Everything your novel needs, on one desk
Ellipsus is a lovely editor. Inkling is the whole desk: your draft, with your character cards and the maps you build open right beside the page, your storyboard one click away, and word goals that keep the book moving. No more five tabs and a folder of notes.
still smells like her coffee
the old flame, still in town
came home to run the diner
home an hour, already locked out
one’s addressed to her
| Inkling | Ellipsus | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Writing a novel with everything it needs on one desk: the draft, your cast, your maps and your storyboard. | Writing together: a collaborative editor made for creative writers, with drafts you can branch and merge. |
| While you write | Open your cast and places, the maps tagged to this story, or your scratch pad right beside the page, without leaving the chapter. | The document, with comments, in-doc chat and a timer. |
| Characters | A guided character builder (want, need, fear, wound, the lie they believe) and character cards that sit beside the story they belong to. | No character builder among its listed features. |
| Maps | A map maker for worlds and towns. Name your places, tag the map to a story, and start a story from a map you built. | No map maker among its listed features. |
| Storyboard | Scene, character, place, idea and map cards you drag into order and connect with arrows, one click from the draft. | Docs, drafts and folders. No storyboard among its listed features. |
| Word goals | A word count by a date, with daily pace, a streak, and an optional email nudge. | Word count and a writing timer, plus writing journey metrics. Writing insights come with Plus. |
| Co-writing | Not offered. Each story in Inkling has one writer. | Its home turf: unlimited collaborators, even on the free plan, working in the same draft, with comments and in-doc chat. |
| Beta readers | Invite-only peer review: send a private link, and your reader sends back a note of feedback. No account needed. | Reader links with reader comments, so beta readers can respond on the draft itself. |
| Fanfic and AO3 | No AO3 export. | Export straight to AO3, chapters included. |
| Generated help | An optional generator for recaps, covers and portraits, and a nudge when you're stuck. It never writes your story, and one switch in Setup turns it off. | None, ever. A public promise never to add generative AI, or to train it on your work. |
| Export | Word, a Google Doc of the whole project, print or PDF, and a booklet PDF for print on demand. | PDF and Markdown downloads, copy as HTML or rich text, and AO3. |
| Devices | Runs in your browser and installs as an app on phone or computer. It needs a connection to save. | Runs in your browser on desktop, tablet and phone. Offline and mobile apps are listed as coming. |
| Price | 14 days to experience the full writing desk, build worlds, and be creative. No card to start. Then $9 a month (or $72 a year). | Free core plan. Plus (since June 2026) is subscribe-to-own: $6 a month for 24 months, two payments of $60, or $99 once, then it's yours. 7-day trial. |
Last checked October 2026. Ellipsus details come from its Plus page, stance page and AO3 announcement. Plans change, so check their site for current pricing.
One desk instead of five tabs
Most novels end up spread across a document, a notes app, a spreadsheet of characters, a map in another tool and a corkboard on the wall. Inkling puts them on one desk. Your chapters, your character cards, the maps you build and your Storyboard all live with the story they belong to, so nothing you planned gets lost in another app.
Your cast and your maps, right beside the page
Forgot a minor character's name, or which side of the river the harbor sits on? Open Cast & places or Maps without leaving the chapter. They slide in beside the page, so you check the detail and keep writing. The scratch pad opens in the same spot for the thought you don't want to lose.
Maps you build, tied to the story
Build a world or a town in the map maker, name your places, and tag the map to the story it belongs to. Start a new story straight from a map you made, and the places come along in its notes. Our guide to a map for your novel shows how writers use one while drafting.
Plan a scene, then write it
Lay your scenes out as cards, drag them into order and draw the threads between them, then go back to the draft with the plan one click away. A word goal with a daily pace and a streak keeps the long middle of a book moving, and it is ready for a November challenge too.
Where Ellipsus is the better pick
If you co-write with a partner in one document, run drafts past a group of beta readers on the page itself, or post fanfic chapters to AO3, Ellipsus was made for that and Inkling was not. Its promise never to add generative features is one many writers care about, and we respect it.
About the generator, plainly
Inkling has an optional generator, and it never writes your story. It recaps what has already happened so you can pick a draft back up, makes covers and portraits, and offers a nudge when you are stuck. You can switch it off in Setup. The full account is in a writing app that never writes your story.
Which should you pick?
If you want your whole novel in one place, the draft, the cast, the maps and the storyboard, try Inkling for 14 days, no card, and see if the desk suits you. If you are writing with others or for AO3, pick Ellipsus. Plenty of writers could use both: Ellipsus for a shared project, Inkling for their own book.
Common questions
Is Inkling a good Ellipsus alternative?
If you want everything for your novel in one place, yes. Inkling keeps the draft, your character cards, the maps you build and your storyboard on one desk, with your cast and maps open beside the page while you write. If you co-write in one document or post fanfic to AO3, Ellipsus is the better tool and is free to start.
Does Inkling use generative AI like other writing apps?
Inkling has an optional generator, and we would rather say so than hide it. It writes a short recap of what has already happened in your story, makes covers and portraits, and offers a nudge when you are stuck. It never writes a sentence of your story, nothing you write is used to train a model, and one switch in Setup turns it off completely. If you want a tool with no generator at all, Ellipsus promises exactly that.
Can I see my characters and maps while I write?
Yes. In any story, open Cast & places to see the characters and places that belong to it, or Maps to see the maps you have tagged to it, right beside the page. The scratch pad opens there too, and the Storyboard is one click away in the same desk.
Can I co-write a novel in Inkling?
No. Inkling does not offer real-time co-writing. You can invite a reader to a private peer review link and get their feedback, but only you edit the draft. For two people writing in one document, Ellipsus is the right pick.
What happens to my writing when the Inkling trial ends?
Nothing is deleted. Your work stays safe and you can export it to Google Docs at any time. Plus, at $9 a month, keeps the full writing desk open.
All of it. In one place.
This isn't five apps stitched together. Your storyboard, your cast, your maps, your covers, and the story itself all live on one desk, right beside the words. Nothing to sync between tools. No five separate subscriptions. Just everything a writer needs, finally in the same place.
Your whole writing desk, in one place
Start free today. Bring one story in, and see how much lighter it feels with everything beside it.