Top Rough Draft Alternatives: Find Your Ideal Distraction-Free Writing Tool
Rough Draft is a unique writing application designed to mimic the freedom of pen and paper, allowing writers to get ideas down without the immediate pressure of perfection. Its standout features like non-deletable crossed-out words, placeholders, sidenotes, and clean export options make it a powerful tool for initial creative bursts. However, for various reasons—be it platform compatibility, specific feature needs, or a desire for different workflows—many writers seek a Rough Draft alternative. This guide explores the best options available to help you find your perfect match for focused, productive writing.
Best Rough Draft Alternatives
If Rough Draft’s innovative approach resonated with you, but you're looking for something slightly different, these alternatives offer a range of features from minimalist distraction-free environments to comprehensive writing suites, all designed to help you focus on your craft.
FocusWriter
FocusWriter is a simple, configurable, and themeable distraction-free text editor that serves as an excellent Rough Draft alternative. It's open-source and available across Mac, Windows, and Linux, offering features like auto-saving, daily progress tracking, fullscreen support, and a highly customizable interface, making it ideal for writers who appreciate a minimalist yet flexible environment.
Manuskript
Manuskript is an open-source tool for writers that goes beyond just distraction-free editing. As a robust Rough Draft alternative, it provides an outliner, character management, plot development tools, and revision history. Available for Free on Mac, Windows, and Linux, it's perfect for those who need more organizational features alongside their writing environment, including Markdown support and export options to ePub and PDF.
Bear
Bear is a beautiful and flexible writing app for note-taking and prose, ideal for Mac, iPhone, and iPad users. As a freemium Rough Draft alternative, it offers Markdown support, cloud sync, encryption, and robust tag-based organization, making it excellent for writers who seamlessly move between devices and need powerful note management features.
iA Writer
iA Writer is a commercial writing tool available on Mac, Windows, Android, iPhone, and iPad, renowned for its strong focus on a distraction-free writing experience. This Rough Draft alternative includes nested folders, note-taking capabilities, HTML/CSS/JS rendering, and a night mode, making it perfect for writers who prioritize a clean, focused interface across multiple platforms.
Ulysses
Ulysses is a commercial text editor tailored for creative writers, popular among bloggers, poets, and novelists using Mac, iPhone, and iPad. As a powerful Rough Draft alternative, it offers Markdown support, excellent distraction-free writing, brainstorming tools, iCloud sync, and robust export options to ePub and PDF, providing an integrated environment for all stages of the writing process.
Byword
Byword is a commercial application designed to make writing more enjoyable with Markdown on Mac, iPhone, and iPad. This Rough Draft alternative features distraction-free writing, Dropbox integration, grammar check, and offline functionality, making it a solid choice for those who appreciate Markdown-centric writing and cloud syncing.
Plume Creator
Plume Creator is a free and open-source writing tool for Windows and Linux that helps organize writing projects with scenes, notes, and character management. As a flexible Rough Draft alternative, it offers rich text editing, full-screen mode, and the ability to manage multiple projects, making it ideal for novelists and long-form writers who need structural support.
WriteRoom
WriteRoom is a commercial full-screen writing environment exclusively for Mac users, designed to eliminate distractions. As a direct Rough Draft alternative focused purely on a clean UI, it provides a distraction-free space for focused writing, similar to the initial vision of Rough Draft for getting ideas out without clutter.
Calmly Writer
Calmly Writer is a professional, free text editor available as a Web application and for Chrome OS, designed for complete focus. This Rough Draft alternative boasts a simple, unobtrusive, and distraction-free user interface, making it an excellent choice for writers who want a clean, web-based solution for their drafting needs.
True Novelist
True Novelist is a free web-based tool created to simplify the novel-writing process for authors. As a robust Rough Draft alternative for longer projects, it features auto-saving, customizable settings, infinite sub-divisions, a night mode, and an outliner, providing comprehensive support for authors tackling large undertakings.
Whether you're seeking minimalist simplicity, advanced organizational tools, or cross-platform compatibility, this list of Rough Draft alternatives offers a diverse range of options. Explore each one to find the writing environment that best supports your unique creative process and helps you bring your ideas to life.