Lore & LilacStart with the problem, not the feature list
Feature lists for writing software tend to look alike: chapters, a corkboard, goals, dark mode, export. What actually separates tools is what they assume about how you work. A word processor assumes one long document. A manuscript organiser assumes your book is made of pieces you will move around. A planner assumes the thinking happens before the drafting. A worldbuilding tool assumes your setting deserves its own encyclopaedia.
So before comparing products, name the problem. Most novelists are trying to solve one of four: the draft is hard to navigate, details keep slipping (eye colours, dates, who knows what and when), planning lives somewhere disconnected from the prose, or the finished book needs to become an ebook or a print file. Different kinds of tool answer different problems, and plenty of writers happily combine two.
The main kinds of tool, and what each is for
| Kind of tool | Built around | Examples | Worth checking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Word processors | Familiar editing, comments, tracked changes, easy sharing with editors | Microsoft Word, Google Docs | How a 100,000-word file feels to navigate, and where your notes will live |
| Manuscript organisers | Chapters and scenes you can reorder, notes beside the draft, targets | Scrivener, Dabble, Reedsy Studio | Learning curve, syncing between devices, export quality |
| Planners and outliners | Timelines, scene cards, plot templates | Plottr | Whether the outline and the manuscript stay in step |
| Worldbuilding tools | Deep records for places, cultures, magic and maps | World Anvil, Campfire | Setup effort, and how records connect to the chapters |
| General workspaces | Notes and databases you design yourself | Notion | How much novel structure you will have to build by hand |
| Formatters | Print and ebook layout, previews, front and back matter | Atticus, Vellum | Whether you want to draft there or only finish there |
| Analysis tools | Reading your own text: possible contradictions, questions about the manuscript | Novelium | What text is sent where, and whether findings point to the passage |
| Generation tools | Drafting, rewriting or expanding prose with AI | Novelcrafter, with an AI provider you connect | Whether the result still sounds like you, and what the provider costs |
The categories overlap. Reedsy Studio also typesets books, Atticus has a drafting editor, Scrivener compiles to EPUB and PDF, and Novelium combines an editor, analysis and book design. Use the table to understand what a tool is built around, not as a complete list of what it does.
AI: tools that write versus tools that read
“AI writing software” covers two very different things, and the difference matters more than any individual feature.
- Generation tools produce prose: continuing a scene, rewriting a paragraph, expanding a beat into a draft. Writers use them to get unstuck, to brainstorm, or to move faster through material they care less about. The trade-off is that the words are not wholly yours, and keeping a consistent voice takes deliberate effort.
- Analysis tools read what you wrote and report back: a possible contradiction, a character's last known whereabouts, an answer to “when did she learn his name?”. Nothing enters your manuscript unless you type it. The trade-off is that they won't help with a blank page, and their findings still need your judgement.
Neither is the correct choice for everyone. A writer who wants a drafting partner should choose a generation tool on purpose and read its terms. A writer who wants every sentence to be their own, for reasons of craft, contract or comfort, should look for a tool that states plainly that it never writes prose, and check how its AI features are switched on.
Either way, ask the same three questions: which parts of your text leave your device, which company processes them, and whether your writing can be used to train models. A trustworthy tool answers all three in plain language on its privacy page.
What matters, ranked
Priorities differ between writers, but some failures cost far more than others. Losing a week of work, or being unable to get your book out of a tool, is worse than any missing theme.
| Criterion | Rank | Why it matters | How to check in a trial |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saving and recovery | Essential | A draft you can't trust stops you writing | Close the app mid-sentence, reopen it, look for the sentence; find the version history |
| Export and ownership | Essential | Editors, agents and formatters expect standard files, and plans change | Export a DOCX on day one; read what happens to your books if you stop paying |
| Privacy and AI policy | Essential | An unpublished book is valuable and personal | Find where manuscripts are stored, who can read them, and whether AI is opt-in |
| Structure | Important | Long books need parts you can move | Reorder two scenes and split one; check that counts and order follow |
| Story records | Important | Details drift over 300 pages | Record a character detail, then time how long it takes to find mid-scene |
| Price model | Important | One-time licences, subscriptions and free tiers suit different writers | Add up a year's cost and check what stays usable after it ends |
| Planning views | Nice to have | Useful for plotters, optional for others | Build a five-card outline and see whether it connects to real scenes |
| Themes, sounds, book design | Nice to have | Comfort matters over long sessions, but it won't rescue a lost draft | Write for half an hour and notice what you changed |
A decision path by kind of writer
- Writing a first novel: start with a word processor or a free organiser and a goal you can keep. You can move later; see our guide for beginners.
- A planner who outlines before drafting: a dedicated planner such as Plottr, or an organiser with a board and timeline. Check whether changes to the outline reach the manuscript, or accept keeping the two in step yourself.
- A discovery writer: an organiser where scenes are quick to create and move, and notes can be added after the fact. Heavy templates up front will feel like homework.
- Fantasy, science fiction or a series: you'll want records that last across books. Compare wiki-style tools with manuscript-connected records in our worldbuilding guide.
- Revising a finished draft: prioritise version history, side-by-side comparison, and a reliable way to find every passage a change touches.
- Close to publishing: a formatter such as Atticus or Vellum, or the book design built into your writing tool, plus a clean DOCX for your editor.
- Already settled in Scrivener: you may not need to change at all. If you're curious, read our Scrivener alternative guide before moving anything.
Where Lore & Lilac fits
Lore & Lilac is a manuscript organiser with connected story records and optional analysis. It never writes, suggests or rewrites prose. You draft in chapters and scenes; names you tag with @ link to a story bible whose details cite the passage that established them. AI features, such as a continuity scan that lists possible contradictions with both passages cited, stay off for each book until you allow them, and show an estimate before running. It works in the browser, in desktop apps for Windows, macOS and Linux, and as an installable app on phones and tablets.
What it doesn't do: real-time co-editing (co-authors work scene by scene), tracked changes or screenplay formatting, and it isn't in the app stores. Manuscripts are stored on our servers with encrypted off-site backups; they are not end-to-end encrypted. It opens with no connection only for books you've already opened on that device, and new scenes, exports and AI features need a connection. If any of that matters to you, another tool may suit you better. See how it works.
Trial checklist for any writing tool
Run these with a real chapter, not sample text. They take an afternoon and tell you more than any feature page.
The ticks are just for you; nothing is saved or sent.