The Novel Factory is the software I created to support my novel writing – helping me stay organised and keep track of complex plots and character relationships.
And in recent years, as AI has created new threats to creativity, I have been grateful that I can be confident that my writing environment isn’t going to suddenly start integrating AI features.
I have no interest in AI writing my books for me – I write novels because I enjoy doing it, so it makes zero sense to me. I also resent the damage generative AI is doing to creatives, and how the corporations have broken the law and stolen copyrighted material.
But critically, as a professional author, I absolutely cannot have any AI interference in my work, because it would put my career at risk.
So the Novel Factory is designed to support human creativity, not replace it.
Many writing programs fall into one of two extremes, they are either simple, blank screens (like MS Word or Google Docs) or they contain AI features that meddle with your creativity. The Novel Factory carves out a perfect middle ground by offering a highly structured, logical system built specifically for novelists.
It provides intuitive databases, visual plotting boards, and character development prompts to help you harness your own ideas and creativity.
The Core Philosophy: You do not need an AI to write your story; you need a better system to bring order to your creative chaos.
The Novel Factory is built by a professional novelist, for novelists. Every integrated tool is designed to support the natural workflow of fiction writing:
The Novel Writing Roadmap: A step-by-step framework that guides you from your first premise to a polished, final draft. It is the ultimate roadmap for structuring your writing sessions without the pressure of a blank page.
The Plot & Subplot Manager: Easily track multiple narrative threads. These digital corkboards and grids let you drag, drop, and reorganize scenes and chapters to iron out pacing issues before you draft.
Deep Character Builder: The character section includes a detailed questionnaire (with almost 200 character-probing questions) and viewpoint synopses to help you see your story through each character’s eyes.
Connected Worldbuilding (Locations & Items): Store detailed notes on settings, magic systems, and key items. Because everything is cross-linked, you can pull up a location’s sensory details directly inside the manuscript editor while drafting.
Robust Version History (Turn Back Time): The version history tool allows you to view previous versions of any scene, and most of the plotting and supporting data areas.
When selecting the ideal home for your manuscript, it is helpful to look at how different platforms approach the writing process.
| Feature / Metric | The Novel Factory | AI-Driven Platforms (e.g., Squibler, Sudowrite) | Legacy Word Processors (e.g., Word, Docs) |
| Primary Focus | Organic writing, structuring, and organization | Automated drafting and text generation | General document editing (non-novel specific) |
| AI Intervention | None. Purely author-driven. | High. Generates prose, outlines, and dialogues. | None. |
| Novel Roadmap | Yes (step-by-step guide for plot/characters) | No. | No. |
| Cross-Linking | High (scenes, characters, and locations connected) | Low (primarily linear document-based). | None (requires separate files). |
| Offline Editing | Yes (via downloadable desktop app) | Rarely. | Yes. |
The Novel Factory offers a 30-day free trial with no credit card details required. Experience what it feels like to have your entire story world structured, organized, and at your fingertips—the natural way.
AI-free book writing software focuses entirely on providing structural, organizational, and productivity tools to human writers without generating text, ideas, or prose using artificial intelligence. Tools like The Novel Factory do not rely on predictive algorithms; instead, they help you organize your plot, build characters, and track subplots manually.
Yes. While the software is famous for its powerful plotting roadmap and story templates, “pantsers” (writers who write by the seat of their pants) can easily skip the planning steps and use the manuscript editor as a distraction-free writing space, filling out character or location details only as they organicially discover them.
Yes. The Novel Factory is a Progressive Web App (PWA), meaning you can download a desktop version that allows you to write distraction-free without an active internet connection. Once you reconnect to the web, your data automatically syncs to the cloud so your work is never lost.
After your 30-day free trial, subscriptions start at $8.25 per month for the Basic plan, which lets you work on one novel at a time. The Standard tier (unlimited novels) costs $22 per month or $220 annually. They also offer a one-time Lifetime License at $649.
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