What is the best Linux writing software for novelists?

Question

11

Options
Considered

18

User
Recs.

Mar 10, 2020

Last
Updated

Here’s the Deal

11 Options Considered

Best Linux writing software for novelists	Price	Platforms	API
-- Joplin	FOSS	Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS	Yes
-- FocusWriter	Free	-	-
-- Zettlr	0	-	-
-- WriteMonkey	-	-	-
-- Turtl	Free	Windows, Linux, Android	-

See Full List

I Recommend...

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score 2 · Answer 1

Joplin

Top Pro

Offline access

Specs

Platforms:Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, iOS

Top Pro

Encryption

Top Pro

External editor

Write using your preferred text manipulation software. See More

Top Pro

Optional CLI interface

Provides a CLI interface for terminal lovers. See More

Top Pro

Web clipper

Browser extension saves full pages, clean content, or screen selections to new notes. See More

Top Pro

Supports file attachments

Top Pro

Supports tags for notes

Top Pro

Open source

Peace of mind that there is no malicious piece of software in the app. See More

Top Pro

Supports markdown

Top Pro

Cross-platform

Supports Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and iOS. See More

See All

Built by Slant

Find the best product
instantly.

Stop wasting time searching endlessly. Lustre recommends the best products at their lowest prices – right on Amazon.

4.7 star rating

Add to Chrome - It's Free Try now - it's free

score 2 · Answer 2

FocusWriter

Top Pro

Open Source and free with or without donation

Top Con

No Vim keys

Top Pro

Can save as ODT, RTF, DOCX and TXT

In addition to Text Open Document (ODT), FocusWriter allow to save as Office Open XML (docx), Righ Text Format (RTF) and text file (TXT). See More

Top Pro

Cross platform including Linux, Windows, Mac OS X

Top Pro

Document navigation

Snippet sidebar for jumps and easy content reorganization. See More

Top Pro

Customizable

Allows for personalized theming. See More

Top Pro

Distraction-free

Configured to offer a distraction-free environment by default. See More

Top Pro

Word count

See All

score 4 · Answer 3

Zettlr

Top Pro

Focuses on writers

While many Markdown editors don't offer specific support for a certain type of workflow, or offer features for scientific workflows only, Zettlr offers features that help the writing process of journalists or researchers in the arts and humanities. It's a lot more text-focused than most editors. See More

score 4 · Answer 4

WriteMonkey

Add Video or Image

Answer 5

Turtl

All

1

Specs

Platforms:Windows, Linux, Android

Answer 6

LibreOffice Writer

Platforms:Windows, Linux, Mac, Android

Answer 7

Scrivener

Top Pro

AppImage available:

https://www.wayoflinux.com/blog/scrivener-returns See More

Specs

Platform:Windows, OSX, Linux (beta)

Revision tracking:Yes

Reports:Yes

Hollywood formatting:Yes

See All Specs

score 2 · Answer 8

Bibisco

Top Pro

Works on Windows, Linux and Mac

This program is available on multiple operating systems, which allows more flexibility down the road. See More

Top Con

Large file size

Compared to the other options, Bibisco has a very large file size. If you are running low on storage, this can be an issue. See More

Top Pro

Free and Open Source

Top Pro

Paid version is "pay what you want"

The free version doesn't come with the full suite. Namely, you'll be missing global notes, object organizers, moving scenes from chapter to chapter, the timeline, and a dark theme. However, Bibisco's paid version is "pay what you want" meaning you can, well, pay what you want. See More

Top Pro

Great organizational tools

Bibisco comes with a ton of different organizers. It has tools for organizing characters, chapters, structure, narrative strands, timeline, settings, and lots more. See More

Top Pro

Powerful character building tools

Bibisco features a full suite for building your characters. It gives you sets of templates and asks you important questions about your characters to help you develop them more fully. See More

See All

score 1 · Answer 9

Word Grinder

Add Video or Image

score 1 · Answer 10

DramaQueen

Platforms:Windows, Mac, Linux

Answer 11

Manuskript

Top Pro

Markdown syntax

Compatible with markdown markup language. See More

Top Pro

Internal reference system to keep track of everything

Top Pro

Many export formats

Using pandoc, one can export to: HTML, PDF, ePub, DocX, ODT, LaTeX, etc. See More

Top Pro

Cross platform

Available on Mac, Windows, and Linux. See More

Top Pro

Free and open source

Manuskript is totally free, and the software is accessible which means anybody can make changes to it if they wish . This means that there are likely plugins and/or add-ons to allow you to do whatever you want with the program. See More

See All

11 Options Considered

My Recommendation for Joplin

My Recommendation for Joplin

Offline access

Encryption

External editor

Optional CLI interface

Web clipper

Supports file attachments

Supports tags for notes

Open source

Supports markdown

Cross-platform

My Recommendation for FocusWriter

My Recommendation for FocusWriter

Open Source and free with or without donation

No Vim keys

Can save as ODT, RTF, DOCX and TXT

Cross platform including Linux, Windows, Mac OS X

Document navigation

Customizable

Distraction-free

Word count

My Recommendation for Zettlr

My Recommendation for Zettlr

Focuses on writers

My Recommendation for WriteMonkey

My Recommendation for WriteMonkey

My Recommendation for Turtl

My Recommendation for Turtl

My Recommendation for LibreOffice Writer

My Recommendation for LibreOffice Writer

My Recommendation for Scrivener

My Recommendation for Scrivener

AppImage available:

My Recommendation for Bibisco

My Recommendation for Bibisco

Works on Windows, Linux and Mac

Large file size

Free and Open Source

Paid version is "pay what you want"

Great organizational tools

Powerful character building tools

My Recommendation for Word Grinder

My Recommendation for Word Grinder

My Recommendation for DramaQueen

My Recommendation for DramaQueen

My Recommendation for Manuskript

My Recommendation for Manuskript

Markdown syntax

Internal reference system to keep track of everything

Many export formats

Cross platform

Free and open source

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