Attente vs Scrivener
Scrivener is the long-form writing app many novelists grew up with, and for good reason. Attente keeps the parts writers love about it (the binder, the corkboard, research beside the page) and adds readers in the margin that notice what you'd want a good editor to notice.
Where Scrivener is strong
- Depth. Nearly twenty years of features for long projects: Scrivenings, collections, snapshots, linguistic focus and a name generator.
- Compile. Few apps can turn one project into so many shapes, with so much control over each.
- A one-time licence per platform, and a large, generous community of guides, templates and courses.
- Final Draft export and a mature screenwriting mode.
Side by side
| Topic | Scrivener | Attente |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | macOS, Windows, iPhone and iPad, each licensed separately | macOS, Windows, Linux and the web |
| Structure | Binder, corkboard, outliner, collections | Binder, corkboard, outline, timeline and plot threads |
| Story bible | Character and setting sheets you keep by hand | A story bible the margin keeps up to date as you write, with each fact waiting for your yes |
| AI | No built-in AI readers | Readers in the margin that suggest; nothing changes until you accept, and every reader can be switched off |
| Continuity | Search and your memory | A continuity reader for names, ages, dates and your world's rules |
| Export | Compile to Word, PDF, EPUB, Final Draft and more, highly configurable | Typeset paperback PDF, EPUB, submission manuscript, Fountain and plain text, with fewer knobs |
| Your files | A .scriv project folder of rich-text files | A project folder on your computer, with plain-text export always |
Which suits you
Choose Scrivener if…
You know Scrivener well, you rely on detailed compile settings or Final Draft files, and you don't want any AI near your manuscript at all.
Choose Attente if…
You want Scrivener's structure without its learning curve, a story bible that keeps itself up to date, and a reader in the margin that notices continuity slips and weak lines across the whole book.
Switching from Scrivener
Attente imports Scrivener projects directly: your manuscript in order, with synopses, labels, status, research and snapshots with their dates. Your .scriv project is only read, never changed, and character sketches can become story bible entries, one by one, if you like.
Try Attente free for 7 days.
Download it for macOS, Windows or Linux, or open it in your browser. When it's earned its place, one licence covers every computer you write on.