#writing programs

[dhazefawn]

Over time, I’ve had several writers reach out asking if I could create guides or share my setup for writing (editing apps, writing programmes and so on), so today, I want to introduce a new app I’ve been using for writing! Obsidian.

Before we dive in, I want to be transparent: I am not affiliated with Obsidian’s management or development team in any way. I’m simply a passionate user sharing my experience. This isn’t meant to spread any hatred toward Google Docs, Ellipsus, or any other writing app—each has its own strengths and loyal user base. We’re all just writers looking for tools that help us think and create.

I also want to extend a sincere thank you to the Obsidian Help Forum and the broader Obsidian community. Their generosity with plugins, CSS snippets, and troubleshooting advice transformed Obsidian for me from a raw Markdown editor into a genuinely writer-friendly app. I couldn’t have built my current setup without them.

Here is my guides tag containing more information about how to start as a writer on Tumblr (tid-bits & tips).

Q&A posts below:

Theme setup (tips, sites along with links);

Setting up your blog (aesthetics, post layouts, along with links);

BATFAM media to consume (only check newest reblogs, old ones have recommendations i do not agree with anymore).

[the-pen-pot]

Can I ask what program do you use for writing? I'm trying to get back to writing after a block that's lasted nearly a decade and I'm looking for options that are not Google Docs. I need something that allows me to be a bit more organised since I'm attempting to finish a 100k fic I haven't touched in 9 years. Considering the amount of writing you do (I'm in awe. Constantly.) I thought you might have some advice. I've seen people on reddit suggesting either Scrivener or MS Word?

Hi Lovely!

I actually write in 4thewords, which is a site where your word count beats monsters. You can organise your projects like below

And then within those projects you can have seperate files per chapter like so:

However, I will admit that, as a pantser, I don't have much in the way of notes. I have heard Scrivener is very good for organising if you're the kind of person who writes scenes and then stitches them together or has lots of notes to organise, but I don't have any first hand experience. I've also heard good things about Ellipsus, but again, I don't have personal experience of it!

I do use Word, but grudgingly, and only for spellcheck and editing - and I'd like to get rid of it if I can.

Thanks so much for asking, and sorry I couldn't be of more help 💖

[hjbender]

I finally got around to emptying out my Google Docs in just another step of un-shittifying my digital writing life. I uploaded my docs to Proton Docs, which has improved so much from the last time I tried it out that it's almost identical to GDocs now. Minus the AI and lack of privacy.

Here's a tutorial if you'd like to do the same.

Moving Your Fics from Google Docs to Proton Docs

You will of course need a Proton account for this. Please note that the instructions below are performed on desktop.

Part One: Getting Your Stuff Off Google

1. Navigate to your Google Drive.

2. Under the big Search bar, you'll see a dropdown menu called Type. Click it and select Documents. This will display all of your documents.

3. Click on one document to highlight it, then hit CTRL + A to Select All.

4. Right click and select Download.

5. Your documents will download into a zip file. Unzip the folder and extract your files to another folder on your computer.

NOTE: Google uses its own file format to handle documents. When you download your documents, they will be Word (.docx) files.

Go through your downloaded documents and make sure they're all there before deleting them from Google. You can delete by selecting all using the method above, right clicking, and hitting Remove.

Part Two: Upload Your Fics to Proton

1. Navigate to your Proton Drive (proton.me/drive). It comes free with your Proton email.

2. On your PC, highlight all the documents that you want to upload and simply drag and drop them into your Proton Drive.

3. You're ready to rock and roll.

NOTE: When you upload your documents to your Proton Drive, they will retain the .docx file type described in the above note. Once you open a .docx file in Proton Docs, a copy will be made of that file. You will see this when you navigate back to your Proton Drive. You may delete the extra .docx file and continue to use the Proton document instead (recommended).

Additional: You can download the Proton Drive app for mobile and enjoy the same cross-device reading and editing capability as Google.

[lukewarm-beef-stew]

ellipsus writers PSA

at the top of the screen, there's a tiny icon that will claim to show if your work is saved, displaying either synced/disconnected/error. DO NOT TRUST THIS. sometimes, it will say 'synced', but the work will NOT be saved anywhere except in the site data/cookies. so if you clear your cache consistently (something i have to do to keep my computer from crashing) you will irreparably delete all your progress.

there is no way to tell the difference between 'synced' meaning saved to their servers and 'synced' meaning saved only on your browser. there is no warning for this on their website, no page that says "do not use this site with these browsers or with your browser on this mode" or anything. the ONLY way you can find out about this through their site is if you go to their help center or submit a bug report to find out why your writing vanished, and only then will you be told that this is a common issue and whoops! too late now, there's no possible way to fix it.

this website is still in beta so im trying not to be too upset about it, but it happened to me three times and i lost about 9k words total before i figured out the issue. if this is a known enough issue that they can put it in the help center FAQs, i do think it should be warned about prominently when entering the site at least for the first time, as should any other actions/bugs that can cause writing to be deleted with no chance of recovery. otherwise, it kind of defeats the purpose of making a writing program, right?

[faeyun]

if anyone has any free alternatives to google docs that are similar to google docs, please let me know!!! i’m trying out ellipsus right now and i am notttt liking it (>人<；)

[infamous-if]

unsolicited recs from an if author to other if authors but if anyone is looking for any programs that may be helpful in outlining interactive fiction I def recommend scrapple which is a chart based program thats really helpful in breaking down scenes that branch! for example, this is how it helped me break down chapter 2!

and I have recently discovered Plottr that im going to use for my rewrite and it looks really useful so far! (excuse the "something happens" example I was just trying to show how it looks lols)

they aren't completely free but they do offer free trials. I do think scrapple is 100% worth the money and have been using it religiously for years. ive just started using Plottr but I like it so far!

and unrelated but if you like keeping track of your work or you like setting deadlines: pacemaker is amazing for that hehe (and the free version has all the features you need!)

anyway this sounds sponsored but it's not! I've just been using them and thought it'd be nice to share for people who work best with visual aids when writing like me!

[skywritingrambles]

so. where do you write your multichaptered fics? I really like Ellipsus but at least from what I understand it's kinda hard to do multiple chapters in a way that stays in order. I've used Quotev for my writing multiple chapters for a long time because I really like the layout of the chapters and how easily I can go from one chapter to another on desktop, but I feel using. A website for posting fanfic. Is probably not super ideal. Also it's kinda annoying to reorder chapters but that's fine honestly. I don't know I'm just trying to find something. I tried obsidian and hated it, Campfire Write is decent but it's really for creating your whole own story and world not fanfic, and it's paid for a lot of the stuff as well.

help pls i need reccomendations