PricingBlogRoadmap
Best AI Writing Software for Novels and Screenplays

AI tools are becoming more and more a part of our lives by the day. As they do, they expand what they can do and how well they do it, and writing software is no different. From generating ideas and creating outlines to character development and capturing the voice you really want, AI writing tools can be a big help in fiction. Today, I will review the best AI writing software for novels and screenplays.

Not all AI writing software is created equal. When using AI for fiction, you want a tool that makes your life easier, covers your weak areas, and bolsters your ideas and creative voice to help you reach your full potential. All while being intuitive, convenient, and user-friendly. Having said that, let’s see which AI writing software checks all these boxes and more.

LivingWriter is the industry leader in AI writing software and has the best tools directly integrated into software built explicitly for novelists and screenwriters. So, you’ll have everything you need in one central place.

This includes everything you’d expect from a high-quality word processor, plus things like dedicated note and research sections, plotting sections for brainstorming and mind mapping, and much more. LivingWriter (and all the AI features) are also available on mobile, which is something you don’t see with other programs.

The beauty of LivingWriter AI is that it understands your specific story and doesn’t just pull general information from across the web like many other AIs do. Where authentic writing is concerned, this is a game-changer

AI Manuscript Chat

With AI Manuscript Chat, you can ask general or research-based questions but also theoretical questions about your story. This allows you to get genuinely tailored feedback and suggestions without having to copy and paste sections into an outside AI

You can ask your questions in a natural way, in any language, without needing to worry about prompts and without ever switching tabs. Then, you’ll be given answers directly related to the active chapter or manuscript as a whole.

AI Outlines

Outlining and story structure can make or break a novel or screenplay. Do them well, and your story will hook the audience from the start and keep them engaged until the end. Do them poorly, and your story will be hard to get through, no matter how well you write. Don’t squander your potential to poor story structure.

With LivingWriter’s AI Outlines, you choose a template (which will be applied directly to your manuscript) and then write your story within the given sections. This gives you a clear road map of where you are and where you’re going without being complicated or overly rigid.

Simply give the AI a brief description of the plot and main characters and select from one of 12 templates, and it will take care of the rest. You can also have it generate the title, additional characters or locations, and images for them.

Once you’ve generated your outline, it’ll be applied to your manuscript (down the left side), along with a general description of what should happen in each part. This visual outline gives you unparalleled control over your outline while leaving the actual writing to you.

AI Analysis

The AI Analysis puts you in control over how your story reads. It can provide an overview of chapters and characters, give recommendations for improvement, and analyze the tone your work conveys. No more guessing if what is in your head has made it onto the page.

The overview is a short and concise summary of a chapter or character, which is helpful as your fiction gets longer. Say goodbye to skimming sections to remember what happens where.

The recommendations for improvement section provides suggestions on how to improve the chapter, including ideas on what could be improved and how to do it. So, not only is it tailored to your chapter, but you get actionable advice.

Finally, the tone analysis gives you critical insight into the feeling of a given section, which is often more important than the words themselves. This is a great tool for building suspense in certain sections or making sure those “scary” parts of your horror novel are truly unsettling.

AI Element Creation

Characters and settings are essential to good fiction, and LW AI can help you there, too. Simply add some general info on your character idea, and the AI can give you a foundation to build on. Those generic characters and locations can be a thing of the past.

Here is an example of a prompt:

And here is what you can expect:

Again, AI helps you realize your full writing potential rather than doing your job for you. While it can generate sections, it gives you the tools to write better, more intriguing characters and settings than you may have been able to do otherwise.

AI Screenplay Features

With many of the perks out of the way, let’s talk specifically about screenplays. After all, this is the best AI tool for novels and screenplays. You can switch between a book and a screenplay on LivingWriter, and the features above are available while screenwriting, too.

Usually, you’d have to copy and paste each section into some separate AI to get feedback like this, which gets tedious fast and doesn’t give you an idea of the work as a whole. When everything is in the same software, the chat can give you accurate, real-time info on the entire script.

You can also convert single chapters of your book manuscript into a screenplay scene with the AI Chapter To Screenplay Convert . Right-click the chapter you want, and click convert to screenplay. Then, AI will transform the entire chapter into a screenplay scene.

Usually, you’d have to copy and paste each section into some separate AI to get feedback like this, which gets tedious fast and doesn’t give you an idea of the work as a whole. When everything is in the same software, the chat can give you accurate, real-time info on the entire script.

You can also convert single chapters of your book manuscript into a screenplay scene with the AI Chapter To Screenplay Convert . Right-click the chapter you want, and click convert to screenplay. Then, AI will transform the entire chapter into a screenplay scene.

The ability to pick and choose which sections of the manuscript to convert is excellent, as much of the content in a novel won’t make it to the screen. Once you’ve converted a chapter to a screenplay scene, it can be found in the same manuscript underneath the original.

And once you’ve finished, you have the option to select exactly which chapters to export. So, everything is organized and stored together for ease of use but can be exported separately in any way you like.

Sudowrite

Sudowrite is an AI writing tool that is also designed specifically for fiction writers. However, unlike LivingWriter, it’s more geared toward overcoming creative blocks and generating ideas and doesn’t offer the same level of in-depth analysis and personalized feedback as LivingWriter.

As more of an AI-powered writing assistant that focuses more on generating text and providing writing suggestions, it needs a more robust outlining feature and dedicated features for analyzing the overall tone and style of your writing.

While Sudowrite is an AI writing tool, it's not a complete writing solution. It's best used in conjunction with a traditional word processor to take full advantage of its features. For example, many people use separate word processing software like Google Docs or Microsoft Word to write and link Sudowrite to it.

Here are some of the notable AI features Sudowrite offers:

  • Ideas Generation: Sudowrite can generate plot ideas, character names, and other creative elements to kickstart your writing process.
  • Character Development: It can help develop characters by suggesting backstories, motivations, and relationships. 
  • Scene Writing: Sudowrite can generate scenes or entire chapters based on prompts, making it a valuable tool for overcoming writer's block.
  • Editing and Feedback: The tool can provide feedback on your writing, suggesting improvements in style, clarity, and engagement.
  • Rephrasing: It can rephrase sentences and paragraphs to improve clarity and conciseness.

While Sudowrite is a good tool, it is best used for providing writing suggestions (and generating text), much like ChatGPT or Gemini. In contrast, LivingWriter emphasizes a holistic approach to the writing process, combining AI assistance with traditional writing tools.

Type.ai

Type is a broad AI assistant that can assist with nearly any type of writing or document, and I’m fond of the user-friendly interface. That said, it works best for more formulaic things like SEO articles as opposed to more creative endeavors like novels and screenplays.

Like LivingWriter, Type’s AI is built directly into a writing space and you can chat directly with the AI to help generate ideas or outlines. However, everything is one big blank page, and the outlines are very general, bulleted lists that you can edit once you’ve moved them into the writing area. For certain things, this works fine, but they’re less helpful for complex story outlines.

Type also supports images and code blocks, which are nice when doing articles and blog posts but not particularly useful for fiction writers. And the ability to paste your work from Type into something like WordPress, for example, is a plus for those doing that sort of work.

Here is an overview of their features:

  • Draft Generation: When you start a blank document, you can have Type generate a first draft for you by giving it a prompt with a general idea of what you’re looking for.
  • AI Writing Assistant: You can chat directly with the AI and have it generate text or give feedback or suggestions on portions of text you’ve highlighted in the document..
  • Document Editing: It provides real-time suggestions for improving grammar, style, and clarity, helping you refine your writing.
  • Summarization: The tool can summarize long documents, making it easier to extract key information.
  • Supports Images and Code: While not helpful for fiction, code blocks and images can be helpful for SEO articles and blogs.

Overall, while Type.ai offers many powerful features, it isn’t tailored to the specific needs of novelists and screenwriters as LivingWriter or even Sudowrite is. So, it lacks some of the in-depth worldbuilding, character development, and devoted fiction tools that LivingWriter provides. However, for general writing tasks and content creation, Type.ai is a valuable tool.

ChatGPT

ChatGPT is my number four pick for the best AI writing software for novels and screenplays. The first major perk of ChatGPT is that it has a free version. Of course, you get what you pay for with the abovementioned software, but there is some benefit to having a free option, even if it is more basic.

I like ChatGPT for very general questions, and it can be decent for broad idea generation if you don’t have access to something like LivingWriter. The major downside is that Chat isn’t familiar with what you’ve written and tends to give very general (and less than original) responses.

For a free option, ChatGPT does a good job of certain smaller things. However, for any serious novelist or screenwriter looking to get the most out of AI features for fiction, it’s somewhat limited. The more complex help you need, the more complex the prompts will become, and after a while, Chat starts to repeat itself quite a lot.

Conclusion

If you’re a writer looking for the best AI writing software for novels and screenplays, look no further than LivingWriter. Having an AI directly in your word processor that knows every word of your story makes it very effective at helping you write your best work.

Couple this with the ease of use, overall functionality, and helpful things like automatic cloud-saving and robust collaboration features; LivingWriter offers everything you need in one convenient package.