Writing Tools

I use a variety of writing tools in the process of writing my books. I thought some might be interested in what tools I use.

In software development (I did that job for many years) there is the concept of a tool chain. The tool chain is a series of best-of-breed applications, used sequentially to arrive at the end product. I’ve used the tool chain approach to writing. The apps I’ll discuss are all working toward becoming an all-in-one app, but my experience is that they only handle one part of the process really well.

Scrivener

Unlike MS Word, Google Docs, OpenOffice or other generic word processing apps, Scrivener was built for writers. I know some of my fellow writers resist the idea of learning a new app when they already know Word or something else, but if you take the plunge, you’ll find Scrivener will do a lot for you that word processors won’t.

Each chapter or scene has a synopsis that you can fill in, as well as the text. Entering synopses for all the chapters and scenes is a great way to plan out your novel before you write it, if you are a planner. The recipe-card view shows each scene or chapter as a card with the synopsis or the opening text, and you can rearrange your novel dragging them around, a feature that may be more valuable to pantsers. You can also tell Scrivener to gather up the individual synopses and output a complete synopsis for the whole book.

You can include everything in the Scrivener project, not just your manuscript. I put in research, blurbs, and other text that will appear in the book but is not part of the story. You can include pictures (a help if you are writing a scene about a real place) web links, critique feedback and anything else that might be helpful.

You can output your manuscript in a variety of formats, or you can customize your own, though the compiler is the most complex feature to use in Scrivener. You can also output the entire book including front matter and end matter in a format suitable for uploading to Amazon KDP or other outlets. This feature is not the strongest aspect of Scrivener, so I do not use it.

Juliet Boyd has done a series of video tutorials about the latest version of Scrivener (Scrivener 3).

Autocrit

Autocrit is a subscription website that does analysis of your writing, and highlights areas for potential improvement, much as an editor would. It costs $30/month, but they have a lifetime membership available that goes on sale once or twice per year. The analysis tools are algorithmic and do not involve AI. Autocrit also has some brainstorming tools that do involve AI, but I do not use them.

The picture above is the Summary Report on an earlier version of my book Two Thirds of a God. Autocrit compared my prose to other science fiction (you have the choice of a variety of genres and authors to be compared to) and writing best practices in five broad categories, giving a score in each. Within each category is a list of potential issues it looks for. It will highlight every occurrence of an issue in your text so you can decide whether and how to fix it. Autocrit identifies issues; it does not rewrite your prose. I find it helpful in leveling up my writing. I recommend my fellow writers try it for a month and see whether it works for you. Autocrit has an active YouTube channel that covers writing topics, Autocrit features, and writing contests they run, many of which do not require you to be a paid subscriber.

Grammarly

Grammarly has gotten better over the last couple of years. It now will work inside Scrivener or any other editing program. Nothing makes getting the commas in the right places easier. I advise, however, caution in letting it rewrite your prose with its AI features. The use of AI in writing has been a topic of controversy in the writing and publishing community. I recommend you consider turning off the generative AI features of Grammarly. This will tell you how:
Can I turn off/disable Grammarly’s generative AI features?

Atticus

Atticus is web-based software to format your book. It is a one-time purchase, and it runs on any platform that has a web browser. It does a good job for standard fiction and non-fiction works, but if you are doing a cookbook or something unusual, you may need to get the more expensive Adobe In-Design. Atticus includes a variety of professional-quality format presets that you can customize. They cover a range of different genres. Atticus will preview what the book will look like on a wide variety of Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Apple and Android devices, as well as in a print book. It will output an epub file for the eBook and/or a PDF file for print books.

It did a good job of formatting my book Two Thirds of a God, and their tech support was helpful and quick to respond. But they are doing a lot in there for a web app, and I’ve had to clear my browser cache and close all other browser windows a couple of times in order to avoid it being unacceptably sluggish.

Tell me what you think

Let me know what apps you use in your writing and your experiences.