The Tools I Use

Happy Planner and Gel Pens

When I am first starting out on a new story, I usually start with opening a blank page in my disc-bound notebook, grabbing a few different colored gel pens, and writing down themes, rough ideas of where the plot could go, and how I envision the characters growing ad changing. This can go on for as many as 40 pages in the notebook as I just do a huge brain dump of everything I am thinking about. There is no generative AI involved here.

writing

Dragon Naturually Speaking Pro 13

In 2016, I got a serious traumatic brain injury, and since then I've had issues with chronic complex migraines and photosensitivity. Dragon Natural Speaking is speech-to-text software that has been around since the 1990s. I use version 13 which released in 2012. I still have the CD-ROM it came on. I had to buy a USB CD-ROM to install it. I haven't updated it. Yes, Nuance, the creator of Dragon, has since been bought by Microsoft and Microsoft is part of the genAI train. But my version of Dragon Naturally Speaking remains and will remain free of genAI. Using dictation software allows me to write or brainstorm when looking at a screen is too painful. It is an accessibility aid for me.

writing

Plottr

I purchased the lifetime/offline version of Plottr in 2022 after winning NaNoWriMo and getting a sweet discount on it. It did not have genAI at the time and it still has no genAI as of my creation of this document. I use this to do my outlines, especially on stories that have interwoven plotlines and criss-crossing arcs. It allows me to see the big picture, and the tagging feature allows me to do early character arc work. It then gets exported to a Scrivener file and my 30,000 word outlines become books. Since I use the offline version, I doubt any future genAI features they add will be available on my version. I've already paid for this software, I am broke and can't really replace it with other software at this time, so if they add genAI and I cannot turn it off or ignore it, I guess my early outlining will be done elsewhere. I don't know where that elsewhere will be, however. I'm just gonna pray I don't lose Plottr to enshittification. And yes, NaNo is no more so there's no need to worry about if they will sponsor NaNo again in the future. NaNo sponsorships and collaborations were usually booked months before the actual event so I doubt they had any idea of what was going on at Nano.

writing

Aeon Timeline

Another 'post-NaNoWriMo-win purchase because NaNo winners got great discounts. I use Aeon Timeline to keep track of exact dates. It also integrates with Scrivener. Once I have the rough outline from Plottr, I use Aeon Timeline to pin down exact dates things happen on. I do have my own calendar in the Ahnlisen books, and Aeon Timeline allows me to manage that. This was especially helpful as much of Smoke and Steel hinges on the date that both moons are in the 'new' phase. I have the off-line life time version of this software and I'm not even sure there is a SaaS version of it available. But there's no genAI and if there is well, I'm screwed. I guess I'll be doing this by hand. Also, see my comment about NaNo above.

writing

Campfire Writing

I use this for worldbuilding notes and have been using it for years. I actually got hooked on this product after getting a free 3 months back whenit was Campfire Blaze. I've purchased all of the modules as lifetime purchases, so I'm not paying them monthly but I have invested quite a lot of money into them, waiting for sales to come around for each module. They've already stated they don't support genAI and have no plans of adding genAI. They've had some controversy over their reading app not being accessible to screenreaders, but they recently remedied that. This is where I keep all the lore and stuff going back years. They've also got a reading app which my books are available on as I was invited to be part of their limited beta launch of their monetization model. If they ever add genAI, I guess I'm gonna have to show up and challenge them to a duel. And yes, they were longtime sponsors of NaNoWriMo and their community discord did have NaNo events, but once all the news came out about their multiple... situations... they stopped sponsoring and well NaNo is, thankfully, no more.

writing

Scrivener

Another 'I picked this up because NaNo Winner Discount' software and yes, thank goodness NaNo is dead. Since Scrivener was one of the largest sponsors of NaNo, it has gotten a lot of flack for not having the crystal ball in their office tell them that NaNo would endorse genAI. I've even seen someone say Scrivener IS a genAI company and they aren't. They do not even have an Android app do you think their sole developer would have time to add genAI? I have a lifetime licence for Scrivener and I love using it as my main writing app because I can have two documents open at once, as well as the inspector, the binder, the snapshots, the custom metadata, the ability to color code revisions, the notepad, and more. I just love it. I've tried other things and none of them have all the features I need. Some people say they don't like Scrivener because it has too many bells and whistles, but I need every single one of those bells and whistles. They've promised they aren't adding genAI and if for some reason they ever do, I shall simply stop being an author because I will never find another piece of writing software that will do what I need it to do. And yes, they disavowed themselves of NaNo even before NaNo imploded.

writing

Novlr

I wish I could tell you where I heard about Novlr but it was at least a decade ago that I found it at this point. This is my secondary writing software. I like it because it has dark mode, it is an online platform but it saves locally so if you lose internet access, you don't lose your work, and they are now a writer and worker owned co-op. They've promised zero genAI and are just generally lovely people. Since Scrivener doesn't have an Android app, when I need to write on my phone, I use Novlr and sync it afterwards when I am back at my desktop. Why don't I use Gdocs and instead pay for Novlr? Well, Gdocs and MS Word Online might be free but well. Do I really need to explain it? Also, Novlr also will back up your work to Dropbox or another cloud storage solution so if THEIR servers go down, you still have your work. Genuinely just great people.

writing

Microsoft Word

Unfortunately, there is no escaping Microsoft Word. It is the industry standard. When working with beta readers, sensitivity readers, editors, and proofreaders, there are many who insist on using Track Changes and yes you can get away with using OpenOffice or LibraOffice, sometimes whatever version of MS Word the other person was using just doesn't play nice and you have no choice but to open MS Word. I have the version from 2019, and so far it doesn't seem to have updated to have genAI features, not sure how long that will last. But if it is forced upon me, I'll have to turn it off and hope it stays off but sometimes there is just no way around needing to occassionally open a manuscript in MS Word.

writing

Atticus

I got a lifetime license for this years ago when it was just releasing and for a long time, I loved it. I don't own a Mac, and for a long time if you wanted to format your own ebooks and print pdfs, you had to use Vellum which is Mac only. I don't own a Mac and while Mac in Cloud was an option, it's also an expensive one. So I jumped on the Atticus train right away. Lately, however, it's been a buggy mess that constantly loses my changes, crashes, or just doesn't load. I was able to talk to support and they downgraded my version to one before the Great Messes start happening and things have been mostly fine since then. However, I'm unhappy with their customer support around thsese issues (which a lot of other authors are experiencing) and I am looking to find new software for doing my print versions. I'm looking into Affinity, but it's expensive since I am very low income and below the poverty line. So saving up for Affinity is difficult. I'm still making the effort. Right now, it doesn't have genAI and if it adds it in the future, well, I'm trying to leave anyway.

publishing

Sigil

Free, open source software that I've been using to make my epubs / format my ebooks. It's basically an HTML/CSS editor that has a built in epub-checker. It doesn't have genAI and the UI looks like it's from the 1990s so I doubt it will add genAI ever. There isn't anything about it on the roadmap so I feel pretty confident this one will continue to be safe to use.

publishing

Calibre

More free, open source software. I mostly use this to manage my own ebook library. But it also has a nifty compressor and converter. So when a reviewer asks me for a mobi file or another older format, I can use this to convert epub to whatever the reviewer requests. Again, no genAI right now and none is listed on their roadmap. Like Sigil, the UI looks ancient so I doubt genAI will ever be added. If it is, well, I'm just not gonna be managing ebooks anymore and my TBR will be chaos.

publishing

Canva

I use the free version of Canva to make promotional graphics. I've been using the free version of Canva for years going to back to using it for a job. Basically, been using it well before genAI was added to it. I'm not paying for Canva, so I don't have access to the genAI features. I haven't been able to find a free Canva alternative that doesn't also have genAI in it. I am trying to save up for Affinity so I can leave Canva behind. I live below the poverty line, so saving up for things is hard, but I am trying my hardest to squirell away a few dollars every months so I can get Affinity. Hopefully Affinity won't add genAI by the time I can afford it.

marketing

Pixlr

I use the free version of Pixlr for a few things that Canva can't do, mainly adding bevels to text and adding color gradients to text and exporting as a transparent png, things that you can do on the free version of Pixlr but not the free version of Canva. Pixlr is basically photoshop but in the browser. It has in the last few months added a photo generator. The photo editor itself doesn't have genAI features, but it has a seperate app that seems to be a wrapper around dall-e or midjourney. I don't pay for Pixlr, so I don't have access to this photo generator. I've been using Pixlr for years though, much longer than they have had this genAI app. But, I am saving up to be able to afford Affinity so I can get a photo editing / image editing application that doesn't have genAI, providing that Affinity doesn't add it by the time I finally have enough money for it.

marketing

Proton

I use Proton for my VPN, for my cloud storage, for my password management, and for my email. When you send me an email on any of my professional accounts, it is gonna land in my Proton. I realize they've had flubs lately on the genAI debate, but they haven't added genAI to their products. I started with them on their free tier and have been with them so long on the paid tier now that I've been grandfathered into a cheaper plan and I can't get everything I get from Proton elsewhere at a cheaper price unless I go with, well, Google/Gmail, and even that doesn't come with password management and VPN services. If they add genAI to their stuff, I will be looking elsewhere, however, even if it means cutting my grocery budget even more.

admin

WriteAs

I use this for my blog and for QueerBooksWeekly. It's a privacy focused company and I do pay for it. It has a free tier that is again available for everyone, but I pay for it. The addition og genAI is not in their roadmap, and to my knowledge, they've never said anything controversial. I like that they have RSS built in so that readers of my blog or QBW can get the newest posts without providing their email address.

marketing

Ghost

I use Ghost hosted on Magic Pages as my subscription site. It is an alternative to Ream, Substack, and Patreon. I chose Ghost after various decisions and statements made by the other three lead me to believe they supported genAI and/or had an active interest in further political beliefs I disagree with. Using my coding skills, I've been modifying Ghost and the theme to suit my needs for sharing my serial stories and creating a community.

publishing

Inkarnate

Inkarnate is where I make most of my fantasy maps. When I have the means, I plan to hire professional map makers, but for now I use Inkarnate to create my maps using their assets. They do not have generative AI in the app and I can find no references to any plans to include it in the future. If that changes, I will reconsider using Inkarnate.

marketing