Ellipsus: First Impressions Of A Scrivener Alternative
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The writing software you use won't make or break you as a writer. That all comes down to your passion for storytelling and growth over time, and that intangible, intrinsic quality that makes your writing yours.
Still, there have been plenty of times that I've felt like I couldn't sit at the cool writers' table because I don't use Scrivener, one of, if not the most popular, specialized writing software on the market.
You may recall me mentioning Scrivener in posts from many moons ago. And that's because, at the time, I was using it some of the time. Splurging on the license was actually how I commemorated my first paycheck from my first post-college retail job. At the time, I was admittedly a little overwhelmed by all of its features and didn't give myself the time to learn all of its bells and whistles and used only its most basic features.
Somewhere along the line, I ended up having to replace my laptop—and, unfortunately, it could not run Scrivener.
My current laptop is a Chromebook. It does the bare minimum stuff okay. It's not the greatest computer but considering it was on sale and I was in a pinch thanks to a protective case frying the battery in my previous laptop to the point it smelled like burning rubber after five minutes of use, it's serviceable enough.
But because it's a Chromebook, it can't operate Scrivener. I'd already been relying on Google Docs at that point, so it wasn't earth-shattering or as heartbreaking as it may've been if I had been more devoted to Scrivener and suddenly couldn't use it. I just kind of accepted it.
However, I began seeing more writers using Scrivener on social media, and I started to get that twinge again. Kind of like when Heelys were all the rage in elementary school and I didn't have them because a) they didn't come in my size, b) the price tag and c) my parents saw a segment on the nightly news featuring a girl who took a tumble in her Heelys and broke both of her wrists, prompting my parents to basically say "oh hell no" before backing up the DVR to make me watch the segment.
For what it's worth, I did buy a pair for myself with birthday money, a frankly ugly gray-and-red men's pair from Bob's because that's all they had in my size and I was a desperate ten-year-old; shortly after that, my school had pretty much banned Heelys and mine didn't get used much before my feet outgrew them...
That led me on a sidequest to find a Scrivener alternative, and that's how I happened upon Ellipsus.
Ellipsus was new to me, and it looks to be a relative newcomer to the writing scene, having only been around for a couple of years it seems. Apart from Kate Cavanaugh's video and a handful of mentions over on Threads, I wasn't finding much else about it. What I did see was promising, so I decided to give it a shot.
Check out my video exploring Ellipsus for the first time below!
Overall, I like the simplicity of Ellipsus. It has a lot of features like chatboxes that can be helpful to writers, especially those collaborating with a coauthor or beta readers. I haven't had a chance to play around with those since I'm a solo author and don't have anything ready for feedback at the moment.
Ellipsus's writing space is pretty straightforward with its formatting tabs. One thing I do appreciate is the Outline tab, which allows you to jump between sections of your draft based on headings. This is great for efficiently jumping between chapters.
Speaking of drafts, Ellipsus allows you to have unlimited drafts of the same WIP, which can help with cross-referencing different iterations or starting over but not completely from scratch—something I'm quite prone to doing. The Free version has a 30-day version history, though these histories don't expire with Plus.
It also includes a Focus Mode that hides all of the sidebars and a timer for writing sprints.
I had way too much fun with the customization options available with the Plus version, but there are plenty of preset color schemes available with the Free version so you're likely to find something that suits you.
There were two main things I was looking for in Ellipsus as an alternative to Scrivener: accessibility and affordability.
Accessibility is probably the greater concern to me of the two, so we'll start there. Like I mentioned at the top of the post, the thing that started this whole quest for a Scrivener alternative was the fact that my Chromebook can't run Scrivener. Ellipsus is browser-based and can therefore enable cross-platform writing. While there isn't an Ellipsus app for mobile yet, the fact that it's browser-based means it can be pulled up on your computer, phone, or tablet as long as you've got a signal. As someone who does the majority of her writing on the go, that is incredibly helpful to me.
The other barrier writers may face with Scrivener is a financial one. At the time of writing, the license for the software is a one-time charge of $59.99 for Mac and Windows users; the app runs $23.99 and is only available for Apple devices (another technical barrier for Android users like myself). Many other popular writing options are subscription-based, either on a monthly or annual basis.
Ellipsus Plus is doing things a little differently. There's the one-time purchase option for $99, an annual plan of $60/year, and a monthly option of $6/month. The twist? With the latter two payment plans, Ellipsus Plus is yours to keep after two years! I think this structure is a fantastic approach! And from the comments on the Ellipsus Plus announcement video, I'm not the only one who approves.
That said, it looks like Ellipsus is still evolving. At the time of writing, features like offline access seem to be in the works, and there's a separate discussion forum where users can suggest things they'd like to see added to Ellipsus (some on the list include a corkboard à la Scrivener and a mobile app).
I also want to take a moment to touch on Ellipsus's anti-AI policies. In this day and age, the place of AI in writing is a blazing-hot topic. Ellipsus puts human writing first and foremost, always, and even offers features like the Emboss tool as proof that your writing is genuinely yours. It's honestly incredibly refreshing to see a writing software built by a team that not only champions human writers but protects their creativity.
While I haven't logged too many writing sessions in Ellipsus, I really, really like it so far. It offers a plethora of features even on the free version, making it a valuable and accessible writing tool worth checking out.
If you've used Ellipsus or are interested in giving it a try, sound off in the comments!
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