On this page
At a glance
Choose Microsoft Word if
- you want a general-purpose word processor for letters, reports and books
Choose InkSpine if
- you want each chapter in its own file, with a corkboard and plot overview
Feature by feature
| Feature | Microsoft Word | InkSpine |
|---|---|---|
| Manuscript structure | A general-purpose word processor — a 100k-word manuscript is one long, unwieldy document | One file per chapter, plus a corkboard and plot overview |
| Characters & locations | No structured place for them — that lives in a separate notebook or spreadsheet, if anywhere | Structured, linked worldbuilding beside the manuscript |
| Platform | Windows and Mac — no native Linux app | Windows, macOS, and Linux, from one app |
| Mobile apps | Apps for iPhone, iPad and Android | Desktop only today: Windows, macOS and Linux. Mobile apps are on the roadmap. |
Word processes words. Not novels.
Word is built to produce any document — a letter, a report, a novel — with the same blank page and no opinion about any of them. InkSpine is built for exactly one kind of document: a book, with the chapters, world, and export path that come with writing one.
If your manuscript is one enormous .docx file, come give it some structure.