Alternatives
Products that do what A smart, goal-driven writing app that helps you finish what you write does
Hey HN community, I run a small team of writers that built TheRightMargin, a new writing platform that focuses on your goals first and is aiming to be the smartest writing tool on the market. We launched last summer actually, but we're trying to make a push for some growth, so I thought I'd debut it here on HN! The #1 'writer's block' pain point this app solves is helping you figure out your next step. We have some neat tools to break down your writing project into milestones and task and a way to write side by side with your plan. We also have smart tips and a timer for writing sprints,…
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10WA
2014 · writerkata.com
- 11
Hello HN! We're a team of three building a new kind of web-based markdown editor. There are many editors out there, so one is spoiled for choice, but Kraa's approach is a little different. It's trying to be both a minimal and distraction-free experience while being feature-rich and allowing for tons of use cases. What Kraa's good for: - Distraction-free writing & reading (minimal UI, performant, styling logic completely separated from the editing experience) - Quick sharing of any written text – compared to many other writing tools, your content can be easily shared just by posting a link…
Dec 2025 · kraa.io
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15AF
I'm a long time lurker that recently quit my job to work on my own projects, a lot due to the inspiration from Hacker News. Now I have published my first serious project, an app for learning how to write Japanese characters. It's the app I always wanted but couldn't find when I was studying. It tries to be simple to use, you just start the quiz and go with the flow. There's no need to plan and manage your studies, and it uses spaced repetition for better retention. There's a promo page with more details up at http://www.kanjibyhand.com. It's only for Android so far. The free version includes…
2012
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19IM
Hi HN, Since 2019, I’ve been working on a writing platform designed for creating complex documents (e.g., theses). I personally use it for everything as it also allows to classify documents in categories so you can organize them efficiently. As of a few months ago, the app is also available in the browser, and you can now invite coworkers to collaborate on a document in real time. The app is somewhat inspired by LyX. It offers an intuitive, modern editor, but users don’t need to know any LaTeX. When it’s time to export, they can choose from a range of templates (IEEE paper, thesis, etc.). A…
2025
- 20TA
I spent ten years trying to write a novel. Every time I sat down, I'd write a sentence, decide it wasn't good enough, and rewrite it. The problem wasn't discipline — it was that I could always see what I'd written and go back to change it. I tried other approaches. Apps that delete your words when you stop typing — they fight fear with fear. That just made me panic. I wanted the opposite: not punishment, but permission. "Tomoshibi" is Japanese for a small light in the dark — just enough to see what's in front of you. You write on a dark screen. Older lines fade, but not when you hit return.…
Feb 2026 · tomoshibi.in-hakumei.com
- 21HC
HN is all about the rich discussions. We wanted to take the HN experience one step further - to bring the familiar keyboard-first navigation, find interesting viewpoints in the threads and get a gist of long threads so that we can decide which rabbit holes to explore. So we built HN Companion a year ago, and have been refining it ever since. Try it: https://app.hncompanion.com or available as an extension for Firefox / Chrome: [0]. Most AI summarization strips the voices from conversations by flattening threads into a wall of text. This kills the joy of reading HN discussions.…
Feb 2026 · hncompanion.com
- 22KM
Over the last couple of months I have designed and written Keys, a Mac application the helps learning typing and that is supposed to meet Mac users standards for a well-designed application. My goal is to become a micro-ISV or indie developer. The app is only in the Mac app store for now (no trial yet), since end of May, and I have been busy putting together a website and a personal blog since. I would be very interested what the HN community thinks about the application, how you like it, and how it is presented, from a business angle. Prior to this project, I have done much more work on…
2012
- 23
- 24IM
Hi HN! Writing has been a big part of my life for the last few years. It's helped me make sense of the world around me through journaling, and my blog and technical books have made wonders for my career as an engineer. Something I've always been missing is an online community where I can practice my skills and learn from other aspiring writers. I built Tavern, hoping to solve my own problem. Its main concept is that every Monday everyone in the app gets asked the same writing prompt and you have seven days to submit your answer. You can look at what others have posted, but only after you've…
2023 · writerstavern.io
Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Refine with a description →