Still, for a first draft (or for an editing round that you plan to follow up with a spell/grammar check in Word), it’s great. The one downside to the software is that there is no grammar check and the spelling check only works if you download the additional plugin. You can even import a manuscript in, and it will split up the word file automatically into chapters/scenes. You can drag and drop it, which is much easier than copying/pasting. This is very helpful when you realize that a scene really needed to happen earlier.

It provides word count tracking, which is great for those with writing goals. It displays word count for scene, chapter, and the novel. The tools it provides in the writing process, and especially the editing process, are great.

By having each scene as a separate file, you avoid the problems that sometimes occur with large word files for the entire manuscript, and you also don’t have to keep closing/opening files if, say, you have one for each chapter. yWriter is actually an editing software (you can actually write your novel in the software), and there are some benefits to using it like that. Like scrivener, yWriter gives you the ability to create character profiles, set locations, and allows you to create a storyboard. So you just use it as an outlining software? That’s strange. Probably the most widely known alternative to Scrivener, yWriter isn’t as robust as some of the others on this list, but has every feature you could need to assist you in your writing.

Download ywriter