4 Best Writing Software for Authors with ADHD + 1 Bonus
Bella Rose Emmorey
book editor, rogue behaviorist, digital marketer, writer, brand builder, plant aunt, and cheese enthusiast.
As someone who has ADHD, writing books can be really difficult. Thoughts jump around like popcorn and I lose the important ideas in favor of stupid little details not relevant to $ the plot$ , like whether or not my world will have swear words. That’s why we’re taking a look at the best writing software for authors with ADHD—a few options, actually.
Because I desperately need something more than a binder, three random notebooks around the house, a Google doc, and my friends’ message inboxes to organize ideas.
If you’re like me and your ADHD brain is often stubborn, this will help wrangle it into submission, so it’ll do as you say.
I mean…hopefully. It’s ADHD, folks. It’s unruly!
Why Authors with ADHD Struggle More with Writing Books
Most people with ADHD have gone undiagnosed for a very long time. Especially women. I wasn’t diagnosed until I was 26 and have been writing for seven years. Yikes.
But while anyone with ADHD struggles in different ways, the ADHD author has it particularly hard. Because in order to write a good book, you have to take a ton of ideas, organize them well, and maintain consistency throughout a long-term project.
Ouch. Ouch is right.
For those with trouble focusing, task initiation, and even being organized, this is super challenging. That doesn’t even take into consideration shiny new idea syndrome, for which people with ADHD are at an even higher risk.
Ultimately, the qualities one needs to $ finish writing a good book$ are the very opposite qualities that people with ADHD have in abundance.
But don’t get me wrong. I think ADHD is also extremely useful for thinking outside the box, crafting interesting plots, and even the hyper-fixation we get from time to time is a huge asset in the writing process.
This is all just to say that if you have ADHD and are wondering why it’s so hard to write books, you’re not alone. And hopefully, the writing software for authors with ADHD I’ll cover below will help!
ADHD-Friendly Writing Software Features to Look For
I struggle most with task initiation. Which is only usually remedied by time constraints or seeing that I’m almost hitting a word count or progress goal. Other authors with ADHD struggle with focusing, direction, and the like.
If you choose not to take my recommendations for writing software for authors with ADHD, and depending on where your ADHD hurts your writing progress the most, you’ll want to at least look for some of these features.
- Not 1000 features: Many writing software posts advocate for Scrivener. You’ve heard of it. It’s crap for people with ADHD because it’s too much. They try to appeal to every single type of author and, in doing so, they’ve alienated those with ADHD who can get distracted and overwhelmed. Advanced functionality within a simple infrastructure is necessary in writing software for authors with ADHD.
- Note taking: Ideas come so randomly and at the oddest times for people with ADHD. Having a place to dump your notes when you haven’t gotten to that part of plotting your novel is important.
- Full screen drafting mode: Cut out the distractions! Anything that can focus on just the manuscript writing without every other function in your face is important.
- Easy navigation: Ideas are fleeting, and if you have to navigate to five places just to put your idea down, it could be gone by the time you get there.
- All-in-one: The fewer programs you need, the better. It's best when you can brainstorm, plot, write, and export your novel with one software.
Should these be deal breakers when looking for writing software for authors with ADHD? No. But they are worth paying attention to.
4 Best Writing Software for Authors with ADHD
I don’t know you. You’re a random person on the internet. Which means your specific flavor of ADHD could be quite different from mine. Even though we share a similar challenge in our brains, it can express itself differently.
So you’ll have to be self aware with this.
I know. It’s rough. But it’ll help immensely overall! Know thyself, and thyself shall be able to choose the right writing software for you.
1. NovelPad
Basically, $ NovelPad$ is an author with ADHD’s dream of a writing software. This is especially true for someone like me, who needs to visually see things to remember they’re there (ha!) but also needs those things to be tucked away so I don’t get distracted.
That’s why I love the navigation of NovelPad the most. The left sidebar is small and out of sight, but also indicates everything that is available with an icon, with the label only visible if you hover.
And that’s just the most basic of the benefits this writing software has for authors with ADHD. I love that every view is essentially the same, or can be made the same, with columns or rows, but they house different information.
The two best features of NovelPad that make it the best writing software for authors with ADHD are the progress tracker and the interconnectedness of all its functions.
Meaning, if you make a character card, it will track everywhere that character’s name appears. You can link scenes to chapters, notes to scenes, and write directly in the scenes or in the manuscript. It will even keep track of locations and settings in scenes, too.
Plus, it has a focus mode, where you can make the manuscript draft your full view to stay focused on drafting.
Price: $15 / month
ADHD-Friendly Features:
- Simple interface
- Progress tracker
- Manuscript focusing
- Interconnecting details
- Character cards
- Setting location tracking
- Scene and chapter breakdowns
- Export file formats
2. MindNode
So, this isn’t technically a writing software for authors with ADHD, but it is a software that helps those with rabbit brain organize their ideas and such, so you can actually get to the writing part.
$ MindNode$ is pretty cool in its ability to highlight the focus area. At least, that’s a feature that stands out to me. Plus, it has color coding options, and an app so you can use it when your brain decides to focus on writing while you’re doing literally anything else, like grocery shopping.
But, this software doesn’t have many book-specific features, like character details, word count trackers, or specific organization functions. It's just a tool that writers with ADHD may find helpful, perhaps even for non-writing activities.
Price: $19.99/year
ADHD-Friendly Features:
- Focus mode that highlights in-focus areas
- Color coding
- Desktop notes
- Phone app
- Visual tags
3. Atticus
Technically, $ Atticus$ is a writing software made for formatting. So while it lacks writer-specific (and fiction dominant) features, it does have many useful for authors with ADHD.
If you’re looking for a simple writing software you can draft in and track word count, this one could be it! However, Atticus doesn’t have many fiction-friendly features. Meaning, if you want to brainstorm character details, settings, and $ outline$ , you may have to do so elsewhere.
I will say that while it’s useful and has many different visual formatting features, it does run the risk of becoming distracting. You don’t want to focus on what the book will look like more than finishing the manuscript.
That said, it’s a good and very simple software for authors with ADHD if you have the budget to splurge and want more fancifully formatted books.
Price: $147 onetime payment
ADHD-Friendly Features:
- Word count tracker
- Simple manuscript navigation
- Exporting functions
- Formatting capabilities
4. Ulysses
$ Ulysses $ has had many iterations over the years, and more recently has plunged into the category of "focused" when it comes to its interface.
It has a word processor as the main area to write your manuscript, and two levels of navigation as collapsible left sidebars. You can also organize your projects into folders, set word count and character limits and goals, and work across any device.
While Ulysses has a simple interface, it doesn’t have many fiction-specific writing functions, so you would have to create folders and save information in specific places if you wanted to keep track of all of it. It is also only available for Apple devices.
Price: $39.99 / year
ADHD-Friendly Features:
- Focus mode
- Cut / Reorganize text
- Exporting options
- Simple interface
BONUS Non-Writing Software: Freedom
If you truly have no self control and will be distracted by everything, including an internet browser, $ Freedom$ could be the app for you. Essentially, it will block and limit you from certain apps and websites for various amounts of time. It works by making sure you have no other option but to actually work on your book!
It’s worth checking out if you need more help focusing, even with the right writing software for authors with ADHD.
Price: $40 / year
I must confess that it took me about three days to finish writing this blog post for the best writing software for authors with ADHD. Probably because I didn’t use NovelPad for it, let’s be real.
Anyway, find what works for you and use it! Learn the features, open the software, and close out of everything else. Let the software do its job.
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