

The Novel Factory is very simple and easy to use. There’s no chance you’ll be confused by its interface. It also offers better functionality in terms of tracking your characters and locations than a standard word processor. 

Cons of The Novel Factory:

If you opt for the online version, you need to have an active internet connection to work on your novel. This is a drawback if you want to work on a plane or disconnect to focus better. The Novel Factory can also be very expensive depending on the amount of space you are looking for.

If you want a very easy-to-use novel writing software, and are comfortable with having to be online to use it, give The Novel Factory’s free trial a spin to see if it’s a good fit for your writing style. 

12. Ulysses

Broadly speaking, specialist novel writing software usually falls into one of two categories – fully-featured and complicated, or minimalist and easy to use.

Ulysses is an example of the minimalist school of thought. But how can it help novelists?

Ulysses is known for its minimalist writing interface and how it syncs between desktop and mobile. It also supports writing markups, and allows you to publish directly from the app to blogs. 

How much does Ulysses cost?

Ulysses is available at three price points:

• Free trial. 
• Monthly subscription for $5.99
• Annual subscription for $39.99

Which platforms is Ulysses available for?

Like many writing tools, Ulysses is only available for Apple users. You can get it for:

• MacOS 

What are the pros and cons of using Ulysses?

So what are the major pros and cons of using Ulysses as your novel writing software?

Pros of Ulysses:

Ulysses is a stylish, focused place to write. It’s easy to access your notes and images and use them for inspiration while you work. 

Cons of Ulysses:

As is often the case, Windows users aren’t able to enjoy Ulysses. Also, while Ulysses supports markup and publishing directly to WordPress or Ghost, these are features more suited to blogging than novel writing. 

Ulysses is a great writing app for Apple users who blog , but novelists might want to seek another solution. 

13. WriteItNow

Unlike some of the other tools featured in this guide, WriteItNow is intended just for novelists.

Some of the functionality offered by WriteItNow includes support for chapters and scenes, the inclusion of research and background notes, the option to view your novel as a storyboard, and the setting of writing targets and goals to help you stay on schedule. 

How much does WriteItNow cost?

So how much does it cost to get started with WriteItNow?

• Free trial. Fully-featured but doesn’t allow for saving. 
• $59.95. One-off purchase price

Which platforms is WriteItNow available for?

At this time, WriteItNow is available for:

What are the pros and cons of using WriteItNow?

Here are some things to consider before choosing WriteItNow as your novel writing software:

Pros of WriteItNow:

WriteItNow offers some great features that will make writing your next novel far easier than using a standard writing app. It’s also available at an affordable price point that doesn’t tie you into a subscription.

Cons of WriteItNow:

If you’re looking for a mobile novel writing software, or one which supports Cloud functionality, WriteItNow isn’t the right option for you.

14. Writer’s Blocks

Do you struggle to plan and organize your thoughts? If so, Writer’s Blocks is intended for writers just like you!

Writer’s Blocks is aimed at both screenwriters and novelists. In addition to full word processing capabilities, the software organizes your writing into blocks. These can be color-coded, dragged and dropped, and rearranged. 

While the organizational abilities of Writer’s Blocks are useful, it doesn’t offer the level of functionality seen in some other options on this list. 

How much does Writer’s Blocks cost?

Writer’s Blocks costs $149 as a one-off payment.

Which platforms is Writer’s Blocks available for?

Writer’s Blocks is only available for Windows . 

What are the pros and cons of using Writer’s Blocks?

What do you need to know about using Writer’s Blocks?

Pros of Writer’s Blocks:

If you struggle with organizing your writing and planning , Writer’s Blocks makes life a lot easier in comparison to most word processors. 

Cons of Writer’s Blocks:

In our opinion, Writer’s Blocks offers a lower level of functionality than some other software. It also costs more . 

Unless you’ve tried out Writer’s Blocks and prefer the way it works, we’d suggest looking at Scrivener or WriteItNow instead of this. 

15. yWriter 

yWriter has gained an appreciative fanbase in the author community. It was made by an author who also happens to be a programmer. 

yWriter also has a long history of being updated and offering improvements.

Best of all? yWriter is free. It offers a lot of power and functionality for a free tool. Because it was made by a novelist with novelists in mind, it allows you to track info related to your characters, settings , and even objects. 

It’s a great choice for detail-rich novels. 

How much does yWriter cost?

yWriter is free across all versions and platforms. 

Which platforms is yWriter available for?

yWriter’s primary platform is Windows, but you can find it on:

• Full version available for Windows 
• Mac Alpha version (the creator of yWriter suggests using Scrivener for Mac instead of yWriter

What are the pros and cons of using yWriter?

Is yWriter the right choice of software for your novel?

Pros of yWriter:

If you’re a novelist working on Windows, you can’t do better than yWriter as a free tool . It offers a lot of the functionality of paid tools without the need to spend a single cent. 

Cons of yWriter:

If you work on a Mac or iOS device , yWriter isn’t the best choice for you. Consider software such as Scrivener instead or one of the specialist Mac-only novel writing apps found in this guide. 

Final verdict: What is the best novel writing software?

Thank you for checking out our guide to specialist novel writing software available for authors.

At this point, you know you have a lot of options! But which one is the best writing software for novels?

Ultimately, there’s no substitute for trying out software for yourself and seeing if you enjoy the experience of using it. 

The best writing software for novels is an entirely personal choice, and will come down to the following factors:

• Functionality. Which features are available in one software but not another? Which features do you need, and which are you unlikely to make use of when working on a novel?
• Price. How much are you willing to invest? Would you prefer a one-off payment cost or a monthly or annual subscription?
• Compatibility. Is the novel writing software you’re considering compatible with your operating system? Is it still being updated and likely to remain compatible in the future?

If you’re looking for somewhere to start, we suggest taking advantage of the free trial edition of Scrivener.

As Scrivener offers almost everything out there in terms of functionality, by using it, you’ll soon get a feel for the features you do and don’t need. 

By the time your 30 days of Scrivener are over, you can make the choice to either stick with the full version or opt for something a little less complex.

If you’ve used any of the novel writing software in this guide, please feel free to leave a comment!

Now that you’re equipped with the right tools to start writing your book, it’s a good time to also think about what happens after you have your manuscript. Book writing software will help you make sure your book is polished and ready to publish.

What is your favorite novel writing software?

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In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit­hole, and that means comfort. It had a perfectly round door like a porthole, painted green, with a shiny yellow brass knob in the exact middle. The door opened on to a tube­shaped hall like a tunnel: a very comfortable tunnel without smoke, with panelled walls, and floors tiled and carpeted, provided with polished chairs, and lots and lots of pegs for hats and coats ­ the hobbit was fond of visitors. The tunnel wound on and on, going fairly but not quite straight into the side of the hill ­ The Hill, as all the people for many miles round called it ­ and many little round doors opened out of it, first on one side and then on another. No going upstairs for the hobbit: bedrooms, bathrooms, cellars, pantries (lots of these), wardrobes (he had whole rooms devoted to clothes), kitchens, dining­rooms, all were on the same floor, and indeed on the same passage. The best rooms were all on the left­hand side (going in), for these were the only ones to have windows, deep­set round windows looking over his garden and meadows beyond, sloping down to the river. This hobbit was a very well­to­do hobbit, and his name was Baggins. The Bagginses had lived in the neighbourhood of The Hill for time out of mind, and people considered them very respectable, not only because most of them were rich, but also because they never had any adventures or did anything unexpected: you could tell what a Baggins would say on any question without the bother of asking him. This is a story of how a Baggins had an adventure, found himself doing and saying things altogether unexpected. He may have lost the neighbours' respect, but he gained­well, you will see whether he gained anything in the end.In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit­hole, and that means comfort. It had a perfectly round door like a porthole, painted green, with a shiny yellow brass knob in the exact middle. The door opened on to a tube­shaped hall like a tunnel: a very comfortable tunnel without smoke, with panelled walls, and floors tiled and carpeted, provided with polished chairs, and lots and lots of pegs for hats and coats ­ the hobbit was fond of visitors. The tunnel wound on and on, going fairly but not quite straight into the side of the hill ­ The Hill, as all the people for many miles round called it ­ and many little round doors opened out of it, first on one side and then on another. No going upstairs for the hobbit: bedrooms, bathrooms, cellars, pantries (lots of these), wardrobes (he had whole rooms devoted to clothes), kitchens, dining­rooms, all were on the same floor, and indeed on the same passage. The best rooms were all on the left­hand side (going in), for these were the only ones to have windows, deep­set round windows looking over his garden and meadows beyond, sloping down to the river. This hobbit was a very well­to­do hobbit, and his name was Baggins. The Bagginses had lived in the neighbourhood of The Hill for time out of mind, and people considered them very respectable, not only because most of them were rich, but also because they never had any adventures or did anything unexpected: you could tell what a Baggins would say on any question without the bother of asking him. This is a story of how a Baggins had an adventure, found himself doing and saying things altogether unexpected. He may have lost the neighbours' respect, but he gained­well, you will see whether he gained anything in the end.In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit­hole, and that means comfort. It had a perfectly round door like a porthole, painted green, with a shiny yellow brass knob in the exact middle. The door opened on to a tube­shaped hall like a tunnel: a very comfortable tunnel without smoke, with panelled walls, and floors tiled and carpeted, provided with polished chairs, and lots and lots of pegs for hats and coats ­ the hobbit was fond of visitors. The tunnel wound on and on, going fairly but not quite straight into the side of the hill ­ The Hill, as all the people for many miles round called it ­ and many little round doors opened out of it, first on one side and then on another. No going upstairs for the hobbit: bedrooms, bathrooms, cellars, pantries (lots of these), wardrobes (he had whole rooms devoted to clothes), kitchens, dining­rooms, all were on the same floor, and indeed on the same passage. The best rooms were all on the left­hand side (going in), for these were the only ones to have windows, deep­set round windows looking over his garden and meadows beyond, sloping down to the river. This hobbit was a very well­to­do hobbit, and his name was Baggins. The Bagginses had lived in the neighbourhood of The Hill for time out of mind, and people considered them very respectable, not only because most of them were rich, but also because they never had any adventures or did anything unexpected: you could tell what a Baggins would say on any question without the bother of asking him. This is a story of how a Baggins had an adventure, found himself doing and saying things altogether unexpected. He may have lost the neighbours' respect, but he gained­well, you will see whether he gained anything in the end.In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit­hole, and that means comfort. It had a perfectly round door like a porthole, painted green, with a shiny yellow brass knob in the exact middle. The door opened on to a tube­shaped hall like a tunnel: a very comfortable tunnel without smoke, with panelled walls, and floors tiled and carpeted, provided with polished chairs, and lots and lots of pegs for hats and coats ­ the hobbit was fond of visitors. The tunnel wound on and on, going fairly but not quite straight into the side of the hill ­ The Hill, as all the people for many miles round called it ­ and many little round doors opened out of it, first on one side and then on another. No going upstairs for the hobbit: bedrooms, bathrooms, cellars, pantries (lots of these), wardrobes (he had whole rooms devoted to clothes), kitchens, dining­rooms, all were on the same floor, and indeed on the same passage. The best rooms were all on the left­hand side (going in), for these were the only ones to have windows, deep­set round windows looking over his garden and meadows beyond, sloping down to the river. This hobbit was a very well­to­do hobbit, and his name was Baggins. The Bagginses had lived in the neighbourhood of The Hill for time out of mind, and people considered them very respectable, not only because most of them were rich, but also because they never had any adventures or did anything unexpected: you could tell what a Baggins would say on any question without the bother of asking him. This is a story of how a Baggins had an adventure, found himself doing and saying things altogether unexpected. He may have lost the neighbours' respect, but he gained­well, you will see whether he gained anything in the end.In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit­hole, and that means comfort. It had a perfectly round door like a porthole, painted green, with a shiny yellow brass knob in the exact middle. The door opened on to a tube­shaped hall like a tunnel: a very comfortable tunnel without smoke, with panelled walls, and floors tiled and carpeted, provided with polished chairs, and lots and lots of pegs for hats and coats ­ the hobbit was fond of visitors. The tunnel wound on and on, going fairly but not quite straight into the side of the hill ­ The Hill, as all the people for many miles round called it ­ and many little round doors opened out of it, first on one side and then on another. No going upstairs for the hobbit: bedrooms, bathrooms, cellars, pantries (lots of these), wardrobes (he had whole rooms devoted to clothes), kitchens, dining­rooms, all were on the same floor, and indeed on the same passage. The best rooms were all on the left­hand side (going in), for these were the only ones to have windows, deep­set round windows looking over his garden and meadows beyond, sloping down to the river. This hobbit was a very well­to­do hobbit, and his name was Baggins. The Bagginses had lived in the neighbourhood of The Hill for time out of mind, and people considered them very respectable, not only because most of them were rich, but also because they never had any adventures or did anything unexpected: you could tell what a Baggins would say on any question without the bother of asking him. This is a story of how a Baggins had an adventure, found himself doing and saying things altogether unexpected. He may have lost the neighbours' respect, but he gained­well, you will see whether he gained anything in the end.In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit­hole, and that means comfort. It had a perfectly round door like a porthole, painted green, with a shiny yellow brass knob in the exact middle. The door opened on to a tube­shaped hall like a tunnel: a very comfortable tunnel without smoke, with panelled walls, and floors tiled and carpeted, provided with polished chairs, and lots and lots of pegs for hats and coats ­ the hobbit was fond of visitors. The tunnel wound on and on, going fairly but not quite straight into the side of the hill ­ The Hill, as all the people for many miles round called it ­ and many little round doors opened out of it, first on one side and then on another. No going upstairs for the hobbit: bedrooms, bathrooms, cellars, pantries (lots of these), wardrobes (he had whole rooms devoted to clothes), kitchens, dining­rooms, all were on the same floor, and indeed on the same passage. The best rooms were all on the left­hand side (going in), for these were the only ones to have windows, deep­set round windows looking over his garden and meadows beyond, sloping down to the river. This hobbit was a very well­to­do hobbit, and his name was Baggins. The Bagginses had lived in the neighbourhood of The Hill for time out of mind, and people considered them very respectable, not only because most of them were rich, but also because they never had any adventures or did anything unexpected: you could tell what a Baggins would say on any question without the bother of asking him. This is a story of how a Baggins had an adventure, found himself doing and saying things altogether unexpected. He may have lost the neighbours' respect, but he gained­well, you will see whether he gained anything in the end.In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit­hole, and that means comfort. It had a perfectly round door like a porthole, painted green, with a shiny yellow brass knob in the exact middle. The door opened on to a tube­shaped hall like a tunnel: a very comfortable tunnel without smoke, with panelled walls, and floors tiled and carpeted, provided with polished chairs, and lots and lots of pegs for hats and coats ­ the hobbit was fond of visitors. The tunnel wound on and on, going fairly but not quite straight into the side of the hill ­ The Hill, as all the people for many miles round called it ­ and many little round doors opened out of it, first on one side and then on another. No going upstairs for the hobbit: bedrooms, bathrooms, cellars, pantries (lots of these), wardrobes (he had whole rooms devoted to clothes), kitchens, dining­rooms, all were on the same floor, and indeed on the same passage. The best rooms were all on the left­hand side (going in), for these were the only ones to have windows, deep­set round windows looking over his garden and meadows beyond, sloping down to the river. This hobbit was a very well­to­do hobbit, and his name was Baggins. The Bagginses had lived in the neighbourhood of The Hill for time out of mind, and people considered them very respectable, not only because most of them were rich, but also because they never had any adventures or did anything unexpected: you could tell what a Baggins would say on any question without the bother of asking him. This is a story of how a Baggins had an adventure, found himself doing and saying things altogether unexpected. He may have lost the neighbours' respect, but he gained­well, you will see whether he gained anything in the end.In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit­hole, and that means comfort. It had a perfectly round door like a porthole, painted green, with a shiny yellow brass knob in the exact middle. The door opened on to a tube­shaped hall like a tunnel: a very comfortable tunnel without smoke, with panelled walls, and floors tiled and carpeted, provided with polished chairs, and lots and lots of pegs for hats and coats ­ the hobbit was fond of visitors. The tunnel wound on and on, going fairly but not quite straight into the side of the hill ­ The Hill, as all the people for many miles round called it ­ and many little round doors opened out of it, first on one side and then on another. No going upstairs for the hobbit: bedrooms, bathrooms, cellars, pantries (lots of these), wardrobes (he had whole rooms devoted to clothes), kitchens, dining­rooms, all were on the same floor, and indeed on the same passage. The best rooms were all on the left­hand side (going in), for these were the only ones to have windows, deep­set round windows looking over his garden and meadows beyond, sloping down to the river. This hobbit was a very well­to­do hobbit, and his name was Baggins. The Bagginses had lived in the neighbourhood of The Hill for time out of mind, and people considered them very respectable, not only because most of them were rich, but also because they never had any adventures or did anything unexpected: you could tell what a Baggins would say on any question without the bother of asking him. This is a story of how a Baggins had an adventure, found himself doing and saying things altogether unexpected. He may have lost the neighbours' respect, but he gained­well, you will see whether he gained anything in the end.In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit­hole, and that means comfort. It had a perfectly round door like a porthole, painted green, with a shiny yellow brass knob in the exact middle. The door opened on to a tube­shaped hall like a tunnel: a very comfortable tunnel without smoke, with panelled walls, and floors tiled and carpeted, provided with polished chairs, and lots and lots of pegs for hats and coats ­ the hobbit was fond of visitors. The tunnel wound on and on, going fairly but not quite straight into the side of the hill ­ The Hill, as all the people for many miles round called it ­ and many little round doors opened out of it, first on one side and then on another. No going upstairs for the hobbit: bedrooms, bathrooms, cellars, pantries (lots of these), wardrobes (he had whole rooms devoted to clothes), kitchens, dining­rooms, all were on the same floor, and indeed on the same passage. The best rooms were all on the left­hand side (going in), for these were the only ones to have windows, deep­set round windows looking over his garden and meadows beyond, sloping down to the river. This hobbit was a very well­to­do hobbit, and his name was Baggins. The Bagginses had lived in the neighbourhood of The Hill for time out of mind, and people considered them very respectable, not only because most of them were rich, but also because they never had any adventures or did anything unexpected: you could tell what a Baggins would say on any question without the bother of asking him. This is a story of how a Baggins had an adventure, found himself doing and saying things altogether unexpected. He may have lost the neighbours' respect, but he gained­well, you will see whether he gained anything in the end.In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit­hole, and that means comfort. It had a perfectly round door like a porthole, painted green, with a shiny yellow brass knob in the exact middle. The door opened on to a tube­shaped hall like a tunnel: a very comfortable tunnel without smoke, with panelled walls, and floors tiled and carpeted, provided with polished chairs, and lots and lots of pegs for hats and coats ­ the hobbit was fond of visitors. The tunnel wound on and on, going fairly but not quite straight into the side of the hill ­ The Hill, as all the people for many miles round called it ­ and many little round doors opened out of it, first on one side and then on another. No going upstairs for the hobbit: bedrooms, bathrooms, cellars, pantries (lots of these), wardrobes (he had whole rooms devoted to clothes), kitchens, dining­rooms, all were on the same floor, and indeed on the same passage. The best rooms were all on the left­hand side (going in), for these were the only ones to have windows, deep­set round windows looking over his garden and meadows beyond, sloping down to the river. This hobbit was a very well­to­do hobbit, and his name was Baggins. The Bagginses had lived in the neighbourhood of The Hill for time out of mind, and people considered them very respectable, not only because most of them were rich, but also because they never had any adventures or did anything unexpected: you could tell what a Baggins would say on any question without the bother of asking him. This is a story of how a Baggins had an adventure, found himself doing and saying things altogether unexpected. He may have lost the neighbours' respect, but he gained­well, you will see whether he gained anything in the end.

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The ship, the stalwart vessel known as 'The Serenity Mariner,' was plunged into chaos as the sky became a swirling maelstrom of opalescent tendrils. The flying jellyfish, their bioluminescent bodies illuminating the blackened sky, descended upon the ship with an otherworldly fury. Their membranous bodies pulsated as they sailed through the air, their long, poisonous tentacles trailing behind them like deadly streamers.

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45 best book writing software and apps for authors (write faster with these amazing features!)

When asked about the best writing apps or software, I used to say, “Just use whatever you have and are comfortable with.” But recently I’ve been focused on upping my productivity and wordcount, so I’m testing everything to see if anything helps. Here’s a quick review of some of the things I think are cool, and what I actually ended up using.

NOTE: none of these will actually help you write a better book, unless they’re helping with a suggested outline or content. They can help you stay organized, and some may help edit or polish your writing, but they won’t  improve the commercial  value of your work.

There are several software options available for writing, including word processors and text editors. Here’s a quick list of the winners I really use…

• Plottr for outlining (or chatGPT with my outline templates )
• iAwriter or Sudo Write (drafting or brainstorming ideas)
• Microsoft Word (I move my words here to organize)
• Scrivener (some people prefer this to keep notes)
• ProWritingAid (editing)
• Grammarly (proofreading)
• Quillbot (revising)
• Atticus or Vellum (for formatting)

The perfect writing software doesn’t exist…

I just upgraded my  writing tools and keyboards , so now I need a system for doing quick writing sprints for the rough draft, and adding them into my main software for organization and editing. Here are some of the features I want or am looking for, which won’t all be satisfied by one program:

• easily open and save files in dropbox, so I can switch devices easily or copy+paste into main file
• display word count as I type
• set project word count goals and deadlines
• keep track of long-term writing habits and data
• make it easy to rearrange, organize notes, and keep everything together
• distraction free writing

Update: I found something new that does all of this…

Let’s be real, you don’t need any writing software to write books. But you also don’t need to suffer so hard to tell your story, and there are tools that make it a LOT easier if you learn to use them. Yes it’s probably worth the cost… as long as you use it. If you don’t use it, cancel. But you want to be writing more and better, right? Whatever it takes? Scroll down for my full list of best writing apps and software, I’ll add some video reviews soon as well, or just grab the basics up above. They work.

I *hope* there will be better, newer apps and software out soon, but it’s also true that the old standards like Grammarly, ProWritingAid, and probably even a zombified “clippy” using AI are being updated, which means they’ll be way more helpful and it’ll be way easier to write and edit books.

Maybe you’re creative and you just need to brainstorm ideas; or maybe it’s too hard to hold everything in your brain and you need a serial-killer pinboard with all your ideas connected with red yarn; maybe you LOVE writing but aren’t sure how to plot a satisfying story (or fix a broken one); maybe you had revising and editing and are hunting down every last elusive typo before you publish. Maybe you can’t get off your couch so you aren’t writing at all and feel like a loser (been there!).

Writing software makes life easier, and it can be a shortcut past those tedious things you hate to do, that you’re procrastinating against so hard it’s killing your joy and momentum. Take the easy way out. You don’t have to do everything yourself. PS – look at the image up there. Using a typewriter in a coffeeshop is dumb. But when they first came out, lots of writers made the shift quickly, because it was faster and easier than writing by hand. Now everybody has a laptop; but some authors are dictating full books while driving to work. There isn’t one way to write a book. Any way that works for you, is the right way. Try them all until you find a process that works and your book gets done.

Best book writing software and apps for authors

Tired of struggling with clunky word processors and outdated software when trying to write your magnum opus? Or maybe you’re sick of spending hours scouring the web for the best writing resources and tools. Fear not, for I have a solution for you!

Writing a book is no easy feat. It takes grit, determination, and a whole lot of creativity. Luckily, there are some fantastic writing software options out there that can make the process a little bit easier. In this section, we’ll dive into the best software for book authors – from powerful word processors to specialized outlining tools. Whether you’re working on a novel, memoir, or any other type of book, we’ve got you covered. Let’s explore the top writing software options for book authors and take your writing to the next level. I’m going to be your guide to the best online writing software and tools available for book authors. But first, let’s talk about why writing software is so darn important.

Now, I know what you’re thinking – “But Derek, can’t I just use Microsoft Word or Google Docs to write my book?” Well, sure, you can; I’ve written 2 dozens books just with Microsoft Word. But I also rely on a few other tools, and I’m open to finding new ways to write better quality content without slaving over it for years. Those programs were designed for general use and lack many of the specific features that authors need. Trust me, I’ve been there. And there are a bunch of useful tools that probably aren’t even on your radar yet: so I did a deep dive to find them all (like catching Pokémon).

Whether you’re looking for software to help you outline your plot, organize your research, or simply write without distractions, there’s a tool out there for you. And with so many options available, it can be overwhelming to know where to start.

That’s why I’ve taken it upon myself to test and evaluate the most popular writing software and tools available. But before we dive into the nitty-gritty, let me explain the criteria I used to select the best options.

First and foremost, I looked for software that could truly enhance the writing process. Whether that meant streamlining the drafting process, improving editing capabilities, or providing research and organization tools, each piece of software had to be useful in some way.

Next, I evaluated each tool based on its ease of use. Let’s be honest – writing a book is hard enough without having to fiddle around with complicated software. The tools I’ve selected are all user-friendly and intuitive, making them accessible for writers of all levels.

Finally, I took pricing into account. As much as we’d all love to shell out thousands of dollars for the ultimate writing software, the reality is that most of us are working within a budget. That’s why I’ve included both free and paid options, so you can find the best tool for your needs without breaking the bank.

So, without further ado, let’s jump into the world of writing software and find the perfect tools to take your book to the next level!

PS… I’m in the middle of revising this list with fresh new tools, so it’s a little messy right now!

Best writing apps and software for authors

Writing a book is a complex process that requires a lot of organization, focus, and creativity. That’s why there are many writing software programs that are specifically designed to cater to the needs of book authors.

Whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned author, the right software can help you streamline your workflow, keep track of characters and plotlines, and make revisions a breeze. In this section, we’ll explore some of the top writing software programs that are perfect for book authors.

From traditional word processors like Microsoft Word and Google Docs to specialized tools like Scrivener and Ulysses, there are a ton of options out there to choose from. These programs offer features like chapter and scene organization, character profiles, research tools, and more. With the right software, you’ll be able to focus on your writing without worrying about the logistics.

While some professional writers have found basic software to be sufficient for writing books, there are valid reasons to want to use good tools to make the writing process easier. For example, you may want a writing program that better enables you to write chapter by chapter, has file management, or lets you set daily goals. Some of the best book writing software options include Scrivener, Ulysses, and Atticus, while Novlr is a good option for discovery writers.

I. Best Writing Software for Book Authors

• Microsoft Word
• Google Docs
• Scribble – this one is brand new, and it’s based on my 24 chapter outlines, and has tools to structure, keep track of writing habits, and lots of awesome features.

II. Best Editing Software for Book Authors

• Prowritingaid
• Hemingway Editor
• free editing software

Best Paraphrase/Rewriting tools

• Quillbot paraphrase –   see my full review .
• GhosttheWriter

III. Best Writing and Editing Apps for Mobile Devices

• Scrivener for iOS
• Ulysses for iOS
• Grammarly Keyboard
• Hemingway Editor for iOS
• Bear – a note-taking app for Mac and iOS that provides advanced organizational tools and markdown formatting for writers.

IIIV. Best Script Writing Softare

• Final Draft: Final Draft is the industry standard for screenwriting software. It has a clean and intuitive interface, customizable reports, and collaboration tools for working with other writers.
• Celtx: Celtx is a free, web-based screenwriting software that offers scriptwriting, pre-production, and collaboration features. It also includes templates for screenplays, stage plays, and comic books.
• Fade In: Fade In offers a feature-rich, cross-platform screenwriting software with support for multiple languages, real-time collaboration, and advanced formatting options. It also has a low one-time purchase price.
• Movie Magic Screenwriter: Movie Magic Screenwriter is a full-featured screenwriting software with an intuitive interface, customizable reports, and collaboration tools. It also includes templates for TV, stage plays, and novels.
• WriterDuet: WriterDuet is a cloud-based screenwriting software that allows real-time collaboration, automatic backups, and industry-standard formatting. It offers a free version with limited features and a paid version with more advanced options.
• Highland 2: Highland 2 is a minimalist, distraction-free screenwriting software that emphasizes simplicity and ease of use. It offers an automatic backup feature, a built-in thesaurus, and a night mode for writing in low-light conditions.
• Scrivener: Scrivener is a popular writing software that can be used for scriptwriting, novel writing, and other forms of writing. It offers customizable templates, outlining tools, and a user-friendly interface.

Overall, the best script writing software for you will depend on your individual needs and preferences. Consider the features that are most important to you, such as real-time collaboration or advanced formatting options, and choose the software that best fits your workflow.

V. Best Resources for Book Authors

• Google Keep
• Best books on writing

V1. Best Writing Apps for Distraction and Focus

• FocusWriter – a distraction-free writing app that provides a full-screen mode to help writers focus on their work.
• Evernote – a note-taking app that allows writers to save and organize their ideas, research, and notes in one place.
• MindNode – a mind mapping tool that helps writers to brainstorm and organize their ideas visually.
• Freedom – an app that blocks distracting websites and apps to help writers focus on their work.
• Draft – an online writing app that provides version control, collaboration, and commenting tools to help writers improve their work.
• most dangerous writing app
• write every day
• cold turkey writer

Personally, I use AIwriter on my iphone when I need to just draft scenes and get the words down; it helps to have a small screen with limited focus, so I can visualize the scene and not the words. Most of these tools are meant to gamify writing and help you to build that focus, by sprinting to get the words down. I haven’t found any I really use all the time though.

Writing software for outlining & formatting

• Reedsy – a book publishing platform that provides a suite of tools for writers, including a book editor, formatting tools, and a book cover designer.
• Plottr – a plotting and outlining software that helps writers to create and organize their story structure.
• Draft2Digital
• Vellum – I still use this to format everything, even though I have formatting templates .

Best AI writing software based on GPT3

These are just a few of the latest and best writing apps, software, editing, and revision tools available based on the analysis from ChatGPT3.

• GPT-4:  This is one of the most advanced AI writing tools available, capable of generating high-quality content for a variety of purposes, including marketing copy, blog posts, and even creative writing. It is currently available through several different software platforms, including OpenAI’s API.
• Copy.ai: This AI writing tool is designed to help users generate marketing copy and other types of content quickly and easily. It uses a combination of AI and natural language processing to generate content that is tailored to the user’s needs.
• Article Forge: This AI writing software is specifically designed to help users create high-quality articles for their websites or blogs. It uses a combination of AI and natural language processing to create content that is both informative and engaging.
• Writesonic: This AI writing tool is designed to help users create a wide range of content, including blog posts, social media updates, and product descriptions. It uses a combination of AI and machine learning to create content that is both high-quality and engaging.
• Shortly AI: This AI writing tool is designed to help users create high-quality content quickly and easily. It uses a combination of AI and natural language processing to generate content that is both informative and engaging.
• Rytr: This AI writing tool is designed to help users create a wide range of content, including blog posts, social media updates, and email newsletters. It uses a combination of AI and natural language processing to generate content that is both high-quality and engaging.
• QuillBot:  This AI writing tool is designed to help users generate high-quality content quickly and easily. It uses a combination of AI and natural language processing to create content that is tailored to the user’s needs.
• Articoolo: This AI writing tool is designed to help users create high-quality articles quickly and easily. It uses a combination of AI and natural language processing to generate content that is both informative and engaging.
• ContentBot: This AI writing tool is designed to help users create a wide range of content, including blog posts, social media updates, and product descriptions. It uses a combination of AI and natural language processing to generate content that is both high-quality and engaging.
• Jasper AI:  This AI writing tool is designed to help users generate high-quality content for a variety of purposes, including marketing copy, blog posts, and even creative writing. It uses a combination of AI and natural language processing to generate content that is tailored to the user’s needs.
• Squibler: Squibler uses AI to analyze your writing and provide feedback on plot, character development, pacing, and more. It also includes collaboration tools and writing prompts.
• Kafkai: Kafkai uses GPT-3 to generate unique, high-quality content for a variety of applications, including fiction writing. Users can input prompts and Kafkai will generate a unique story based on those prompts.
• AI Writer: AI Writer is an AI-powered writing tool that can help with content creation for blogs, articles, and more. It uses GPT-3 to generate unique content based on your input.
• The Writer’s Assistant: The Writer’s Assistant is an AI-powered writing tool that can help with character development, plot structure, and more. It uses machine learning to analyze your writing and provide feedback.
• Sudo Write :  is primarily designed for writers who are looking for help with writer’s block, plot development, and character creation. The output is more human-like and natural-sounding than some other AI writing tools. Users can then edit and refine the content as needed, using Sudo Write as a starting point or a source of inspiration. Users have reported positive results and praised the software’s ease of use and ability to generate creative ideas.
• GhostTheWriter – rewrite your draft in the style of famous dead authors
• HyperWriteAI
• Writerly.ai

OK but what’s the BEST writing software

When asked about the best writing apps or software, I used to say, “Just use whatever you have and are comfortable with.” But recently I’ve been focused on upping my productivity and wordcount, so I’m testing everything to see if anything helps. Here’s a quick review of some of the things I think are cool, and what I actually ended up using.

NOTE: none of these will actually help you write a better book, unless they’re helping with a suggested outline or content. They can help you stay organized, and some may help edit or polish your writing, but they won’t improve the commercial value of your work (for that, you need a commercial story). But there is at least one software (maybe 2 now) that’s based on my 24 chapter plotting outline template .

Microsoft Word is fine in most cases, and I like it for organizing my outline and pulling the whole thing together… though it does freeze up and crash a lot when you have a large file. If you want to use Word, make sure you download my  24 chapter plot outline templates  or my  DIY book formatting templates .

Some pros of using Microsoft Word for writing a novel include its powerful writing tools and in-line editing options. However, there are also some cons to using Word, such as its cost if you have to buy it, the distraction of all the options, and the fact that it may not be ideal for ebook or print formatting. Additionally, Word may not be the best book writing software option available, as it does not measure up to its competitors. While Stephen King uses MS Word to draft his book manuscripts, he uses Final Draft to write screenplays.

For people who need more organization and to have everything in the same place, with mood boards, notes, character profiles etc – there are some great features in Scrivener… but it’s a better experience on Mac and a steeper learning curve than MS Word. I never got the hang of it so I don’t use it.

Great for making sure your writing is always saved and protected, and you can switch between devices easily; also good for cowriting or working with an editor.

The point of Ilys (pronounced “eye-less”) is to simplify and make it difficult to backspace of correct – you must keep writing forward and you can only see a few words at a time. I need more practice to get used to it, but I really like the idea of this for writing sprints and getting the first draft done.

There are other online writing apps and programs, and I almost referred to a couple here, but the truth is most don’t have enough advanced features to make them worth using. However, I recently met the founder of Shaxpir and saw a demonstration, and it looks awesome… I signed up so I could make this video.

Basically, I don’t need a program to add all my content.

What I want is a program where I can add/organize my content into a book that ALSO offers some advanced tracking, so I can see long-term progress. Something that could help with the editing, or improving my writing, would be really valuable too. Shaxpir is beautifully designed and has some really impressive unexpected features.

I’ve only shared my favorites, but if you need more options here’s a bigger list of  writing software and apps.

However,  I’m actually not going to be doing my writing in any of these programs, because I’ve found I can boost my wordcount during writing sprints when I’m using a bluetooth keyboard  and an iphone or ipad. So what I need is a writing app that helps me focus and boost wordcount without distraction.

Writing Apps I actually use…

• iA Writer (WINNER)  – the focus mode + display word count makes this awesome.

Tracking apps:

These let you record typing sessions, add word counts, set goals, and track progress. I’d rather have something simple I can use on my Desktop though (I’m hoping Shaxpir has this ability, will confirm soon). The main thing is you want something you can actually use… even a calendar where you can draw an X and record daily word count would work, though I really want something that can make pretty graphs and bars.

PRODUCTIVITY SOFTWARE

The other big missing feature is accountability and motivation; this can be social – get some friends to do writing sprints with you, or even just a daily check in with word count. Some of these apps match you up with partners (focusmate) or gamify writing to give you long term rewards (4thwords).

• MyWriteClub
• WriterSprints

UPDATE: I did try to build a sprinting website before, I might try again; basically it would keep track of daily wordsprints, but also allow you to make rooms and write with buddies, in a friendly competition. Community can be a big motivator but is hard to organize.

EDITING & FORMATTING SOFTWARE

Once you’ve FINISHED the rough draft, you’ll want to get started editing it. Here are some tools that help.

• Stylewriter
• ProWritingAid

After your editing is done, you can use  Vellum  to format or download my  book formatting templates .

OUTLINING / CRAFT WRITING TOOLS

This should really have been earlier, but these apps may help you organize your outline. NovelCreator is based on the Marshall Plan, which helped me when I was figuring out plotting. The Novel Factor guides you towards five key story elements: “character, situation, objective, opponent, disaster” (for more about basic story, read this).

• AeonTimeline
• NovelCreator
• The  Novel Factory 
• 24 chapter plot outline templates

Hardware/tech

I’m a fan of asus zenbooks mostly, but have been considering a new M1 macbook pro, mostly to use vellum on and because the new ones are pretty powerful. For my main desktop, I use a razer laptop but will probably upgrade to a new very powerful asus gaming laptop.

However, that’s because I do a lot of heavy design and video work.

For just basic book writing, I’d actually suggest something small and portable, at least for the sprints/drafting. Maybe like a freewrite, though I prefer a bluetooth keyboard and the iAwriter app; for editing, I put it in Word with my huge desktop monitor.

So, a small portable device for sprinting (maybe not at your desktop/main office) and a regular work machine.

Here’s a list of  my favorite bluetooth keyboards.

Also keep in mind,  this stuff is a very small piece of book writing: you’ll find the best resources to help you finish are actually  my writing guides and chapter outlines.

The 3 secrets to book marketing, and a haunted castle tour.

Totally free. Get it here.

I’m a philosophy dropout with a PhD in Literature. I covet a cabin full of cats, where I can write fantasy novels to pay for my cake addiction. Sometimes I live in castles.

Sharing is caring!

When I read your “what are you looking for” section, I instantly thought “Novlr”…I can’t believe it’s not here in your list. It literally ticks all those checkboxes.

thanks I’ll check that out!

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From first idea to final chapter

The only writing tool designed for aspiring and seasoned fiction authors.

Words written in Dabble

Writing a book is challenging. Your writing tool shouldn't be.

Don't let your writing tool hold you back.

Google Docs excels as a text editor but struggles with large manuscripts. Scrivener offers extensive features you don’t need and can be overwhelming. You deserve better.

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Perfect your manuscript with sticky notes, comments, and advanced grammar and style checks. Channel your inner meticulous editor to make sure it’s flawless by the end.

Set daily word count goals, write scenes and chapters auto-numbered and formatted for you, and immerse yourself in focus mode with a clean, uncluttered interface. Say goodbye to distractions and hello to your most productive writing sessions.

Because we understand the struggle of keeping track of 17 subplots,
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Record every intricate detail of your characters, from traits and backgrounds to arcs, helping you create rich and consistent personalities.

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Perfect for National Novel Writing Month.

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Capture big-picture edits and revisions, making it easy to return and make adjustments later.

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Leave notes for smaller changes and improvements without making your manuscript unreadable (I’m looking at you, Google Docs).

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Highlight important sections for quick reference.

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Use ProWritingAid, Grammarly, or our built-in tools for spelling, grammar, and style revisions.

Refine your phrasing and catch mistakes by hearing your text aloud.

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Quickly locate and modify text throughout your manuscript.

More features only a tool built by authors could possibly have thought of

The specialized tools you never knew you needed but now can’t live without.

Contextual Thesaurus

Co-Authoring

Live Word Counts

Duplicate Projects

Images in Manuscript & Story Notes

Export to Web, Word, & GDocs

Chapter Heading Images

Book Covers

Font Themes

Autofocus Enable/Disable

Prologues & Epilogues

Auto-Formatting

Strikethrough

Novel Subtitles

Avoid data plot twists with autosave backups

We love a good horror story, but we make sure you don’t experience one by losing your precious writing. Regular online & offline backups work double-duty to make sure you never lose a word.

Trusted by 9,000+ authors

We made it for ourselves, but it turns out others like it, too.

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Reality's End

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Accidentally Married

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As Above So Below

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More than just your new
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Dabble is the best app for writing a book. Here’s why writers of all genres rely on Dabble to bring their story to life:

Join us and thousands of authors who are writing their novels with Dabble.

Finally, a writing tool 
designed for novels

Hey! I’m Jacob, the founder of Dabble.

Back in 2010, I decided to become a writer (because that’s something people just do, right?) and started learning the craft. But as a passionate software developer, I realized existing software was too complex or were multi-purpose tools that were not what writers needed. I knew I could do better.

So I did. I combined my skills in software and design and my learning in writing to create the perfect tool 
for novelists.

I poured my heart and soul into building Dabble while balancing a full-time job and raising six children. After two years of hard work, Dabble was released just in time for National Novel Writing Month in 2017.

At Dabble, we believe in keeping things simple, beautiful, and effective. We’ve designed it to help you focus on what really matters: your writing. It’s hard to make something easy, which is why most software isn’t. But we put in the effort to make something you don’t have to think about 
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Honestly, writing a good novel isn’t easy. It is a labor of love. But with the right tool, the journey is easier. More fun. And more rewarding for us and for our readers.

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Start writing now with a 14-day free trial that includes all our premium features.

Ready to Dabble?

Take Dabble for a spin and see for yourself why thousands use Dabble to write their novels.

37 Best Writing Apps to Improve Your Skills

Our regularly updated list features the best writing apps and software for authors, bloggers, and freelancers.

Writing apps can help you improve your writing skills, stay organized, streamline workflow, and allow you to get into the creative flow. Whether you’re a screenwriter , playwright, novelist, content writer or blogger, these helpful apps allow you to get your ideas out and develop outlines quickly. Our article reviewed the best writing apps and recommended which suits each writing style and project best.

At A Glance: Our Top 4 Picks For Writing Apps

• Best Writing App: Grammarly
• For Planning And Writing Stories: LivingWriter
• Best Alternative: ProWritingAid
• For Long-Form Writing: Scrivener

Grammar Checkers

1. grammarly, 2. prowritingaid, distraction-free writing tools, 5. ia writer, 8. novelize, best apps for novelists, 10. scrivener, 11. autocrit, 12. storyist (for mac), 13. ywriter, 14. the novel factory, 15. hemingway app, organization tools, 16. dynalist, 18. writer.com, 19. livingwriter, 20. microsoft word, 21. plain text, 22. day one, 23. evernote, ai writing tools, 25. wordtune, 26. articleforge, 28. jasper ai, 29. chat gpt, text and speech tools, 30. fromtexttospeech.com, collaboration tools, 32. google docs, 33. zoho writer, screenwriting tools, 34. script studio, 35. fade in, 36. final draft, 37. writerduet, a final word on the best writing apps.

Using the best grammar checkers in your writing allows you to identify and correct grammar as you work. They offer advanced features that can be great for spotting tone differences, trickier grammar errors, and stylistic suggestions. These tools create a seamless writing experience ensuring your writing is ready to go, with little need for proofreading or heavy editing afterward.

Use for:  Grammar checkering Pricing:  $29.99 per month

Grammarly is a powerful grammar checker, plagiarism detector and AI writing assistant. We use it every day to check work on this site. Both the free and premium versions are useful. It provides several editing recommendations, such as avoiding passive voice, using shorter sentences, alternative suggestions for using a broader vocabulary, etc. Many of these features are invaluable when trimming your word count. You can find out why I like this premium grammar checker in our Grammarly review .

We tested dozens of grammar checkers, and Grammarly is the best tool on the market today. It'll help you write and edit your work much faster. Grammarly provides a powerful AI writing assistant and plagiarism checker.

Use for:  Proofreading and grammar checking Pricing:  From free to $25+ per month

ProWritingAid is another proofreading and grammar checker writing app that will help you improve your writing and refine the art of self-editing. ProWritingAid works similarly to Grammarly , but it’s more affordable. I recently published a detailed review and video comparison if you need clarification on this writing software and how it compares to the apps above. Read our ProWritingAid review .

ProWritingAid is a powerful, accurate grammar checker and style editor. It's suitable for non-fiction and fiction writers and doesn't require a monthly subscription. Save 20% per month or year.

Use for:  Grammar-checking Pricing:  $13.99/month

Ginger software is an affordable alternative to Grammarly . Ginger Software is somewhat useful for writers who don’t consider English their primary language. It enables you to translate documents written in Spanish, French, German, and more into English. It will also check for grammar errors. Read our comparison of Ginger Vs. Grammarly .

Use for:  Grammar and spell check Pricing:  $14.99/month

Linguix acts as a spelling and grammar checker. It’s more affordable than Grammarly’s premium plan. It’s ideal for anyone who writes for a living or as a hobby. Students will also benefit from using it to prove their essays or assignments. While it does an excellent job at catching typos, it won’t catch sentences that run on or are challenging to understand. Read our Linguix review .

The best distraction-free writing tools provide a minimalistic space for writers to focus without being side-tracked by too many features, bright colors, or editing options. They offer a focused environment where writers can concentrate on their writing. Often, these tools have full-screen modes, customizable backgrounds, and no alerts. It can be a great way to get into the flow state when writing and let your creativity shine.

Use for:  Writing articles and blog posts Pricing:  From $29.99/month

iA Writer is a distraction-free writing app for short blog posts and articles. This iPad, iPhone, and Mac writing app helps writers overcome distractions through the Focus Mode feature. It also has a full-screen mode highlighting the line you are typing and will fade out everything else on the document. This is one of the most ingenious features for focusing your mind on the current point, which is helpful, especially in creative writing projects. Read our iA Writer review .

Use for:  Productive and focused writing sessions Pricing:  $10/month or $100/year

Novlr is ideal for creating a production workflow and finishing your writing project with time to spare. This app is aesthetically pleasing and browser-based, automatically saving cloud content. It has a “focus mode” that sets the mood for writing without distractions. You can also track stats, write collaboratively, and organize outlines. Use this writing app on any browser.

Use for:  Writing articles and blog posts Pricing:  From $5.99/month

Ulysses is a powerful, intuitive, distraction-free Mac OS and iOS writing app. Windows and Android writers are still looking for a solution. It also has features such as a Markup-Based Text Editor, keyboard shortcuts so writers can work quicker, a library to organize notes and documents, a space to set writing goals, publish directly to WordPress and Medium, etc. It’s a good choice for bloggers and content writers. Read our Ulysses review .

Use for:  Best for writing novels Pricing:  $9/month or $65/year

Novelize is an intuitive web-based app ideal for novelists and creative writers. With a simple workflow, it has built-in tools for managing notes and rearranging sections. It encourages writers to focus and get into the flow state when writing. Cloud-based storage ensures that work is accessible from anywhere, at any time, so it won’t be lost when creativity strikes.

The best writing apps for novelists offer features such as manuscript organization, plot timelines, and character development tools. They’re a great assistant to writers who might need extra help developing their ideas. Many of these tools offer outline templates with various themes, such as Hero’s Journey or Voyage and Return. These apps help novelists easily plan, write, and finish their work.

Use for: Preparing a book to self-publish Pricing:  $199

Vellum is a writing app that authors can use to prepare a book for self-publishing. One of the trickiest parts of self-publishing is creating a book that looks good. Or at least, it was. With Vellum, you can create beautiful-looking e-books and print books in minutes. I prepare all my books for self-publishing with Vellum, and it’s a delight to use. Read our Vellum review .

Use for:  Writing books and longer-form works Pricing:  From $49/month

I can’t recommend Scrivener enough as a writing app for longer-form works. Scrivener allows writers and students to organize their ideas and manage more complicated writing projects using the desktop and mobile writing app. It’s also available on iPad. Scrivener also has plenty of keyboard shortcuts to speed up the writing process. Read our Scrivener review .

Scrivener is our go-to app for long-form writing projects. It's popular with best-selling novelists, screenwriters, non-fiction writers, students, academics, lawyers, journalists, translators and more. 

Use for:  Editing and learning to write Pricing:  Free, paid is $30/month or pro version for $300/year

AutoCrit is a self-editing app built for novelists and storytellers. Beyond just checking for spelling and grammar errors, it includes tools to examine the pacing and momentum of your work, dialogue, and more. It points out instances of passive voice, showing vs. telling, using cliche phrases, and even if you overuse certain words or phrases. Read our AutoCrit review .

Use for:  Organizing plots and developing characters Pricing:  $59

Storyist is a versatile writing app ideal for novelists, screenwriters, and non-fiction writers. Storyist is one of the best story-building apps available for Mac. It has an intuitive workspace that can be used for organizing plots, developing characters, and integrating research. There are also collaborative editing tools available for teams to use. It’s ideal for self-publishing and collaborative projects alike. 

Use for:  Organized and structuring work Pricing:  Free

yWriter is a powerful writing app designed for authors and novelists who prefer a structured and organized approach to writing. This app is on Mac and Windows and mobile for Android and iOS. yWriter allows writers to store details about their work and turn them into data charts and tables – visually representing various statistics within the writing.

Use for:  Fiction writing  Pricing:  $7.50/month

The Novel Factory is a type of novel writing software for fiction writers. It offers a step-by-step tutorial to writing your first novel taking you through scenes, characters, themes, etc. I don’t write fiction much these days, so I haven’t tested The Novel Factory extensively. It reminded me a little of the Scrivener fiction template. Listen to our interview with Katja Kaine of the Novel Factor.

Use for:  Self-editing Pricing:  $19.99

Writers can use Hemingway Editor to improve their writing and self-editing skills. Paste your text into the application, and it will provide suggestions for removing unnecessary words here and there, such as adverbs or tautology. It also suggests reframing specific sentences from passive voice to active voice and much more. Hemingway is beneficial to reducing your word count without leaving out any essential points from your article. Read our Hemingway app review .

Organization tools for writers help writers re-organize their notes, ideas, and plot outlines with helpful features. This can include creating folders, tags, categorizing notes, and building outlines. Intuitive apps can enhance the writing experience by managing research information and organizing the creative process.

Use for:  Outlines Pricing: Free or $7.99/month

Writers can use Dynalist to create outlines for articles and book chapters. This app is helpful if you’re a writer who likes to outline their work in advance. It also supports Markdown and can be used as a to-do list tool. The free version is good enough for most writers unless you value a revision history. Read our Dynalist review .

Use for:  Outlines Pricing:  From $25 – $65/year depending on plan

Plottr is one of the best tools for creating outlines for your novels. Various outlining templates, including The Seven Point Plot Structure and The Hero’s Journey, are available. Following one of these intuitive templates is a great way to get your ideas on paper and get into the flow of waiting. Plotter can be used on Mac or Windows computers and also has a mobile app.

Use for:  Business Writing Pricing:  $11/month

If you write fiction or casual blog posts, Writer.Com is not for you. Instead, it’s intended for marketing teams, brand agencies, social media managers, sales and HR departments, PR, and more. It can act as a style guide-building platform, so team members can mandate and learn rules for style in terms of the language and tone to use when writing. Read our Writer.Com review .

Use for:  Fiction writing Pricing:  $96/year or $9.99/month

.LivingWriter is a new story-writing app for writing stories or a book. Rather than using a word processor, Living Writer is accessible via your web browser. Like Scrivener, it helps writers arrange their plots and stories using boards. Living Writer contains a series of outline templates for famous story structures like the Hero’s Journey. Read our Living Writer review .

Living Writer contains time-saving templates for authors and novelists. iOS and Android apps available

Use for:  General writing Pricing:  $139.99/year or $6.99/ month

Microsoft Word is a classic writing app for all general writing projects. Although it’s a pricey option, MS Word is reliable, versatile, and easy to use. It works well on Mac and Windows PC and mobile on both iOS and Android. MS Word is a standard writing application for creating documents to print, note-taking, and more! However, its grammar checker could be better, so I recommend using it with the Grammarly plug-in.

Use for:  Writing whatever, wherever Pricing:  Free

If you’re a writer on a budget, you don’t need to spend any money buying expensive writing software or apps. Instead, you can use the free text editor with your operating system. Just open up Notepad on Windows or TextEdit on a Mac and get to work! I like plain text editors for writing something short quickly and easily, without thinking about it too much.

Use for:  Journal writing Pricing: $2.95/month

Day One is the best journal writing app on the market today. It’s much more than an online diary. You can also add photos, audio, and video to your entries. You don’t need to sit down and type anything up; you can record directly into your Apple Watch. As journalling is quite a hard habit to stick to, the ease of use makes it much more accessible. It also automatically uses geotags that add location, date, time, and weather to your entries. Read our Day One review .

Use for: Writing articles and blog posts Pricing: Free

Evernote is a good app for saving research and story ideas. I use Evernote to record ideas for blog posts and book chapters during the day. Jotting down notes immediately when ideas come to you is a fantastic way of capturing random moments of inspiration and overcoming writer’s block. It also has integrations, team collaboration, and more. Read our guide: What is Evernote ?

Use for: Markdown text editor Pricing: From $5.99

Byword is a Markdown text editor. It’s mostly aimed at Apple writers. Byword is not ideal for authors, but bloggers and web developers will find it useful. While it offers Markdown support, it can also support keyboard shortcuts to allow you to Preview your work ahead of publishing. It even boasts MultiMarkdown support, cross-referencing and footnotes, and metadata.

If you’re still familiar with Markdown, Byword has a guide to get you started. It’s $5.99 to download for iOS and $11 to download on Mac. Read our Byword review .

Artificial intelligence writing apps leverage the latest AI technology to assist writers when generating ideas, content, and outlines. Using AI in writing has many new benefits, such as conquering writer’s block, fact-checking, structuring outlines, completing paragraphs, and more. Prompting AI tools to assist with writing can improve productivity and generate creative ideas.

Use for: AI rephrasing and writing  Pricing: From $9.99/month

Wordtune can help you to write better sentences. It’s helpful for employees or freelancers sending emails to editors or writers struggling to find the best way to phrase something. This AI rephrasing tool can help you perfect the tone of what you are trying to write. It can also suggest ways to shorten sentences or expand your thoughts. It also has an online editor. Read our Wordtune review .

Use for: Content generation Pricing: From $27/month

Article Forge is ideal for businesses that need to create content. The app uses artificial intelligence to scan existing web pages for keywords or a topic. It will analyze the content and then rewrite it in its language. The article will be generated in minutes. Read our Article Forge review .

Use for: AI writing tool Pricing: $9/month

Rytr is a tool for businesses looking to create content or even bloggers facing writer’s block. Having it create content from scratch could provide better results. However, it does a solid job of rewriting and improving existing posts. It also does a decent job of mocking up product descriptions if you provide the context. Plus, it can function as an editing tool. Read our Rytr review .

Use for: AI copywriting Pricing: From $29/month

Jasper.ai is a godsend for marketers and entrepreneurs looking to create short-form content. This includes email subject lines, product descriptions, blog introductions, social media posts, and video titles. It’s one of the best apps if you’re looking to use AI to boost your content. It can even help bloggers tackle writer’s block too. Read our Jasper AI review .

Use for: Writing blog articles and copywriting Pricing: Free or $20/month

ChatGPT has taken the world by storm with its AI writing capabilities. Use it to brainstorm ideas for your next novel or blog post, build detailed outlines, fact-check, and build world lore. This is a versatile browser application that can adapt to your needs with ease. It’s an excellent option for combating writer’s block and generating fresh ideas. It’s available on Mac and Windows and as a free mobile app. Read our ChatGPT review .

Text and speech writing tools allow writers to convert their text to speech and vice versa. This is an excellent tool for hearing your work during editing to ensure the content flows and makes sense. It’s also a great way to quickly get your ideas on paper when a creative idea strikes.

Use for: Converting writing to MP3 Pricing: Free

FromTextToSpeech.com is a browser-based application that allows you to turn your writing into MP3 files that can be downloaded to listen to. Many authors recommend reading work aloud to ensure it flows well, so using an app like this is a great way to proofread your novel.

Use for: Transcriptions and dictation Pricing: $1.25 per minute of audio

Rev is another useful dictation app for writers. Using the iPhone or Android app, you can dictate a draft into your phone and then upload it to Rev for transcription by a human at $1 a minute. Alternatively, if you interview someone, you can save time by transcribing these interviews to write better non-fiction articles. It’s more accurate than using a dictaphone but at a cost. If you’re on a budget, use an AI transcription service. Read our Rev review .

Collaboration tools are an excellent way for writers to collaborate on a project. This is especially useful when multiple authors work on a novel, screenplay, or presentation. Many of these tools allow for feedback and tracking changes, ensuring smooth communication among the team members. Here are our top recommendations for collaborative tools:

Use for: Word processor Pricing: Free

Google Docs is a free writing app and an excellent alternative to Microsoft Word. It’s a reliable choice if you like collaborating with other writers or an editor online. It works almost anywhere, assuming you have a reliable internet connection. Its functionality for handling large documents, like a book, has also dramatically improved.

Zoho Writer is less known than Google Docs or Microsoft Word. Zoho Writer offers a writing assistant to help with readability, grammar, and more issues. It also allows live collaboration with team members and offline editing in your browser. Plus, there are a decent number of templates or formatting options. It’s split into three workspaces: Compose, Review, and Distribute, where you can write the content, work with collaborations and then publish or share it. Read our Zoho Writer review .

Screenwriting tools are tailored explicitly to screenwriters and playwrights. They peroxide a structured environment for screenwriters with outlines, formatting, and timeline generation. Often, they have built-in templates that adhere to industry standards, helping bring their ideas to life with ease.

Use for: Writing movie scripts Pricing: F$199.95

Script Studio is a versatile app best suited for scriptwriters. However, it can also be used for other works, such as novels. The most notable feature of this app is the inclusion of popular movie scripts that can be used as a model for your work. The templates are an excellent way to learn the format and polish your movie script. Some features allow you to draft, plot, and organize the works, making it a top choice for aspiring movie writers.

Use for: Screenwriting Pricing: $79.95

Fade In is an excellent tool for aspiring screenwriters, with automatic formatting that allows you to bring your scripts to life. It’s best suited for screenwriters looking to create a first draft of their screenplay. With a convenient beatboard feature, writers can map out the beats of their stories and view them on a timeline above the script. 

Use for: Screenwriting Pricing: $99.99/month

Final Draft is the default app of choice for screenwriters. I’ve experimented with Final Draft, and it strikes me as an example of powerful writing software but with a bigger learning curve than your typical word processor. Read our Final Draft review .

Use for: Collaborative screenwriting Pricing: From $9.99 – $13.99/month

WriterDuet is an industry standard for screenwriting, used by millions of screenwriters for TV shows and blockbusters. This highly-rated tool allows writers to collaborate with other writers on their teams in real time. It can also incorporate text and video chat during writing sessions. Other features include locked and colored pages, sharing and publishing feedback, and stats and reports about your writing.

Two of the best writing apps to try today are Grammarly and ChatGPT. For more general writing, Google Docs and Ulysses are both great. Writing apps are a great way to organize your thoughts and express your ideas. Once you’ve started writing, it’s easy to complete with the help of a comprehension app like the one listed in our guide.

It’s time to start on that writing project you’ve been dreaming about. Pick the best writing app that suits your needs from our guide, and start writing. Embrace the power of writing apps to help unleash your creativity and build your next novel, non-fiction book, screenplay, or blog.

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Best Writing Apps in 2024

Showing 128 writing apps that match your search.

Write without distractions. WriteRoom is a full screen writing environment. Unlike the cluttered word processors you're used to, WriteRoom lets you focus on writing.

Platforms: Mac

Best for: Drafting, Book, Story, Journal, Essay, Blog, and Poetry

Website: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/writeroom/id417967324?mt=12

Base price:

Premium price:

★★★★ Performance

★★★ Features

★ Accessibility

Also rated 3.6 ★ on the App Store

Notes are just the beginning. Create and annotate anything, from study guides to storyboards. We've got an intuitive, minimal interface for you to start in seconds.

Platforms: Mac, iPhone, iPad

Best for: Note-taking, Book, Story, Journal, and Free

Website: https://notability.com/

★★★★ Features

★★★ Accessibility

Also rated 4.7 ★ on the App Store

Create documents, make impact. When your work needs to wow, Craft gives you the tools to make it magnificent.

Platforms: Mac, iPhone, iPad, Windows, Online, PC

Best for: Note-taking, Drafting, Journal, Essay, Blog, and Free

Website: https://www.craft.do/

★★★★★ Accessibility

Also rated 4.9 ★ on the App Store

Learn more about Reedsy Studio .

Ghostwriter

Enjoy a distraction-free writing experience, including a full screen mode and a clean interface. With Markdown, you can write now, and format later.

Platforms: Windows, Mac, PC

Best for: Drafting, Book, Story, Poetry, Journal, Blog, Essay, and Free

Website: https://ghostwriter.kde.org/

★★★★★ Value

Writer Assistant (Wassi) is an application created specifically for inventors! We all constantly invent new characters for our stories, be it a comic, a novel, a script, a play, or a game. And so that our characters are alive and riveted the attention, they need to be developed a lot! That is what the Writer Assistant was created for! Plus, with Wassi you can easily outline your stories on the go.

Best for: Outlining, Book, Story, and Free

Website: https://apps.apple.com/app/writer-assistant-wassi/id14686...

★★★ Performance

★★ Accessibility

Also rated 3.9 ★ on the App Store

Publisher Rocket

Publisher Rocket will help you get your book in front of more Amazon shoppers so you can spend less time marketing and more time writing.

Platforms: Online

Best for: Publishing, Book, and Story

Website: https://publisherrocket.com/

★★★★★ Features

Campfire Write

Campfire is a versatile writing tool organized into modules, each one offering a different type of story element you can create. Keep track of each character's motives, history, eye color, and more. The Characters Module gives you an easy way to make quick notes or detailed character sheets about anyone in your story. Upload your map to the Maps Module, add pins to integrate it with the rest of your story, and nest other maps to keep things organized.

Platforms: Mac, Windows, Online, PC

Best for: Outlining, Drafting, Book, Story, and Free

Website: https://www.campfirewriting.com/

Also rated 4.0 ★ on Reedsy

An online writing app for novelists and storytellers

Platforms: Online, Chrome

Best for: Drafting, Book, Story, and Free

Website: https://thequill.app/

Scrivener is the go-to app for writers of all kinds, used every day by best-selling novelists, screenwriters, non-fiction writers, students, academics, lawyers, journalists, translators and more.

Platforms: Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad, PC

Best for: Outlining, Drafting, Editing, Publishing, Book, and Story

Website: https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener/overview

★★★★ Accessibility

Brainsparker

Ignite your creativity. Coach your brain to think creatively & spark brilliant ideas at work and in life.

Platforms: iPhone, iPad

Best for: Outlining, Journal, and Free

Website: https://brainsparker.com/

Dropbox Paper

Dropbox Paper is more than a doc — it’s a co-editing tool that brings creation and coordination together in one place.

Platforms: Online, Android, iPhone, iPad, Windows, Chrome, PC

Best for: Note-taking, Essay, Blog, and Free

Website: https://www.dropbox.com/paper/start?no_redirect=1

★★★★★ Performance

Also rated 4.5 ★ on TechRadar

Don't let your word processor drag your process down. Ironically enough, traditional word processors weren’t designed for writers. Dabble’s book-writing software was developed for writers, by a writer.

Platforms: Mac, Windows, Chrome, PC

Best for: Drafting, Book, and Story

Website: https://www.dabblewriter.com/

What makes a good writing app?

Put simply, what makes a writing app good for you will depend on the kind of writer that you are. 

• If you’re an author , you might be interested in a writing app with outlining, planning, and formatting functionalities.
• If you’re a student , you’re probably in the market for a writing app that blocks out distractions while you’re writing.
• If you’re a screenwriter , you’ll want a writing app that’s specifically dedicated to writing screenplays.

Or, if you’re none of the above, worry not: that’s why we built this directory of writing apps. Whatever you need, we’ve gathered the outstanding writing apps of 2024 across multiple categories (drafting, editing, note-taking, etc) and platforms (Android, iOS, online browsers, etc) in one place. Feel free to use the filters to make your quest for the perfect writing app even easier!

So what are the best writing apps of 2024?

We can now put an end to the age-old debate of which writing app is best: Microsoft Word vs. Google Docs ? 

The answer, of course, is neither! Hopefully, this directory will point you towards a much better match that actually fulfills your writing needs. We objectively evaluated each writing app based on four metrics.

• Performance: How seamlessly does the writing app do what it’s purported to do? How good is the user experience, from top to bottom?
• Features: How many bells and whistles are built into the app to augment its use?
• Accessibility: Is it widely available on many different operating platforms (e.g. iOS, Windows, mobile, desktop, etc)?
• Value: Is it worth the cost that it would take to download it?

Here are some general recommendations to give you a headstart.

The best writing app for authors

If you’ve been searching for an all-in-one outlining, writing, formatting, and typesetting tool, look no further than Reedsy Studio . Used by over 50,000 authors every month, it’s publishing’s most trusted companion to take them from a first draft to a professionally exported manuscript.

💰 Price:  Free

🚉 Runs on: Web

The best writing app for note-takers

Evernote is the king of written organization. In addition to its free organizational templates, Evernote also gives you impressive tagging capabilities, an omnipresent Web Clipper, and the ability to share notes with collaborators, so that you’ll never forget anything again.

💰 Price:   Free basic plan, $4.99/month for premium

🚉 Runs on: Mac, iOS, Windows, and Android

The best writing app for screenwriters

Along with standard scriptwriting features, Final Draft enables you to measure character traits using its inclusivity analysis feature, and tweak your “beat board” until you find your perfect arrangement. And when you’re ready to bring in editors, you can all work simultaneously in real time.

💰 Price: Free trial for 30 days, $249.99 license fee

🚉 Runs on: Mac, iOS, and Windows

I’ve found the perfect writing app. What next?

Congratulations! Now the fun part begins: actually writing the project that you’ve got in mind.

For authors, this means that you have a long and exciting road ahead. In addition to a writing app, we recommend that you arm yourself with some writing knowledge before you embark on it: whether it’s an understanding of story structure or careful thought put into your character creation, all of it can help you realize your goal of a novel.

If you don’t know where to start, check out the list of free resources below. Good luck, and happy writing!

Free online materials

• How to Plan a Novel
• How to Write a Book
• Story Structure: 7 Types All Writers Should Know
• How to Create a Character Profile
• 500+ Creative Writing Classes
• Plot Generator
• Character Name Generator
• Book TItle Generator
• The Best Literary Agents Seeking Submissions

Join a community of over 1 million authors

Reedsy is more than just a blog. Become a member today to discover how we can help you publish a beautiful book.

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The 10 Best Writing Tools for Every Writer’s Needs in 2024

Senior Content Marketing Manager

April 2, 2024

Start using ClickUp today

• Manage all your work in one place
• Collaborate with your team
• Use ClickUp for FREE—forever

Most writers have a pretty love-hate relationship with the art of writing. 

On the one hand, it’s what you do and what you’re good at. On the other hand—it’s really hard.

The good news is that although writing will never be easy, that doesn’t mean it can’t get easier. With the early miracles of digital tools like Microsoft Word to the new era of AI content creation tools , creative writers have seen writing software drastically change—all in an effort to make the process easier.

However, writing tools are starting to become a dime a dozen. It’s hard to tell what writing tool would work for your specific needs. But that’s why we’re here!

We’re giving you a list of the 10 best writing tools you can use in 2023 so you avoid being stuck on a blank page and deliver content free of easily avoidable errors. First, let’s look at what makes a great writing tool in the first place.

What Should You Look For In a Writing Tool?

• 1. ClickUp 

2. Grammarly

3. hemingway editor, 4. power thesaurus, 5. google docs, 8. reedsy book editor, 10. evernote.

Great writing tools come in all shapes and sizes. Some help you avoid grammar and spelling mistakes, while others focus on keeping your brilliant scripts in some semblance of order. Today’s creative writers are spoiled with choices in online writing tools.

To make the process as easy as possible, you should put together a veritable writing software tech stack to help you at every stage of the writing process. Regardless of the writing tool, you want to keep a sharp eye on a couple of aspects that best writing tools share like:

• Integration capabilities : No one writing tool is going to do everything for you, so you’ll likely be relying on a couple of writing tools and editing software working together. You want to make sure that every tool you pick is going to play nicely with each other so that each tool makes the others more powerful. 
• Low price : You’re not made of money! If you’re going to shell out for a couple of writing tools, you want to make sure that the benefits outweigh the costs.
• Specialization : Great writing tools often specialize in one area, but there are options available that have all the features you could ask for—and more!

Writing software should go hand-in-hand with your productivity tools—because what’s the value of an unproductive writer?

The 10 Best Writing Tools

Whether you’re writing novels or a simple blog post, the best writing tools help you hit your word count goals, use a solid grammar checker, and keep you distraction-free. Let’s look at our favorite writing and editing tools you need to try.

1. ClickUp  

ClickUp isn’t just a writing tool with a surplus of project management features, it’s one of the best productivity tools on the market. And while we know we’re putting ClickUp at the top of this list—we’re not alone! ClickUp made the No. 1 spot in G2’s list of best collaboration and productivity tools for 2023!

Writers can use ClickUp as the central repository for all of their content—in a distraction-free space or as a collaboration tool with fellow writers. With tagging users or tasks, rich text editing, and powerful search functions, ClickUp works as your central writing tool for all types of content creation.

At the core of every ClickUp feature is productivity. And with the new AI writing assistant tools now in ClickUp Docs , you can use the power of AI writing tools ( like Writesonic ) directly within our platform!

This AI integration makes ClickUp a great writing tool for so many different teams with features to easily generate text and copy for any topic, make content shorter or longer, and run grammar checks in a flash. This handy tool can help content teams deliver blog post ideas or product teams create product requirement documents and design user-testing studies in seconds!

ClickUp Features: 

• Premade templates and organization tools make case studies , creating a content database , and more a super simple thing
• Collaborative whiteboards make real-time ideation so much easier
• Project management tools help you track and optimize your creative workflows

ClickUp Pros:

• Highly adaptable for a single person or an entire organization to assign tasks or comments
• Get started for free with access to thousands of templates
• Allows you to set writing goals to help you keep on track of your progress
• Integrated AI tools to create team-specific documents and use grammar checks

ClickUp Cons: 

• Not all features have made it to the mobile app
• AI functions are currently on a waiting list (for now!)

ClickUp Cost:

• Free Forever
• Unlimited : $7/month per user
• Business : $12/month per user
• Enterprise : Contact for pricing

ClickUp Ratings and reviews:

• G2: 4.7/5 (6,000+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.7/5 (3,000+ reviews)

Grammarly is a set of grammar and plagiarism-checking editing tools that help writers polish their drafts into a professional sheen. Writers will benefit from Grammarly because it helps them create clearer and more effective writing. With this writing tool, you can be sure that your content is free from grammatical errors, awkward phrases, and plagiarism. 

Some key features of Grammarly include its automated spelling and grammar checker, writing style suggestions, plagiarism detector, and personalized feedback. It also has a built-in thesaurus so users can replace overused word choices. Regardless of whether you’re writing a poem for Grade 12 English or OKRs for your latest project , Grammarly is a tool that any writer should look to add to their toolkit. 

Compare Grammarly to Wordtune !

Grammarly Features: 

• Get a second opinion on your style and tone with its smart editor
• Use the plagiarism checker to make sure you haven’t inadvertently copied anyone
• Cut down on typos and grammatical errors with its spell checker

Grammarly Pros:

• Easy to use, even when you’re not in their editor
• Suggestions cover a broad range of common errors, mistakes, and omissions 
• Fantastic free version for anyone to use

Grammarly Cons: 

• Some suggestions get repetitive and feel unhelpful
• Formatting can get messed up when moving your writing between Grammarly’s editor and your preferred writing app 

Grammarly Cost:

• Premium : $30/ month
• Business : $14.50/ month per user (for teams with more than 10 people)

Grammarly Ratings and reviews:

• G2: 4.6/5 (1000+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.7/5 (6000+ reviews)

Bonus: AI Marketing Tools

Hemingway Editor is a writing aid that aims to boost the readability of your writing. It achieves this goal by giving writers access to a free writing app that analyzes sentence structure and gives easy-to-follow feedback.

For instance, the Hemingway app will highlight any sentences it believes are too complex in red. So all you need to do is plug in your work and edit any red sentences until your piece is more clear and easier to read. Plus, it assigns your writing a readability score, so you can ensure your writing fits the intended audience. 

Hemingway Editor is such an impressive tool for writing because it can be hard to edit your own work for stylistic issues like over-relying on adverbs or passive voice usage. With Hemingway Editor, you can quickly fix these problems, improve an already great first draft, and become a better writer.

Hemingway Features: 

• Color-coded editing suggestions make it easy to skim your articles
• The program detects hard-to-read sentences so you can make your writing clear
• Easy importer allows for quick edits regardless of where you’re writing

Hemingway Pros:

• No login or signup to use
• Simple interface means anyone can use it
• Helps you cut down on hard-to-spot problems like sentence complexity and adverb overuse

Hemingway Cons: 

• Lacks a lot of features you’d see in other editing programs like Grammarly
• No way to integrate it with your actual writing tool like Microsoft Word
• Not ideal for writing ideas

Hemingway Cost:

• Paid Version : $19.99 (one-time payment)

Hemingway Ratings and Reviews:

• G2: 4.4/5 (46 reviews)
• Capterra: 4.4/5 (10 reviews)

Bonus: AI Text Generators

Power Thesaurus is a website that helps people find different words to use in their writing. This writing tool is great for those looking for a more convenient, digital thesaurus. With its search function, you can find synonyms that help you say what you want to say in a new and interesting way.

Plus, Power Thesaurus provides antonyms so writers can add variety and contrast to their stories. Power Thesaurus may not be the most exciting writing tool you’ve ever seen. However, the free version should be perfect for most people and it can be invaluable when you’re stuck looking for that exact word that’s currently escaping you.

Power Thesaurus Features: 

• Simple search bar allows you to input a word and get a list of synonyms, antonyms, and more
• Includes a chrome extension and mobile app
• Hit the ground running with endless synonym and antonym options

Power Thesaurus Pros:

• Simple UI that anyone can use
• No login or signup needed
• Community-run

Power Thesaurus Cons: 

• Doesn’t have a lot of features
• Free version contains ads

Power Thesaurus Cost:

• Pro : $2.49/ month (when bought annually) 

Power Thesaurus Ratings and reviews:

• G2: No current reviews
• Capterra: No current reviews

Bonus: Newsletter writing software !

Google Docs is a digital word processor that allows you to create documents, store them online, and share them with others. It’s great for writing letters, stories, notes, and more!

The Google Suite is important for writers because of its convenience and flexibility. First, its online nature means you can access your documents anywhere with an internet connection. This makes it easier to work on your writing when you’re away from home or need to share something with someone quickly.

Another great feature is its collaboration tools. This means you can work on a document with multiple people at once, so you don’t have to worry about sending out and keeping track of multiple versions of the same file.

Overall, this is an excellent tool for any writer who needs an easy-to-use word processor that offers a ton of functionality, even on the free subscription tier.

Google Features: 

• Full-fledged word processor
• Integrates with other Google products like Google Drive or Sheets
• Fully online for easier access and collaboration with teams

Google Docs Pros:

• Easy to use and an industry standard that most people are familiar with
• Frequently updated by Google
• Free version is fully functioning and great for small businesses

Google Docs Cons: 

• Keeping your docs organized is no small task
• Limited number of templates
• No native desktop version

Google Docs Cost:

These prices are for subscriptions to the Google Workspace and other Google programs like Gmail and Drive

• Business Starter : $5.40/ month per user
• Business Standard : $10.80/ month per user
• Business Plus : $18/ month per user

Google Docs Ratings and reviews:

• G2: 4.7/5 (6000+ reviews)

Notion is an incredibly powerful productivity tool for writers, offering a range of features that make it easy to organize and write their work. With Notion, writers can easily create documents, store them in the cloud, and share them with other people. It’s also great for tracking progress on stories or writing projects.

Plus, Notion offers a variety of templates that make it easier to get started with the tool right away. There are templates for different writing projects and even journals to keep track of your thoughts and ideas. Notion is also incredibly handy for collaboration; writers can share documents and notes easily, and it also supports multiple users editing the same document simultaneously.

Overall, Notion is a versatile tool for writers looking to stay organized and make the most of their writing process. From notetaking to collaboration and more, Notion has something for everyone.

Notion Features: 

• Notes and Docs system allows you to easily write and store whatever you need
• Notion AI gives you access to an AI writing assistant that can help you clean up your notes or rewrite a tricky sentence
• The Wiki system makes it simple for you to organize and share your writing with colleagues

Notion Pros:

• All-in-one system simplifies writing, organizing, and sharing your documents
• Search features help you find the exact piece of writing you want
• Lots of features and integration to help you with whatever you need

Notion Cons: 

• The UI can quickly become messy compared to a more basic Microsoft Word tool
• Not the most functional book-writing software since it’s hard to use with unreliable internet connections

Notion Cost:

• Plus : $8/ month per user
• Business : $15/ month per user

Notion Ratings and Reviews:

• Capterra: 4.7/5 (1000+ reviews)

LINER is the search assistant you didn’t know you needed. As a writer, you spend almost as much time writing as you do research. For this reason, you need a dedicated tool that’s going to make research so much easier and more efficient.

LINER can do exactly this.

LINER integrates with your browser and makes your Google searches more helpful. For instance, when you ask Google a question, LINER will use AI to give you a quick answer. Or if you find a useful article, you can use LINER to highlight the important parts and save it for later in your own knowledge base. All of this helps you spend less time on research and more time getting your writing done.

LINER Features: 

• Search assistant recommends content when you search for something
• AI summarizes your search requests and suggests new searches for better research
• Highlight anything anywhere on the internet and then save it for later

LINER Pros:

• Saves you time when researching a topic by providing simple AI-generated answers to basic questions
• Great way to store articles to read later
• Allows you to highlight articles, YouTube videos, and more

LINER Cons: 

• AI answers can sometimes give you incorrect or incomplete information
• Features may not be helpful to everyone

LINER Cost:

• Essential : $8.83/ month
• Professional : $10.49/ month
• Workspace : Contact for pricing

LINER Ratings and reviews:

Reedsy Book Editor is less a tool and more a community. Lots of great writers have tons of fantastic ideas for books, but they don’t know how to actually get their books published. Reedsy was started to help aspiring authors get their work published. It does this by offering writers access to a network of professional editors, designers, and marketers.

It also provides resources like blog posts, webinars, and tutorials that help writers create the best book they can. The tool itself is a simple online editor that makes it easy to format books for Amazon Kindle or print-on-demand services.

With its easy-to-use interface, you can quickly upload your manuscript and then make any necessary changes to get it ready for publishing. Overall, Reedsy Book Editor is an invaluable resource for authors who want to take their writing to the next level. 

Need a little extra help getting your book off the ground and running? Try our free Book Planning template for better results!

Reedsy Features: 

• Includes a free 10-day course on how to publish a book
• Reedsy Marketplace allows you to connect with all kinds of professionals within the publishing industry
• Plot and content generator helps you get past writer’s block
• Easy book editor simplifies the process of actually creating a published work

Reedsy Pros:

• A single place for you to find editors, designers, and more to help you create a book
• One of the few free-to-use book writing software options
• Lots of content and tools to help you write

Reedsy Cons: 

• Focused primarily on helping you create a new book or short story

Reedsy Cost:

Reedsy ratings and reviews:.

• G2: 4.5/5 (1 review)

Bear is an Apple notetaking tool that helps you write down and keep track of your story ideas and to-do lists. Where Bear really stands out from the pack of the best writing tools in this list is with its beautiful UI. It’s organized in a way that’s easy to understand, and its minimalist design fits really well with the writing process.

Plus, Bear has lots of tagging tools that make organizing your notes and ideas simple and efficient. So you can easily keep track of everything you’ve written or plan to write without feeling overwhelmed. Whether you’re a student, a professional writer, or just someone who loves writing and brainstorming ideas , Bear is an invaluable writing software to have in your arsenal.

Bear Features: 

• Use hashtags and links to keep your notes organized
• Encryption keeps your notes private
• Markup editor helps coders work in over 150 programming languages
• Looks gorgeous
• Perfect for taking notes on the go or writing your latest essay
• Syncs across devices so you can work on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac

Bear Cons: 

• Only supported on the Apple ecosystem
• Lack of advanced writing or organizational features
• Pro : $14.99/ month

Bear Ratings and reviews:

• G2: 4.5/5 (42 reviews)
• Capterra: 4.5/5 (6 reviews)

Check out these Bear App alternatives !

Evernote is another helpful notetaking tool for writers because it allows them to save ideas, documents, and notes in one place. Evernote also makes it easier to collaborate on writing projects since you can easily share documents with others. 

Additionally, Evernote has many features that make organizing your writing simple and efficient. For instance, you can use its tagging system to quickly find relevant documents and notes. Also, Evernote’s search function makes finding specific keywords within your documents easy. Finally, Evernote also works as an archive for documents you don’t need regularly, so you always have access to them.

Evernote may not be the prettiest or newest tool on this list, but it’s certainly one of the most useful. If you’re looking for a writing tool to help you keep your writing organized and accessible, Evernote is definitely worth considering.

Evernote Features: 

• Task tool lets you keep on top of the things you need to get done today
• Offline functionality means you can access Evernote anywhere
• Integrates with your calendar

Evernote Pros:

• Files are searchable regardless of whether they’re in a note or a PDF
• Easy to add and edit images
• Lots of features that simplify the notetaking process

Evernote Cons: 

• Free version lacks key features like adding due dates or connecting your Google Calendar
• Expensive compared to competitors
• Not really ideal for book writing software

Evernote Cost:

• Personal : $8.99/ month
• Professional : $10.99/ month
• Teams : $14.99/month

Evernote Ratings and reviews:

• G2: 4.4/5 (1000+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.4/5 (7000+ reviews)

Find your favorite writing tools today

Writing is an essential part of life, and there are many writing software options available to help make the process easier. Whether you’re looking for AI, a search assistant, book editor, or notetaker, something will work well for you in this list to keep you distraction-free.

One way to get started improving your writing efficiency today is with ClickUp. ClickUp can help any writer by giving you a single place to create, store, and organize your creative works and documents. It’s one of the best writing tools especially if you’re working with a team, getting feedback, and collaborating with your colleagues. 

ClickUp is free to try, so get started today and see how you can get more out of your writing hours.

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Blogs / Crime, Horror, and Thriller / 50 Horror Story Ideas and Scary Writing Prompts

Craft the Perfect Crime

50 horror story ideas and scary writing prompts.

Feeling brave? Well, step right up to the literary house of horrors. We’ve got a smorgasbord of terror just waiting to tickle your dark fancy. 

Fifty fear-inducing prompts are lurking in the shadows, ready to jumpstart your next nightmare-on-paper. From whisper-quiet creeps to full-blown bloodbaths, we’ve got it all. So grab your favorite writing weapon, find a nice dark corner, and let’s dance with the devil, shall we? 

Fair warning: side effects may include insomnia, paranoia, and an irresistible urge to check under the bed. Enter at your own risk, and remember—in here, the monsters are all in your head.

Or are they?

Horror Writing Prompts

Horror goes for the jugular. It’s visceral, often graphic, and aims to shock and disturb. Think buckets of blood, unspeakable monsters, and that feeling in your gut that says, “I shouldn’t be watching this, but I can’t look away.”

These stories often involve supernatural elements like ghosts, monsters, or dark forces, but they can also be about more human dangers, like serial killers. Think of classic slasher movies or haunted house tales where something goes bump in the night, and you can’t help but peek around the corner in suspense.

Ready for some horror writing prompts? Here’s a list that’ll make your skin crawl and your imagination run wild:

• A young woman buys an antique mirror at a flea market. She soon notices that her reflection doesn’t always mimic her movements. Sometimes, it seems to be trying to communicate—or even step out of the glass.
• Every time you kill a spider in your new house, two more appear. Your walls are starting to move…
• You’re a sleep researcher studying night terrors. Your newest patient’s dreams start invading your own sleep.
• A group of friends rents an Airbnb for a weekend getaway, but the basement door is padlocked with warnings not to enter. Strange noises and voices come from below, and one by one, the friends start vanishing after midnight.
• A suburban book club unwittingly summons an ancient evil when they read passages aloud from a mysterious leather-bound tome.
• A child’s drawing of a “new friend” bears an uncanny resemblance to a figure from local folklore associated with missing children.
• After a strange meteor shower, people’s reflections start acting independently—and violently.
• You’re on a solo hike when you stumble upon a hidden village. As you explore, you realize none of the inhabitants cast shadows.
• A true crime podcaster moves into a house to investigate an old murder. The house seems to be “helping” with the investigation.
• Every night, you wake up with new, intricate scars. They’re slowly forming a map—but to where?

There ya go, a smorgasbord of spooky scenarios to sink your teeth into. Any of these tickle your terror bone? Or should we keep fishing in the lake of nightmare fuel?

Scary Story Ideas

Scary is horror’s slightly tamer cousin. They’re designed to make you feel frightened, but not always in a deep, emotional way. They might be about anything from a jump scare to a creepy situation that gives you the shivers. Scary stories can be quick and to the point, like a campfire tale meant to spook you for a moment rather than leave a lasting sense of dread.

In scary stories, it’s all about that build-up of dread and those jump-out-of-your-skin moments. Scary stories are the ones that make you want to pull the covers over your head but leave one eye peeking out.

Let’s dial it back a notch and cook up some scary stories that’ll give you the heebie-jeebies without sending you into therapy. Here’s a fresh batch of fright-lite for your campfire chronicles:

• You’re home alone and your dog keeps barking at the closet. When you open it, there’s nothing there. Then you notice tiny, wet footprints leading under the bed.
• A babysitter keeps getting prank calls asking if she’s checked on the children. Plot twist: she’s not babysitting tonight.
• Your GPS insists on rerouting you down increasingly deserted roads. The voice starts to sound… hungry.
• Every night, the last person to leave work hears a child giggling in the empty office. Tonight, you’re working late.
• You wake up to dozens of missed calls from Mom. The voicemails are just static and distant screaming.
• That creepy doll your aunt gave you keeps showing up in different rooms, no matter where you hide it.
• On a dare, you say “Bloody Mary” three times in the mirror. Nothing happens—until you go to bed and see her reflection behind you.
• Your new smart home device has started locking doors on its own and whispering your name at night.
• During a power outage, you see a face pressed against your window. You live on the 20th floor.
• You’re scrolling through your phone’s camera roll and find photos you don’t remember taking – of yourself sleeping.

There you have it—ten tales to tingle your spine without melting your brain. These are like horror’s gateway drug—just scary enough to get your heart racing, but not so terrifying you’ll need to sleep with the lights on… probably. 

Shall we creep on to the next stop on our fear tour?

Spooky Writing Prompts

Spooky stories are more about atmosphere than outright terror, relying on eerie vibes and things that go bump in the night. They’re like walking through a foggy graveyard at night—chilling, mysterious, and maybe a little eerie, but not necessarily terrifying. 

Spooky tales often have a ghostly or magical element to them and are more likely to give you goosebumps than nightmares. Think of Halloween stories with witches, ghosts, or things that go “bump” in the night but don’t actually harm anyone.

Here are ten spooky writing prompts, focusing on atmosphere, mystery, and eerie chills:

• The local cemetery has a gravestone that changes inscriptions. Tonight, it bears your name.
• On Halloween night, you explore an abandoned mansion and hear childlike laughter in the empty halls.
• Every night at midnight, a candle lights up in a vacant house. When you step inside, the candle goes out.
• You find an old photo album, and a blurry figure appears in each picture, getting closer with every shot.
• You take a shortcut through a forest and hear soft voices all around you, whispering secrets.
• An old music box in the attic of your new house plays by itself on full moon nights. The melody sounds… familiar.
• Footsteps echo outside your window at 3 a.m., but there are no footprints and no sign of anyone.
• In a deserted town, your car breaks down, and a shop sign reads, “Closed Until They Return.”
• A shadow on your wall doesn’t match anything in your room and slowly starts to move.
• The paintings in your house subtly change whenever you’re not looking directly at them.

So, feeling sufficiently spooked? Or should we keep channeling the spirits of storytelling past for more ethereal inspiration? Maybe it’s time to turn up the heat and dive into those psychological horrors that’ll really mess with your melon. 

Psychological Horror Story Ideas

Psychological Horror is like the quiet one in the corner who’s actually the most disturbing of them all. This is where things get deep. This bad boy gets inside your head, making you question reality, sanity, and whether that shadow in the corner just moved. 

Instead of relying on gore or monsters, psychological horror stories focus on mental fear—paranoia, anxiety, and confusion. The real horror is often what’s happening inside the characters’ heads. You’re left wondering what’s real and what isn’t, which can make it even scarier. 

These stories often explore themes of madness, obsession, and the fragility of the human mind, leaving you unsettled long after you’ve finished the story.

Ready to have your brain turned inside out?

• You start noticing small inconsistencies in your daily life—objects slightly out of place, conversations you don’t remember having. Is your memory failing, or is someone gaslighting you?
• Every night, you dream you’re someone else. Every morning, you wake up with new memories that aren’t yours. Which life is real?
• You discover your childhood imaginary friend was real—and they’re back, demanding payback for being “abandoned.”
• A mysterious app appears on your phone. It shows predictions of future events that always come true… then it starts showing your death.
• You wake up in what seems to be your normal life, but everyone insists you’ve been in a coma for years. Which reality do you trust?
• Your therapist has been secretly recording your sessions and selling them as a hit podcast. But the stories aren’t yours—they’re much, much worse.
• Every time you pass a specific stranger on the street, they smile at you knowingly, as if they’ve been watching you for years.
• Every time you fall asleep, you wake up in a different person’s body. You’re starting to forget who you really are.
• You realize your whole life has been a scripted TV show, but only you know it. How do you escape when everyone else is an actor?
• Your reflection starts giving you advice. It’s helpful at first, but its suggestions become increasingly disturbing and violent.

So, feeling a little unmoored from reality yet? Maybe checking over your shoulder to make sure your reflection isn’t watching you? Good—that means we’re on the right track. 

Remember, in psychological horror, the real monster is usually… you. Sweet dreams!

Short Horror Story Ideas

Alright, let’s cut to the chase and serve up some bite-sized terror. Short horror stories are like jump scares in text form—they hit you fast, leave you breathless, and stick with you long after you’ve finished reading. These puppies are perfect for those nights when you want a quick fright without committing to a full-blown horror novel.

Think of these as the horror equivalent of a shot of espresso: small, potent, and guaranteed to keep you up at night. Ready to dance with the devil in the pale moonlight? Let’s go:

• The last person on Earth sits alone in a room. There’s a knock at the door.
• You receive a text: “I’m outside your house.” It’s from your own number.
• Every night, the same nightmare. Every morning, a new unexplained scar.
• A mysterious Polaroid appears under your pillow each morning, showing you sleeping.
• You’re home alone. Alexa says, “I’ve called the police. Get out now.”
• The face in the window isn’t your reflection. It’s smiling.
• Your pet cat brings you a “gift.” It’s your missing wedding ring.
• A ouija board spells out your name. You’re alone in the room.
• The family portrait on the wall has changed. You’re no longer in it.
• A child’s laughter echoes from the basement. You don’t have kids.

These little nightmares are like potato chips; bet you can’t write just one. They’re short, sharp shocks to the system that’ll leave your readers checking under the bed and side-eyeing their mirrors.

Tips For Using Horror Story Starters

Are you getting into the spirit of things yet? You’ve got the seeds of terror in your hot little hands, but how do you nurture them into a forest of fear? Then let’s talk about how to take these creepy kernels and grow them into full-blown nightmares. Here’s the down-and-dirty guide to turning prompts into pulse-pounding horror stories:

• Embrace the “What if?” game. Take that starter and run with it. What if the creepy doll could talk? What if the ghost was actually trying to warn you? Let your imagination off the leash and see where it leads you.
• Know your scare style. Are you going for subtle creeps or full-on gore? Psychological mind-bends or supernatural spooks? Tailor the prompt to fit your preferred flavor of fear.
• Build the atmosphere. Horror is all about mood, baby. Use all five senses to drag your readers into your terrifying world. Make them smell the musty air, feel the clammy touch on their skin.
• Develop your characters. Even in horror, we need someone to root for (or against). Give your characters depth—it makes their inevitable doom all the more delicious.
• Decide: Are you going for a slow burn or a fast fright? Decide on your pacing. Some stories are best as a slow creep of dread, others as a rollercoaster of terror. Choose your tempo and stick to it.
• Twist it up. Nothing beats a good plot twist in horror. Take the expected and flip it on its head. Make your readers gasp – then scream.
• Remember, less is more. Sometimes, what you don’t show is scarier than what you do. Leave some things to the imagination—it’s usually darker than anything you could describe.
• End with a bang (or a whimper). Your ending can make or break your story. Go for the gut-punch finale or the lingering sense of unease. Just make sure it packs a punch.
• Read it out loud. Seriously. Nothing exposes weak spots in your terror tale like hearing it. If you’re not creeping yourself out, back to the drawing board.
• Have fun, you sicko. Remember, you’re here to entertain—yourself included. If you’re not having a blast conjuring up these creepy scenarios, neither will your readers.

Now, armed with these tips and those prompts, you’re ready to unleash holy horror. Just remember: with great power comes great responsibility. Try not to traumatize your readers too much, okay? 

On second thought, go ahead and traumatize ’em. That’s what they’re here for, right?

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