Writing Tools

Writing a novel is monumental enough without fighting your tools. This guide covers the essential software, planning tools, formatting apps, and hardware that independent authors use throughout the writing and publishing process — from blank page to publish-ready files.

Updated on June 16, 2026 by Randall Wood

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The Indie Author's Writing Software Toolkit — 2026 Overview

The Tool Problem

Every author forum has a variation of the same thread: someone asking what software they should use to write their book. The answers fill the thread with passionate advocates for Scrivener, Atticus, Word, Google Docs, Ulysses, Plottr — and now a growing list of AI-assisted tools. The honest answer is that there is no single right tool and the question is better framed as: which tools solve which problems in your specific workflow?

This section of Author Resources reviews each major tool category in its own dedicated article. This overview article gives you the map before you explore the territory.


The Four Tool Categories

Writing and Drafting Tools

These are the tools where you produce the raw manuscript — the actual words. The major options for indie authors in 2026:

  • Scrivener — the most powerful long-form writing environment; complex but worth learning for serious novelists

  • Atticus — cross-platform writing and formatting combined; the best all-in-one option for Windows authors

  • Microsoft Word — familiar and universal; excellent for editing and manuscript submission; less ideal for outlining and research

  • Google Docs — free, cloud-based, accessible everywhere; lacks advanced organizing features but pairs well with other tools

  • Ulysses — Mac and iOS distraction-free writing with clean export; strong for authors in the Apple ecosystem

  • Vellum — Mac-only formatting powerhouse with a writing environment included

See the dedicated articles on each of these tools for detailed assessments and recommendations by author type.

Planning and Outlining Tools

These tools help you structure your story before and during drafting:

  • Plottr — visual timeline and story planning; the leading dedicated outlining tool for fiction authors

  • Scapple — visual brainstorming from the makers of Scrivener; mind-mapping for complex story structures

  • Novelcrafter — AI-assisted story development with a Codex system for tracking series continuity; combines planning and AI assistance

  • Scrivener's Corkboard — if you use Scrivener, its built-in corkboard and outlining features are often sufficient

Editing and Proofreading Tools

These tools help you improve your prose after drafting:

  • ProWritingAid — the most comprehensive editing analysis for fiction authors; integrates with Scrivener and Word

  • Grammarly — excellent real-time grammar and style checking; 2025 added GrammarlyGO generative AI features

  • Hemingway App — free, web-based tool for reducing passive voice and identifying complex sentences; useful for nonfiction

AI Writing Tools

The newest and fastest-evolving category — tools that use AI to assist the creative process:

  • Sudowrite — the leading AI writing assistant purpose-built for fiction; Story Engine and prose tools are genuinely excellent

  • Novelcrafter — AI-assisted development with a story bible (Codex) and bring-your-own-key model flexibility

  • Claude and ChatGPT — general-purpose AI assistants useful for brainstorming, dialogue, research, and stuck-point resolution


The AuthorFLOW Layer

All of the tools above help you produce manuscripts. AuthorFLOW in the ScribeCount Author OS tracks what you've produced across all of them — daily word counts, project milestones, production streaks, and writing velocity over time.

Most authors use multiple tools across a writing project. You might outline in Plottr, draft in Scrivener, edit in ProWritingAid, and format in Atticus. AuthorFLOW sits above all of them as a unified production tracker — logging your output regardless of which application it came from.

📊 SCRIBECOUNT AUTHOR OS:  AuthorFLOW is the only tool in this section that connects your writing output to your sales data. Over time, you can see whether periods of high production velocity correlate with better royalty trajectories. The data connection between writing and earning is what separates AuthorFLOW from standalone word count trackers.


How to Read This Section

The articles in Writing Tools are organized into two groups: Hardware (Laptops for Writers, Dictation and Wearables) and Software (the writing, editing, formatting, planning, and AI tools). Each article provides an honest assessment from someone who has spent sixteen years in indie publishing — what I actually use, what I recommend, and where the limitations are.

Start with the tools that address your current bottleneck. If you're struggling to finish a first draft, the writing environment articles (Scrivener, Atticus, Word) matter most. If you're producing drafts but struggling with quality, the editing tools (ProWritingAid, Grammarly) are the priority. If you're producing good manuscripts but losing time to administrative overhead, AuthorFLOW and the organization tools address that. 


- Randall





Randall Wood
About the Author

Hello, I'm Randall Wood. When I'm not pounding the keyboard or entertaining my giant dog, I like to build tools for my fellow indie authors. In these articles, you'll find lessons learned over sixteen years spent in the indie author world. I share it all here to help you get one step closer to where you want to be.

For More Details: https://randallwoodauthor.com/

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