I Tested All the Writing Software So You Don't Have To

Which will it be? Scrivener? Or something unexpected? Place your bets.

Chapters:
00:00 Front Matter
01:31 Part One - An Explanation
06:29 Exclusions
07:22 Honourable Mentions
14:09 Dishonourable Mentions
16:01 Part Two - Testing the Software
17:47 Wavemaker
26:59 NovelPad
34:27 Dabble
41:25 Plottr
48:55 yWriter
57:18 Novel Factory
1:08:19 Campfire
1:19:36 Scrivener
1:33:07 Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Republishing the Fifth Warrior:

Worldbuilding 1:

Worldbuilding 2:

My Album:

Music:

[chelseamcampbell]

I've been a professional author for 15 years now, and my software criteria are basically the same as yours (usable offline, one-time non-outrageous fee, works for writing and planning), and I totally agree on all of these! I started out in the "too cool for Scrivener" camp and couldn't understand why all my writer friends were raving about it, but I eventually tried it out, and it's basically all I've used for the last decade or so. Every couple years I go on a search to find something new, and I never find anything that even comes close to replacing it. Which is good in a way, but also boring, lol. Loved this video and seriously appreciate all the time and effort you put into testing these out!

[Ranter_]

Can’t tell you how hard I laughed at the final bit of the Novel Factory segment. 600 fucking dollars, the nerve!!! XD Great video, btw, I thought: this is way too long, probably gonna watch only a few minutes and ended up staying for the whole thing. Also, I literally arrived here by searching “World Anvil vs Campfire” so I was very excited when you said you were planning to release a video comparing them both. Hope it comes out sometime soon. Good luck on the novels!

[DeadlyDays-TalesofDarkFa-wlyl]

Thanks for this review! I recently purchased Scrivener and was a bit lost. But I just started writing and putting things together half understanding what I was doing. Your video has helped me realize that I did make the right choice. I'm currently rewriting my first novel of a trilogy that I began over twenty years ago and still have all the hand written notes and plots for the entire series. Scrivener has the ability to hold all three novels together and that is just what I need.

[aikijujitsu]

What a refreshing review of writing software. Thank you. You saved me a lot of time. I've been reviewing the available software on my own and wasn't sure I knew what I was doing. Surprise, surprise...I didn't. Now I know what to do. Excellent.

[AngelaKHarrell]

NEW SUBSCRIBER!! Love your honesty and down-to-earth attitude. Great video. Definitely will look at Campfire, and Scrivener. 😊

[michellem]

Just came across this video. Fantastic review! Scrivener is good, but I did lose my work with it once ( I did have it set to backup) so that did not make me happy and it made me very wary of it. Plus I have a Chrome book and not having a window based app makes it complicated for me, and makes me prefer an online based software.

The problem for me is that all these writing softwares (I’ve tried all the ones you reviewed, except for Wave Maker and YWriter) each have one outstanding feature that I love, but then lack in something else I want. If I could marry Campfire, Dabble, and Novel Pad together I would have my perfect writing software. (Campfire for world building, Dabble for plotting and drafting, Novel Pad for revising and for its recovery features)

Thanks for taking the time to do this in depth review!

[titaniumfelicia]

Thank you for doing this video. I was honestly about to have to do all this myself and you might be my spirit animal as much as our values align. You've done so fantastic on t his and I appreciate your dedication on such a detailed video!

[mysticmikester]

This was so much fun to watch, thank you for this!!!

[LeoBoon-SG]

Thank you very much Kelly for your deeply insightful evaluation of these writing softwares.
I am starting to use a writing program and had decided on using Scrivener for its completeness and cost-effectiveness. My learning curve might be shallower as much the editor is Word-like.

[EndTheWokeMindVirus]

Great thorough and honest review with refreshing, wonderful comedy! I subbed.

[jgrayhi]

Loved this video, thank you for all the work you put into this ❤

[aliciac.]

Scrivener and campfire are my babies. Campfire is for my series while Scrivener is for my standalones. They're perfect and as simple or complicated as you want them to be, as bare or aesthetic as you want them to be. I create graphics to use and surround myself with the vibes for my work or the season. And the way to link research is super important so you never have to leave your dashboards. Amazing. I got all the modules for Campfire for half the price of lifetime because I won Nano. Best thing ever. I'm even able to have playlists and videos in the research modules.

[ellenkramp]

Thanks for your thorough research and candor with the results 🙏 This has been an incredibly useful video for me!

[Veronicafinch]

Oh my God getting through the software is my Vietnam. I have used Scrivener forever but I’m always searching. My fantasy and dream would be to be able to smoke a joint and sit back and watch you go through all of them and guess what, that’s exactly what I did. Thank you sis, you took one for the team.

[SolitudeSA]

Great video! Enjoyed it a lot and it's amazing to finally find some honest comparisons.

[S.W.Best-writer]

The Novel Factory bit made me laugh. lol OMG... :)

[dianedurkin]

I like Scrivener, because of all its features. One cool thing that she didn't bring up was that you could hear your story being read to you. That was cool.

[scientious]

No review of Papyrus Author. That's the other one I see recommended a lot as a Scrivener alternative.

[TiggerTellsTales]

Thank you for this! I’m a 2x published author and yes, looking for some “fun” software with mood boards and an immersive environment. I’ve been working in MS Word since 2014 and bored with it and tired of finding documents. I’ve been testing out Campfire and can’t wait to open it up everyday and work but worried it won’t have all the features I’ll need to write/publish. Before I purchase I wanted to see everything out there. 🙏🙌

[crippsverse]

Very entertaining...and helpful. More, please 🙂