The 5 Best Free Novel Writing Software Tools for Authors on a Budget
Writing a novel is no small feat. Whether you‘re pounding out your first book or are a seasoned author, crafting a story that spans hundreds of pages and tens of thousands of words takes immense time, effort and perseverance. From developing memorable characters and mapping out an engaging plot to endless hours of writing and revising, it‘s a massive undertaking that can easily stretch over many months or even years.
While you can write a novel using just a pen and paper (or a basic word processor), specialized novel writing software can be a huge help in organizing and streamlining your workflow. The best programs provide a focused writing environment free from distractions along with powerful tools to brainstorm ideas, develop your story elements, structure your manuscript, track your progress, and much more.
The only problem is the price tag – the most popular novel writing software like Scrivener and Ulysses can cost $50 or more. But the good news is, there are some fantastic free programs out there that provide many of the same features without the hefty price tag. In this post, we‘ll take a look at five of the best free novel writing software tools to help you finish your book without breaking the bank.
How Novel Writing Software Can Enhance Your Writing Process
Before diving into our top picks, let‘s take a quick look at some of the key benefits and features of novel writing software:
Distraction-free writing environment: One of the biggest challenges of writing is staying focused. It‘s all too easy to get sidetracked by emails, social media, and other digital distractions. Most novel writing programs provide a minimalist, full-screen composition mode that eliminates clutter and lets you immerse yourself in your story without interruptions.
Planning and organization tools: Writing a novel involves juggling a lot of information – character backstories, plot points, research notes, outlines, and more. The best software helps you collect and organize all those details with features like story templates, character and setting worksheets, outlining tools, and searchable reference databases.
Tracking and motivation features: When you‘re working on a long-term project like a novel, it helps to have milestones and metrics to keep you on track. Many programs let you set custom word count goals and deadlines to stay accountable and motivated. Some also provide detailed writing statistics and attractive visual reports of your progress.
Exporting and publishing options: Once your draft is complete, you‘ll need to share it with beta readers, editors, agents, or self-publish it yourself. Most novel writing software can export your manuscript to common formats like DOCX, PDF, and ebook formats, maintaining your formatting and chapter structure. Some even offer direct integrations with self-publishing platforms.
Now that we‘ve covered some of the key features to look for, let‘s jump into our picks for the best free novel writing software.
1. yWriter
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS
Notable features: Scene-based writing, storyboard view, character and location sheets
yWriter is a free, no-frills writing program created by novelist and programmer Simon Haynes. It uses a unique scene-based approach, where your novel is broken down into chapters and scenes instead of a single long document. This makes it easy to focus on one piece at a time and quickly rearrange scenes as needed.
The storyboard view gives you a high-level visual outline of your manuscript. Each scene is displayed as an index card showing its title, description, characters, locations and more. You can drag and drop the cards to experiment with different structures and easily track the flow of your story.
yWriter also provides dedicated sheets to develop your characters and settings. You can upload photos, note physical attributes, background details, and how they relate to other story elements. These sheets are fully searchable, so you can quickly reference them as you write.
Other handy features include a built-in word processor with customizable keyboard shortcuts, a database to store research notes and ideas, a word count meter, and a readability analyzer to help you polish your prose. When you‘re done, you can export your manuscript to HTML, RTF, or ebook-ready EPUB.
While yWriter lacks some bells and whistles, it covers all the core novel-writing features. And you can‘t beat the price. If you don‘t need a fancy interface and prefer a straightforward, no-nonsense tool, it‘s a perfect choice.
2. Manuskript
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
Notable features: Outlining tools, story goal tracking, side-by-side editing mode
Manuskript is a free, open-source writing program with a clean, modern interface and robust organizational features. It provides multiple views to plan and structure your novel, including an outline, index cards, and a convenient "Outline+Editor" mode that displays your draft and outline side-by-side.
The outline mode is where Manuskript really shines. You can quickly build a hierarchical tree of your story with folders for parts and chapters and text files for individual scenes. Drag and drop to easily reorganize your narrative structure at any level.
Manuskript also offers some unique goal-tracking and motivational tools. You can set a target word count for your entire novel as well as individual chapters and scenes. It will calculate your daily writing quota and show your progress on a calendar with color-coded squares (similar to the famous GitHub contribution graph).
Other notable features include a system to track revisions and edits, a frequency analyzer to identify overused words and phrases, customizable "reference" categories to store characters, locations, and research, and novel and character summary templates to kickstart your story development.
Manuskript‘s export options are a bit limited, but it does support ODT, HTML, and ePub. And since it‘s open source, tech-savvy authors can customize it to fit their workflow.
3. SmartEdit Writer
Platforms: Windows
Notable features: Built-in writing advice, automated editing tools
SmartEdit Writer (formerly Atomic Scribbler) is a sleek, Windows-only program with some handy automated editing and proofreading features. At its core, it‘s a fairly standard writing app with a customizable interface, a navigation sidebar to manage chapters and scenes, and a full-screen focus mode.
But where SmartEdit Writer stands out is its intelligent editing tools. It includes a built-in style guide with dozens of writing tips and suggestions to tighten your prose. It can automatically highlight adverbs, repeated phrases, potentially misused words, dialogue tags, and more. You can even create your own "monitored words" list to weed out pesky crutch words and filler phrases.
Other notable features include versioning and snapshot tools to safeguard your drafts, a built-in text-to-speech reader to hear your manuscript read aloud, and a nifty "Problem Finder" that scans your entire novel for consistency errors in spelling, hyphenation, and punctuation.
SmartEdit Writer can export your manuscript to DOC, DOCX, RTF, HTML, and OpenDocument. And if you outgrow the free version, a premium edition with additional reports and editing tools is available for a one-time fee.
4. Wavemaker
Platforms: Web, Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS (unofficial apps)
Notable features: Minimalist interface, productivity features, offline support
Wavemaker (formerly Wavemaker Cards) is a no-frills, browser-based writing app with some surprisingly powerful features hidden beneath its minimalist interface. Navigation is handled through a nested system of "cards" for parts, chapters, scenes, and notes, which you can infinitely nest and rearrange via drag-and-drop.
Wavemaker includes all the standard planning features like character and location sheets, story goal tracking, and a properties sidebar to keep important references on hand. But it also offers a few unique tools like a mechanically-focused submission tracker and a nifty index card "corkboard" for freeform story planning.
Cloud sync is supported through Google Drive, Dropbox, or your own personal Git repository. And you can access your manuscript anywhere, even without an Internet connection. Text formatting is purposefully simple to avoid distractions – just bold, italics, underline, and strikethrough.
Other handy features include a dark mode and typewriter sound effects for late-night writing sessions, a Pomodoro-esque focus mode with timed writing sprints, and a variety of export options including Word, PDF, Markdown, and ePub.
Since Wavemaker is web-based, you don‘t have to worry about losing access to your novel if you switch computers. There are no accounts, no subscriptions, no upsells – just a clean, straightforward app to help you tell your story.
5. Reedsy Book Editor
Platforms: Web
Notable features: Professionally designed templates, collaborative editing
Our final pick isn‘t technically a dedicated novel writing app – it‘s a free, browser-based writing and production tool from the popular author services marketplace Reedsy. But if your goal is to self-publish a professional-grade book, it‘s a great option to consider.
The Reedsy Book Editor is an online writing environment that guides you through the entire publishing process, from the first draft to the final formatted ebook and print files. To get started, choose from a library of genre-specific, professionally designed templates for popular categories like romance, mystery, sci-fi, and more.
The editor itself is clean and minimalist with a few unique features like a "Goal Tracker" progress bar, a one-click automated chapter break tool, and a built-in timer for productivity sprints. But the real standout is its seamless collaborative editing.
You can invite your editor to work on your draft in real-time, with support for comments and tracked changes. This allows you to get immediate feedback and line edits without the usual back-and-forth of email attachments.
When you‘re ready to publish, the Reedsy Book Editor can instantly generate retail-ready ePub, MOBI, and PDF files that meet the strict formatting requirements of Amazon KDP, Apple iBooks, Kobo, and other major online retailers and distributors. Just enter your author name, book title and other metadata and let the app handle the rest.
The Reedsy Book Editor may lack some of the specialized novel-planning tools of other apps on this list. But if your end goal is to self-publish, the unmatched ease of editing, collaboration, and production make it a worthy contender.
The Bottom Line
Writing a novel is a daunting task, but the right tools can make all the difference. Whether you‘re looking for a full-featured app with all the bells and whistles or a simple, distraction-free writing environment, there‘s a free program out there to fit your needs and budget.
For a tried-and-true classic with unbeatable scene-based writing tools, yWriter is hard to beat. If you prefer a more modern, web-based option, Wavemaker offers robust features and useful productivity tools. And if your main goal is a painless path to self-publishing, give the Reedsy Book Editor a look.
But don‘t be afraid to experiment. Since all the programs covered here are free, you can test drive a few to see which one fits your unique creative process. With a little trial and error, you‘re sure to find the perfect writing partner to help bring your novel to life.
