Every "best writing software" list eventually hands you nine options and no way to pick between them. The faster path is working backward from your own answers to a handful of specific questions, most of which have nothing to do with feature counts.
Do you need to share drafts with other people?
If real-time collaboration, comments, or getting feedback from beta readers directly inside the app matters to your process, that narrows the field immediately to tools built for it, Google Docs, Word, or Dabble's collaborative tiers. Solo-focused tools like Quillen or Scrivener require exporting a file to share, which is a real limitation if collaboration is central to how you work.
Do you want the software to generate any of your prose?
This is a genuine preference, not a skill question. If you want a tool that can draft alongside you or suggest text, an AI-assisted option like Novelcrafter fits. If you want every word to be unambiguously yours, with software handling only structure and formatting, a traditional tool without generative AI fits better.
How much are you willing to spend, and how?
A subscription's lower entry cost suits a short-term project or genuine uncertainty about whether you'll stick with writing. A one-time purchase suits a tool you expect to use for years, since the total cost stays fixed regardless of how long the manuscript takes. Neither is universally correct; it depends on how confident you are that this is a long-term habit versus an experiment.
Do you need planning tools built in, or do you already have a system?
Writers with an established outlining and character-tracking process, spreadsheets, a separate app, physical notebooks, may not need a tool that duplicates that work. Writers without one benefit from built-in, guided structure: Quillen's four outline templates and nine-section character profiles exist specifically for writers who want a starting point rather than a blank page.
How much does manuscript formatting actually matter to you right now?
If you're early in a first draft, formatting is close to irrelevant; write anywhere, worry about it later. If you're getting close to querying agents or preparing for self-publishing, a tool that formats to industry standard automatically (Quillen, and to a lesser extent Atticus) removes a real, time-consuming step that a general-purpose tool leaves entirely on you.
You don't have to decide forever, right now
Starting in Google Docs or Word costs nothing and tells you, honestly, what you actually run into as limitations, rather than guessing in advance. When a specific gap becomes a real time cost, that's the moment to move, not before. Switching later doesn't mean losing progress: most dedicated writing apps, Quillen included, import a properly formatted .docx file and detect chapters and scenes automatically, so an in-progress manuscript carries across cleanly.
Common questions
Should a new novelist pay for writing software right away?
Not necessarily. Drafting in Google Docs or Word first, before investing in anything, is a reasonable way to find out what you actually need help with. Once a specific limitation (formatting, structure, planning) becomes a real time cost, that's the point to look at dedicated software rather than before.
Does switching writing software mid-manuscript mean starting over?
No, as long as the tool you're moving to can import from a standard format like .docx. Most dedicated writing apps, including Quillen, detect chapters and scenes automatically from a properly formatted Word document, carrying an in-progress manuscript across without losing structure.