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I currently use Google Drive/Docs to pen all of my novels and short stories, but really feel that I could do with a management suite of sorts, such as Scrivener.
However, as Scrivener costs actual money, I was wondering if there is a free alternative available, but with the caveat that it operates online via a cloud server.
Does such a thing exist that anybody has experience with?
There is a great free novel writing tool available, it's called yWriter and it can be downloaded from spacejock.com. It's not an online tool but it if you need it on the go it can be run from a usb pen drive.
The only free and online tools I can think of are litlift which is at litlift.com and Hiveword from hiveword.com and Inklewriter which is at inklestudios.com/inklewriter but I've not used any of them so you have a fun time of discovery to come!
I just tried Novlr and it seems to work pretty well. It is very minimalistic and has a basic chapter feature.
I know this is an old thread, but I wanted to jump on and contribute this response for anyone else who may wander by in the future. I found WaveMaker at https://wavemaker.co.uk/. For writing anytime or anywhere, this software cannot be beat! Here's what it can do:
Synch your work to any computer, anywhere, at any time.
Works in your browser or can be downloaded locally.
Works on ANY device with an internet browser.
Works offline.
100% COMPLETELY FREE!
As if those things weren't enough, it has a METRIC CRAPTON of other features. I won't get into them here because frankly, I haven't used them all. But, if you go to the website, they're all laid out there. I'm telling you, for anybody looking for a flexible writing app, LOOK. NO. FURTHER. WaveMaker's got you covered.
For the record: NO, I'm not getting any kind of kickbacks or anything for promoting this software. It took me forever to find this software. Unfortunately, I had already spent money on other options before I did. So, I am hoping to help others put an end to their writing software blues by getting this info in their hands.
You could look at Evernote. A lot of writers swear by that one. It's not exactly like Scrivener, but it does a lot of nice things and can be very versatile.
Alternatively, Microsoft is giving away OneNote, which is similar, if you're familiar with the concept of an electronic notebook. It can also output the pages created as Word documents or RTF files (I think).
And a +1 for both Hiveword and yWriter, too.
Scrivener is a fantastic tool that's also a remarkably well-written piece of software. The programmer deserves recompense for his effort. Neither Word nor Evernote nor OneNote are sufficiently similar to Scrivener to merit comparison. Look at the Literature and Latte website. Read about it. Check out Gwen Hernandez site; she's an expert on Scrivener. Yes, it costs money. Yes, yes, yes, it's worth it.
I think you'll find that TrueNovelist just about fulfils your requirements. Free, online with a management suite.
Here's some blurb from the site
Organize your writing and research in a way that makes sense to you. Create separate folders for characters, places, research, and more. You can create as many folders and scenes as you like.
Nothing is more motivating than knowing how much progress you have made on your story. See daily statistics on your words per minute, overall words typed, and more.
Set daily word count goals, and track your overall progress. View the last few days and see how many times you have reached your goal.
Doing a little bit of experimental writing on a scene? Take snapshots of your work, so you can rollback to an earlier version at any time.
Work is autosaved to the cloud as soon as you stop typing - work anywhere you have an internet connection.
Another online alternative is Yarny
Seequill (seequill.net) is not free but it's pretty close ($30/year). I think you'd find it hard to find a free version online, unless you don't mind it being plastered with ads. But I have been very happy with Seequill. It's got a very clean interface. You can do the basics of what Scrivener can do (reorder scenes and chapters, etc.) plus it lets you store images for characters and locations. It also has a timeline feature to track you characters in your story. And you can export to Word.
If you're on IOS and write on the go like I do? You should try out Storyist. It's more of a management suite like Scrivener. Works really well on iPad with BT keyboard. The price is affordable, way less than what you'd likely spend on Scrivener for comparable capabilities.
