Working Offline as an Author

Working offline is usually discussed as a privacy position and is more often adopted for concentration. A machine that cannot reach the internet cannot deliver a notification, and a drafting session without interruptions is worth more to most authors than any software feature. The privacy benefit comes along with it.

The arrangement

The research row is the one that needs a habit rather than a tool. Doing research in dedicated sessions, and noting what you need before drafting, is what makes an offline drafting session possible.

Setting it up

1. Keep the manuscript in a local file, not a browser tab.
2. Keep the notes locally too, which is where most people are still online.
3. Note research questions rather than answering them during drafting.
4. Use a placeholder marker for anything you need to look up.
5. Do the lookups in a separate session.
6. Back up locally, since offline work needs offline backups.

Point four is the technique that makes the rest work. A marker in the text is faster than a search, doesn't break the session, and gives you a list to work through afterwards.

The checks that fit

Some checking tools require a connection, which is a consideration for an offline workflow. The Novel Kit is a hosted scan and therefore an online step, which is fine as a deliberate stage between drafting sessions rather than during them. What it does with the file, processing it transiently and never storing it, is set out in privacy-first writing apps compared.

An author who wants strictly no transmission should use local tools, and that position is covered in offline writing software for authors.

A practical next step

Draft one session with the network off and a marker for anything you'd have looked up. Most authors find the session more productive and the lookups faster in a batch.

Sources checked

• Offline writing software for authors
• Finding placeholders and TK markers
• Cloud vs local writing software

Frequently asked questions