Gingko Writer
Writing software that gets you to first draft, fast.
About Gingko Writer
Gingko Writer is a tree-structured writing tool that breaks long documents into small cards arranged in columns, so the big picture and the details sit side by side. You go from notes to outline to draft in one view, rearrange cards by dragging, and export the finished draft to traditional formats. It runs in the browser, with a separate desktop app, and is built by a solo developer under Gingko Inc.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Tree-of-cards layout shows the overall structure and the detail of a long document at the same time
- Writing and outlining happen in the same view, so restructuring a draft takes a drag instead of cut-and-paste
- Lean, distraction-light interface with Markdown and keyboard shortcuts
- Works for many kinds of long-form writing: novels, theses, articles, course outlines, reports
- Established product with a long-running user base of academics and authors
Cons
- No free plan; after the trial it is a paid subscription only
- Web and desktop versions don't sync with each other
- No native mobile app
- Small, solo-developer operation with slow visible development; the marketing site still shows a 2021 copyright
- The card-and-column model takes some getting used to compared with a linear editor
Key Features
Card-based writing
Every piece of text lives in a small card, so you write and focus on one chunk at a time instead of facing a single long document.
Horizontal tree structure
Cards nest from left to right in columns: high-level ideas on the left, supporting detail in child cards to the right.
Drag-and-drop reorganizing
Move cards and whole branches to restructure a draft while you write, with no separate outlining mode.
Markdown formatting
Format card text with Markdown for headings, emphasis, lists, and links.
Keyboard-driven editing
Hotkeys for creating, moving, and navigating cards keep your hands on the keyboard.
Export to standard formats
Export a finished draft in a couple of clicks to formats you can open in a word processor, plus structured JSON.
JSON import and backup
Back up trees as JSON and import them into the web or desktop version.
Web and desktop versions
Use the browser app on any device, or the offline desktop app; the two don't sync yet and move data through JSON export.
Pricing
- Full product
- No credit card required
- Full web app
- Cancel anytime
- No-questions refunds
- Full web app
- Works out to $9.75/month
- Saves $36 versus monthly billing
Best For
Drafting novels and screenplays
Lay out acts, chapters, and scenes as columns of cards and reorder plot points until the story structure works.
Academic theses and papers
Break a thesis into sections and subsections, write each one in isolation, and keep the argument's structure visible.
Articles and newsletters
Dump ideas into cards, group them into an outline, and flesh each point out into a first draft.
Course and curriculum planning
Organize lessons, modules, and materials as a tree and duplicate shared structures across courses.
Structured brainstorming
Capture an unordered set of ideas, then sort them into a hierarchy without switching to a mind-mapping tool.
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Ready to try Gingko Writer?
Start using Gingko Writer today and boost your productivity.
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