yWriter icon
yWriter icon

yWriter

 67 likes

yWriter is a writing tool that uses "scenes" as a unit of text and allows you to associate that text with all manner of story elements (characters, locations, items) as well as place it and rearrange it within the context of chapters.

Main screen on Windows XP

License model

  • FreemiumProprietary

Country of Origin

  • AU flagAustralia

Platforms

  • Mac
  • Windows
  • Android  It costs $4.99
  • Android Tablet  It costs $4.99
3.2 / 5 Avg rating (4)
67likes
6comments
0news articles

Features

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Properties

  1.  Lightweight

Features

  1.  Portable
  2.  Outline mode
  3.  Tracking of plots
  4.  Project Organization
  5.  Track Characters
  6.  Scene Management
  7.  Plot visualisation
  8.  Character database

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Comments and Reviews

   
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Top Positive Comment
Guest
May 22, 2020
0

literally the most robust novel outliner released... the only minus perhaps on the current stable version(6) is the lack of trash folder or at least a way to easily organize unused file(image), because it still presist in drive...

Top Negative Comment
Dakota
Jul 11, 2023
0

VERY out of date menu wise, disappeared for ages off the google play store, only to be brought back EXACTLY the same, no better layouts or anything.

Spacejock
Aug 26, 2019
0

It's been a while, but yWriter Mac is in beta (available now), and yWriter 7.0.1.7 should run on Mono. (Any problems with Mono are usually down to missing libraries, especially visualbasic.dll)

redbeardgrey
Aug 9, 2019
4

It's functional in Windows. I did not test it in Linux. In terms of functionality for a writer, it has issues, and I should explain.

yWriter forces the user into a particular organizational style. However, where in some other writing programs a user can re-organize to a level deeper (or 2 or more levels deeper) on the fly, yWriter forces the user into Project, Chapters, Scenes. There are no other options. One cannot create subchapters in chapters with this program.

It does not have an outline mode. However, if you can organize your work in the spreadsheet style it uses, then this might be for you.

It is functional. You can probably import Scrivener's content.rtf files into it (it groks RTF). And it has features other programs don't (in this scene: characters, locations, items, etc).

But it's clunky. The interface is almost entirely menu-driven. It has few keyboard shortcuts by default, and there is evidently no way to set more, or to change the ones that exist.

It is free (donation-ware; please donate if you use it), and that's a huge plus for some people.

If I were to advise the programmer on things to improve, I'd say first improve the interface. It needs an outline mode. After that, improve the outline capabilities.

In terms of a rating, I have to give it a 3, because everything works, and everything it does is useful. But it's clunky, and it's missing an outline mode. Those are two major detractors.

Kyrylo Karalyus
Dec 11, 2020

good review, just tried it and aggree to everything. SmartEdit is an alternative with much less predefined structure and amazing interface themes (literally looks like microsoft-built vscode if you wish)

plants
Aug 13, 2018
0

Fast and uncomplicated. Built-in editor needs improvement, nevertheless fully functional

C.A.
Oct 22, 2017
3

There's no official Linux version and the Windows executable does not work particularly well in WINE.

Paul
Nov 10, 2017

You can install it on Linux using Mono.

C.A.
May 29, 2019

@POX I've yet to have any success with this using Mono or otherwise.

What is yWriter?

yWriter is a word processor which breaks your novel into chapters and scenes, helping you keep track of your work while leaving your mind free to create. It will not write your novel for you, suggest plot ideas or perform creative tasks of any kind. yWriter was designed by an author, not a salesman!

Official Links

yWriter information

  • Developed by

    AU flagSpacejock Software
  • Licensing

    Proprietary and Freemium product.
  • Pricing

    One time purchase (perpetual license) that costs $0 + free version with limited functionality.
  • Rating

    Average rating of 3.2
  • Alternatives

    69 alternatives listed
  • Supported Languages

    • English

AlternativeTo Categories

News & BooksOffice & Productivity

Apple AppStore

  •   Updated Sep 14, 2019
  •   2.9 avg rating

Our users have written 6 comments and reviews about yWriter, and it has gotten 67 likes

yWriter was added to AlternativeTo by jahwarrior on Jul 12, 2010 and this page was last updated Mar 13, 2023.