Someone asked me recently what tools I utilize for creative writing. I’ve certainly used and/or tested many over the last 8 years. Following are some of my preferred tools.
My favorite tools:
Dabble Writer: This is my new writing app that I use 100% of the time now. It’s a great alternative to Scrivener. It isn’t as powerful, but, it’s online and can be used in a regular browser. What I love: it can be used in any browser, and it stays synced between devices better than Scrivener. It has an integrated section for world notes, and character notes, and plotting as well. What I don’t love: the plotter is a little basic and missing features, and the writing app could use more writing features. But, ultimately, I started using this tool full-time for my writing in early 2024, and have now moved all my in-progress books over from Scrivener to Dabble Writer. https://www.dabblewriter.com/
Nebo: An app for hand-written digital notes. What I love: Corkulous used to be my ‘go to’ mind-mapping tool on my ipad – but, the limited background size was always an issue. I have now replaced it with Nebo because this app has the ‘eternal’ background, meaning, you can write and write and write and make it as long or as wide as you want. This is very useful when you are mapping out an initial time-line or brainstorming, etc. You can also use it with the Apple pencil (I do!). Then you can export it to your ‘Notes’ app on the iphone/ipad/Mac, and have it available for viewing on any device. Finally, it has tons of colors and pen types and writing features that can all be used with the Apple pencil. What I don’t love: when you export it, sometimes it doesn’t export well and/or the background turns into an odd color, making it hard to read. https://www.nebo.app/
Following are two examples of mind-mapping plotting time-lines I did with the Apple Pencil and Nebo on the ipad for ATSC. I open Nebo and map out the general timeline. Then, once I feel I have all my ideas down, I transfer it to the plotting section of the book in Dabble Writer (so that the plot-line / time-line is there with the book).
Yes. Yes. My writing is messy. Thank goodness I type my stories for you!
Atticus: An online platform to format a book for digital sales, on Amazon and other digital book platforms. What I love: it does an amazing job of showing you precisely how your book will look on a Kindle. What I don’t love: you cannot use it as a writing and editing platform – it just doesn’t work well for that and is missing many editing features. So, you have to write your book elsewhere and only use this cool after copy editing and when you’re ready to sell. https://www.atticus.io/
Scribophile: A platform for beta reads. What I love: There are great writer groups here where you can exchange your book with some other author for beta reads. I have joined some of those groups to meet other aspiring authors, and then we exchange our books for alpha and beta reads and feedback. It really helps one improve the overall quality of the writing. What I don’t love: There seem to be a lot of very young people in some groups, for whom some writing exchanges might not be appropriate. And occasionally you get someone who really doesn’t provide useful feedback. But this could happen in any group. https://www.scribophile.com/
Fiverr: A platform for finding beta readers, copy editors, and cover artists. What I love: You have many contractors to choose from and can see examples of their work and reviews. What I don’t love: Sometimes the contractor has amazing reviews and turns out to be a major dud, so you wasted your money. https://www.fiverr.com/
MidJourney: AI image generator. I love using this AI image creator to mock-up the places, characters and scenes in my books. Having vivid imagery helps me write better. What I Love: The world is your oyster. Whatever you can imagine, this is the best AI image creator to make it. What I don’t love: It does use copy-righted images, and you do have to learn some complex prompts to get what you want. Even so, compared to many other similar tools on the market (like Firefly), this one consistently gives me better images when I do side-by-side comparisons. https://www.midjourney.com/
I mean, where else can you input the following prompt and get this image in 30 seconds?
imagine/ BRAD PITT and DENZEL WASHINGTON having tea at a french café terrass in Paris
Great runner-ups that I use less now:
Scrivener: I used this for five years, before finding Dabble Writer. It is good while a little complex to use. What I love: the many editing features and formatting options, and the ‘notes’ area on the right side. What I don’t love: the mobile device apps for it (ipad and iphone) are not great and do not work well. Also, I had non-stop issues of it not syncing right between the devices, and then I’d lose my recent edits/work. If you only work on one device, say always a PC, then this won’t be an issue for you. But, I love to grab my ipad and go to a coffee shop and work on that, and then come home and work on my Mac, and at bed-time if I get an idea I grab my phone to add it. And that was impossible todo using Scrivener. I work in ed tech support – so, really – I would know how to make that work well if it were possible to work well. https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener/overview
Plottr: I like this app for mapping a storyline on my ipad. Now, I will admit I am more of a ‘panster’ or ‘discover writer’ than a ‘plotter’. I do very minimal pre-plotting and planning of a storyline. Even so, when I decide to, this tool works well. What I love: you can color code plot lines and easily move them around and re-arrange them. What I don’t love: It needs some more writing features editing options. Though, I will say that Dabble Writer above has a plotting area as well, so I often use that instead. https://plottr.com/
Corkulous: A corkboard app for IOS devices. This used to be my ‘go to’ mind-mapping tool until I found Nebo. Depending on what I want to do, I may still prefer it over Nebo (though not for mapping out story time-lines and plot lines). It is great just for brain-storming sessions, and I probably perfer Corkulous for that over Nebo. If you have the Ipad Pro with professional digital pencil, then you can write on the note cards as you brainstorm your story ideas. What I love: it has many writing features, pen types, color, stickies, note cards, and you can add photos, videos and links, and more. What I don’t love: It doesn’t have the ‘eternal’ background, so if you need to work wider than the given space, you cannot – such as for a time-line that is going longer than expected. https://www.corkulous.com/
Apps I tested side-by-side with the above, and rejected for various reasons:
Ulysses
Story Planner
Werdsmith
Plotten
Notability