The writing software I use
This post should take about 5 minutes to read through.
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Every writer should find a process that works best for them, and should do so through trial and error. Don't be afraid to test new processes or new software, as this is the only way one can discover how they can do their best work. I've been writing since my early teens, and have tried several methods and processes myself. I know that I'm more of a plotter as opposed to a pantser (more on that in another blog post), I know that I like to build extensive worlds, and I take thorough worldbuilding and brainstorming notes at the beginning of a project (more on notes and brainstorming in another post).
I've hand-written stories, I've typed them out on a typewriter, and I've written them digitally. For me, nothing beats the feel of a typewriter, but it's slower, it makes changes hard, and jams can interrupt one's flow, so I've settled on this machine called the "personal computer," I don't know if you're familiar with it, haha. I've been using split keyboards as often as I can, raised my monitor to the appropriate height to alleviate neck strain (I easily get migraines and had to learn the hard way how to deal with them), and, of course, I've been through several different pieces of software.
I'm a professional writer and editor, and have been one for a few years now. I've written over fifty books, mostly for clients, and have self-published some of them under pen names before finally writing something I was proud to call my own (the First Mage). I write almost every day, for hours on end, so I've had plenty of time to settle on the process that works best for me, and had the opportunity to test out various ones. You can find more about my general process here.
This is not a post about the several alternatives to the piece of software I picked, but the one I settled on. However, there are great writing programs out there. I strongly suggest you experiment with as many of them as you can, like Atticus, Quoll Writer, even plain old Microsoft Word and Google Docs. I did so myself.
For writing, I use Scrivener. I have been using it for years at this point. I started by using a thirty-day trial, which has a very forgiving system that counts only the days you actually use it. Additionally, I initially took advantage of a system where each beta version of the windows port reset the counter, and used it for well over the thirty days. It was one of the first things I bought when I started earning an income through writing.
Scrivener has more features than I use, and I don't intend to list them all here. Check them out at their website. You can use my affiliate link if you want, you won't be charged more but I get a kickback for every sale made through it—if you don't want to use my link, just look it up on the search engine of your choice. I will be briefly mentioning the features I personally use the most.
The main reason I use it is the way I can structure a book. It has a built-in system where each book can be split into folders and documents, which can nest for more levels than anyone would ever use. I use folders as chapters and documents as scenes. Additionally, they can all be titled. I use the scene titles as a very short description of the scene's content, so I can easily find it later if I need to. Depending on the project, I append a number at the end which signifies the day the scene takes place in (with 1 being the first day of the story), or the name of the POV character for projects with multiple characters.
Additionally, and almost equally importantly, I can split the main window in frames. The structure I mentioned previously allows for "research" material to be included in the project, material that won't be included in the final document. I always keep the project's outline in there, along with my worldbuilding notes, character profiles, magic system rules, and handy notes like who's wearing what or when someone said something important and who heard it. The main window for me has three panels; the project tree on the left, the chapter on which I'm currently working in the middle, and my notes on the right.
There are several other functions I use. It has a built-in name generator, though you have to find name lists for it yourself (it was very easy for me with a quick search). It generates names with a click, and I keep lists for American names, English names, Spanish names, etc. It has a function that highlights dialogue and makes narration darker so that you can easily see how the dialogue flows in a specific scene. It has a function called "snapshots" which is a built-in versioning tool. Incredibly importantly, it also has a dark mode and multiple themes to choose from.
It has several text tidying tools as well. It can quickly and easily delete double spaces with just a keybind (ctrl + space for me), it can strip leading tabs, it has a built-in dictionary lookup system, it can change text to uppercase or lowercase with a single keybind, and has writing session targets and book length targets. While Word and other word processor programs use a "what you see is what you get" approach in terms of formatting, you "compile" the final document in Scrivener with any formatting you choose, so your editor formatting and final document formatting can be wildly different.
The features I mention above don't even begin to cover all of them, but they're the ones I use the most in almost every project. Fell free to check all of them out yourself.
There are several things it doesn't do perfectly. A major one is editing. I edit for clients using Microsoft Word, with the "Track Changes" feature, and I also use MS Word when editing my own books. It often picks out the worst kind of typo, the one where the "wrong" word is a normal word (like accidentally writing "fiend" instead of "friend," for example), but Scrivener does not. In truth, I like that Scrivener doesn't keep underlining my sentences as I write, because writing and editing are different phases for me, and I like keeping them that way. As I said, I've settled on my process through years of work. Scrivener also doesn't do formatting easily. I'm still looking into formatting, so if you have any suggestions, don't hesitate to reach out to me.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post, and thank you if you decide to try out Scrivener through my link, but don't worry if you don't. I became an affiliate literally today, I'd have written this blog post even if I weren't one.
Keep writing!