#Ellipsus writing

[izzythedemigod]

I just found the funniest font ever

Like. What is this. Why is this. Who is the target audience of this?

[gr3yyyyy]

fav part about the writing software im currently using is that you can directly export from the website to ao3

i love u ellipsus never change ❤️

[robindrake93]

Don’t mind me, just testing out Ellipsus’ new snippets feature.

[vee-thebee]

WAIT LMAO ELLIPSUS DOESN'T HAVE TIMES NEW ROMAN BAHAHAHA

MAN. YOU'RE REALLY MAKING ME GO OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE OF "I WILL ONLY WRITE IN TNR BECAUSE OF ALL THE ESSAYS I WROTE"

[possibly-evil]

You know what? I just joined Ellipsus and I already love it. I haven't even written anything but it feels a lot nicer than google docs. It even gives a tutorial on how to use it. Very nice. Very gay.

[meluiloth]

Since the whole thing with NaNoWriMo has gone down, I've noticed that one of their former sponsors, Ellipsus, has cut contact with NaNoWriMo because they do not support their stance on AI; I didn't know what Ellipsus was, but upon further research I've found that they are a writing platform that works a lot like Google Docs and Microsoft Word, only with a heavier leaning on the story-writing aspect and connecting with other writers - and they also completely denounce any use of AI, both in the writing process itself and in the use of their platform. I really appreciate that.

Since this is the case (and since I've noticed Google has begun implementing more AI into their software), I've decided to give Ellipsus a try to see if it's a good alternative to Google Docs (my main writing platform). It's completely free and so far, I've found it simple to use (although it is pretty minimal in its features), and I really like the look of it.

I figured I'd spread the word about this platform in case any of you writers would want to give it a try, and if you do, let me know how you like it!

[ellipsus-writes]

We know many of you have seen NaNoWriMo's recent statements on generative AI...

Well, we have too—and that's why we've made the decision to retract our sponsorship of NaNo.

Your support and belief in human creativity, transparency and collaboration mean everything to us, and we're committed to staying true to that. Thank you all! 💙

You can read our full statement here.

The Ellipsus team xo

[the960writers]

Do you think it's a good idea to try and get away from Google Docs when it comes to writing? I really can't afford any other fancy program to write my drafts in, and it honestly seems like the easiest - not to mention, most convenient - program to use to share my manuscript with beta readers. I could use advice on this matter because I keep seeing things across the net about it being a bad place to work on writing, but I have no idea what to turn to to make things easy for me and my future beta readers.

This is such a good question. Thank you.

So, a little backstory. Ever since Google removed their motto "do no evil" they have gone down the rather predictable path of all big players of the rot economy: putting profits over user experience.

A little while back, there was rumor that Google trains AI with the content of google docs, then they said they don't really, they only scan the content and do nothing with it, and then they started blocking access to documents with sexy images. Do we believe that Google has our own best interest at heart? That's something everyone has to decide for themselves.

Back then, I made a post with alternatives for Google Docs, you can find it here, also check the reblogs for more options:

Now, is it a good idea to switch from google docs? I think it is, but I'm also not consistent with it. As you mentioned, it seems to be the easiest to share writing with beta readers, and I also still often use it for fanfiction.

But there are alternatives, and they require very little adjustment in the process. Let me give you two free options.

Ellipsus is webbased, meaning you can write in it in the browser on any device. They have sharing, specifically for beta reading, and an export function for AO3.

Reedsy (marketplace around everything self-publishing) has an editor. It is webbased, and they also have an option for sharing with beta readers. This software is aimed at book type-setting and exporting but it works just fine for copying to web.

Personally, I'm currently switching everything to LibreOffice (also free!) files in some cloud connected folder. I used to do a lot of mobile writing on my phone with a bluetooth keyboard but currently, I'm taking my laptop everywhere so LibreOffice works great for me. If I have to use my phone or tablet for some lightweight mobile writing, on vacation for instance, I can still use something webbased.

So, I hope I gave you some interesting options. Do I think it's a good idea to make us less dependent on Google? Yes, I do. I don't trust them.

We have alternatives, and they cost us nothing more than a little adjustment.

~ barbex

[elventhespian]

Okay! For those who were wondering about alternatives to Google Docs, I think I found pretty much the perfect option: Ellipsus

Besides being online and collaborative like GDocs, a few things I've liked about it so far:

It has a drafts feature, which you can use to track and merge revisions to your doc OR you can use them as sub-documents to store things like your bible--character info, notes, scenes, whatever OR you can break down your story into chapters

Strictly anti-AI, and wanting you to own your writing 100%

Has a built in writing timer, and a focus mode (Strips away the UI)

Aaaaaand….!! What's that...?

Oh yeah, snippet sharing:

and a built in export to AO3

Their plans are to keep this version of the product free, and then create higher end paid versions with more features to maintain a sustainable model that'll keep the product viable. They seem really cool so far. Highly recommend checking them out, if you're in any way interested in degoogling.

[lancedoncrimsonwings]

Ellipsus is great! It's a writing app, similar to Google Docs but without the AI. You can organise your writing into folders, it's free, and you can access your writing from any device via an app or web browser. To login, they send a code to the email you use to create an account, and whilst the content is stored online on their servers, they do not use your writing for training AI and are VERY anti AI in general. It's still in beta, and all features are free, but I believe a paid version is slowly in the works (but that everything currently available will remain free)

Here it is on my phone!

I have a LOT of writing on here, it's helping me keep track of my fanfic, work stuff, and upcoming uni stuff. Everything is easily organised into labelled folders!

It has lots of formatting options eg text formatting etc, just like google docs, different modes (dark, light, and a few others), the ability to create drafts, gives you an accurate wordcount, and you can upload direct to Ao3 which is frikking awesome. New features are also being added over time too.

The icon in the corner tells you if the work has synced, which usually happens within seconds, meaning you can access work from multiple devices- or share and make edits with multiple people (I haven't tried the latter yet, but its a great feature for beta editors!)

All in all, a brilliant alternative to Google Docs!

They have a page on here; @ellipsus-writes

And no, I'm not remotely being endorsed to say any of this, I just genuinely use Ellipsus every day and it's been absolutely perfect for what I needed.

Probably worth noting I'm migrating from Obsidian, which whilst it's very useful and does have a lot of things Ellipsus doesn't (eg. Linking documents, making flowcharts, the visual graph of all files, plugins etc), the ability to edit from any device was lacking on the free version of Obsidian, and after an unfortunate bug with the links wiped an entire finished but unposted chapter, I stopped using the few Obsidian specific features I was actually using in favour of something simpler but more reliable. Now Obsidian is great for many and it's no slight on them that I'm moving from it, just wasn't suitable for me personally, but I do still use it for other things.

Hope this answered your question!

[elizabethminkel]

For the wonderful folks at @ellipsus-writes, I wrote a guest blog post about fanfiction and generative AI!

"Where the Wild Stories Are"

If you outsource the act of being a fan to AI, what does that leave you? Fan creators are powerful because they’re deeply participatory media consumers—they don’t passively absorb a work, but grab onto it and reshape it to their will. Large tech and entertainment corporations prefer the passive: they want us sitting there, clicking a button, as stories wash over us like the automatic scroll of a video app. Next, next, next.

On the AI forces swirling around fanfiction—but especially people using AI to generate fic. (Why?! The writing is the fun part!!)

(Also if you're unfamiliar with @ellipsus-writes, definitely check them out, especially if you're looking to get off gdocs as Google bludgeons the product to death with useless AI features. This post was editorially independent—not sponsored content—though we were very happy to do a sponsored segment for them on @fansplaining a while back. Their values strongly align with much of transformative fandom—and they even have an export-to-AO3 button!)

[inkubuzzz]

I'm sure people already know about it but I just discovered Ellipsus, the writing software, and oh my god its amazing?? It's nice and simple like google docs (Microsoft Word is too complex for what I need) but it also has a lot of features that docs was lacking, like folders and multiple drafts. Def recommend it, esp for fanfic/other creative writing endeavors!!!

Plus its FREE. With all features included and no ads!!

(And you don't need to worry about it selling your data for AI or deleting your docs for 18+ content since google docs does both of those things!!)

[ofoceansandtombsanew]

you are love itself (君は愛そのものだ)

cw. fem!reader, childhood friend au, established relationship, love as worship, love as a choice, reader has a defined devil fruit ability

pairing. portgas d. ace x black!fem!reader

synopsis. his skin is dotted in stardust.

notes. a 1.3k look into those short moments of privacy you have with ace on the moby. i got the title from 'therefore you and me' after rewatching this amazing asl brothers animatic for the billionth time. cover comes klimt's the kiss (1908).

Everything is made of stardust; the stars that made Ace are simply visible to the eye.

They couldn't be contained in the depths of his body like the rest of the world's inhabitants. It's scattered all across his skin in a beautiful display, matching the skies they fell from. Isn't that something? You brush a hand against warm skin in awe. It's all right there. The stars themselves rest upon his skin, how beautiful is that? How could anyone want someone like that dead?

When you were children, Ace told you he would bring you the moon.

What do you need the moon for when you've been touching the stars since you were 10?

Straddling his lap, you can't help laughing as you think you'd been fighting a losing battle from the start. From the beginning, you'd been drawn to Ace and his stars and you wanted to follow where they'd go for the rest of your life.

"What's so funny?" Ace murmurs into your shoulder.

"I think I was born to love you." It is the only plausible conclusion for you to reach after 10 years of loving the same person. For the half of your life you've known him, you've chosen Ace from day one. You will continue to choose him for the rest of the life you have. You chose to chase him all around Mt. Corvo, you chose to be his friend, you chose to join his crew and your heart chose him even if your head had been slow to realize. "We don't need to find the One Piece," you murmur as you lead a trail of kisses from his shoulder to Ace's cheek. "I already have everything the world has to offer right here."

You feel Ace stiffen beneath you before he laughs sheepishly, "I think you need to have your eyes checked if you think that."

"Hey," you lean back so you can see his face. Your brows are furrowed sternly but your eyes sparkle with mischief and your lips stretch into a challenging grin. "I have better eyes than you, I can see the soul."

Ace snorts but his voice is light and as warm as the smile painting his face, "souls of the dead, yeah." Smiles suit Ace more than the frowns that were once commonplace when you were younger.

"That still counts," you protest with a chuckle. He doesn't have to believe he's worthy of it, you'll tell Ace all the same. You cup his face in your hands and enjoy the vibration of his mellifluous laughter under your fingers tips as you squeeze his cheeks. "There's a lot you can learn about this sort of stuff when you can see the dead." How the soul carries its wounds even after death. How the soul carries the essence of everything that makes something itself. How love can carry on beyond the grave.

You've seen it countless times by now in your truthfully short time of being a power holder.

The spirit of a man who wanted a few berries to leave as a surprise his husband could stumble upon to brighten his day.

An elderly woman dancing in the town square, seemingly alone following the steps she took with her lost love long ago. Unbeknownst to her, however, her love danced with all the same as they did once a long time ago.

Pods of orcas full of members past and present, refusing to part from their birth pod even in death.

How beautiful it is, a love like that.

Even while deceased, they choose to remain by their beloved all the same.

Whenever it is Ace's time, he'll take his stars with him and they will rest on his skin just as they did when he was alive. But I'll make sure you're so happy you won't want to stay, you vowed when you partook of the sea's cursed fruit. You carry this vow even now. Ace will die a happy death but more importantly, he will live a long and mirthful life.

(You can tell for as sure as your eyes are dry; the urge to cry and scream in mourning and warning nonexistent. Still it's your heart's desire that you go first so you don't ever have to risk the day you know death will come for Portgas D. Ace.)

"You know what I think," you cease your pinching, letting your lax thumbs stroke his face. Dark eyes look up at you like you're a dream and gold like sunlight rests in your chest. It's light yet heavy and even if your heart is calm, its rhythmic beating tells you something precious. And he's so, so precious. "I think that when people move on, they're reborn as someone else. Then they get to live life all over again. And one day, that's gonna happen to us."

Then you'll cease to be the 'you' you have been and so will he.

Maybe that time, you'll be raised in separate seas and there will be no trio of brothers you'll latch onto. Maybe he'll be born somewhere in Paradise but I'll be from the West Blue. Or maybe he'll be a fishman. Or a giant!

Maybe next time, Ace will be a short girl with firey auburn hair and chocolate brown eyes with the disposition to match. Or he'll be a scarred and gruff dragon moray eel fishman who is an overt romantic.

Maybe next time his stars will follow him as the marker that ties him to his previous life. Then you'll recognize him the moment you see him. But even if I don't, I'll love you then too. You don't need reminders of who he was to make you want him again.

Whatever the outcome may be, you will embrace it wholly.

"Whenever that happens, I'm gonna find you and I'm going to love you all over again. You can be a girl or a giant or a fishman." Or maybe he'll be the tiny human and you'll be the giant. It will be nice being taller than Ace for once, you tell him as much with a laugh. There's a spot of wetness at the corner of his eyes that you wipe away instinctively. "Or… maybe this world runs in one big loop and we get to be us again but that time we get to make different choices. Do the stuff we didn't do last time. But regardless of all the different things I might end up doing, the one thing that is gonna stay the same is that I'll choose you all over again."

There's a pause before Ace ducks from your gaze with a wet laugh, forehead pressed against your shoulder again. The unmistakeable feel of warm droplets subsequently follow. "Thatch must be cutting onions," he chuckles weakly. "Sorry."

"Dummy," you wrap your arms around his shoulders and inhale his scent. There's a natural sweetness to it you can't explain; it's sweet but there is a peppery kick. It's been that way since the first day you met him. I love him, I love him, I love him. The sentiment echoes throughout your entire being. "it's okay to cry."

"Would you really want me again?" His voice is soft and unsure like a young bird who doesn't know if it can trust its wings.

Who else would I want?

Why would I want anyone else?

I've known you for 10 years, Ace. There's nothing about you I don't want.

"Over and over again," you kiss his temple once, twice and then a third time before you lift his head and kiss the corners of his eyes. "It's you and no one else."

A noise of surprise escapes you when Ace's lips press against your own but you relax a beat later, humming tenderly. You relish every sensation, how his arms wrap around you tight and how his fingers gently dig into your back. The taste of salt on your lips is akin to the ocean and your heartbeat reverberates throughout your chest.

Yes, it's telling you something precious.

[somesuperheroao3]

Smut writers who are still embarrassed. Me.

I just found the funniest font ever

Like. What is this. Why is this. Who is the target audience of this?

[shouyuus]

sometimes i forget that not everyone is a freak like me and obsessively close tabs, clear notifs, and make sure that there are zero icons on my desktop bc i dont like the look of it u__u

[ifishouldvanish]

Migrating to Ellipsus from Google Docs: A Guide

This has been sitting in my drafts for a while, but in light of all the bullshit attacks on queer and nsfw creators lately, here it is I guess 🤷

I had been wanting to ditch Google Docs for years, but most "Google docs alternatives" weren't a good fit for my needs: A good mobile experience, and the ability to sync my work across devices. Most of the common alternatives people throw around are either iOS only, desktop only, or not free to use.

So it wasn't until I found @ellipsus-writes that I finally made the switch back in September 2024. The app is well-designed, works across devices, supports collaboration, AND they're staunchly anti-AI, queer friendly, and fanfic friendly! 🌈

It's not perfect (yet!) mind, but it's pretty damn close for me. Some caveats:

Formatting options are a bit limited at this time. Your font choice applies to the whole document, and things like subscript and superscript aren't available. (This is my biggest gripe atm, as my current writing project involves a lot of research and footnotes).

Ellipsus does not have a native app, so you won't find it on the AppStore/Play Store. Instead, it is a web app. It runs in the browser. But on mobile devices, you can get a more "app-like experience" by adding it to your home screen. (More on that later)

You cannot 'magically' import all of your work from Google docs into Ellipsus. You'll have to import them manually. One at a time.

But uh... One cool thing Ellipsus has that Google Docs does not? An "Export to AO3" feature! No more fixing formatting issues or having to use that "Format for AO3" user script that can be laggy as hell!

Part 1: Getting your work into Ellipsus

As of this writing, Ellipsus can only import Markdown (.md) files. So in order to get your work imported, you'll first have to export it from Google Docs (or whatever you currently use) as markdown.

The shitty thing is, Google Docs only lets you do this on desktop 🫠

So from desktop, open your document, and go to "File -> Download -> Markdown":

But once you've done that, open Ellipsus, click the "+" icon in the bottom menu, and select "Import Markdown".

Part 2: Getting that 'App-like' Experience

Open Ellipsus in your mobile browser of choice. You might get a prompt to "Install Ellipsus", but if not, just open the main browser menu. You should have an option for "Save/Add to Home screen", "Download Web App", or something similar. Select that option, and you'll get an Ellipsus icon on your home screen. Now when you open Ellipsus via this shortcut, it will open in a dedicated 'window' as if it were a native app—and without the clutter of the browser's address/tool bars!

Caveat: On my previous phone, I experienced some significant lag while typing via Firefox for Android. To get around this, I used Chrome instead for running the web app. (boo, hiss). Happy to report though that on my new phone, the lag is completely gone in Firefox! But yeah, your mileage may vary.

Part 3: Establishing Your Workflow in Ellipsus

If like me, your work is primarily longer, multi-chapter fics, the ability to export those chapters for posting to AO3 is probably very important to you... The big caveat to the exporting features in Ellipsis is that they will export the entire document. There's no way to say, "Export everything under the "Chapter X" heading.

So there's two workarounds here:

Create a folder for each story, and create each chapter as a separate document in that folder, or

Create one document for each story, and create each chapter as a "draft"within that document.

I use method #2, because I think it makes navigating between chapters a little faster, but you do you.

Consider that true appeal of drafts is the ability to merge changes into the main document. But if you're creating your chapters as drafts within a single document, this won't quite work because the merger won't know where to place this completely different 'draft' within the main document—it will think you want to replace the content of the main document entirely:

If your draft contains only the content for a single chapter, but your main document contains the rest of your story, the merger will want to remove all the other parts of your story, and also just have like... a really wonky diff check in general.

As a method #2 person: once I've finished/published a chapter, I copy and paste the content of the chapter into the main document, then delete the relevant draft. If the ability to just merge drafts into the main document as intended is important to you, then method #1 would probably suit your needs better.

Part 4: Collaborating & The Export to AO3 Feature

Just as with Google docs, you can invite collaborators to your documents, or share a link for viewing. By highlighting sections of text, you and your collaborators can also add comments:

When sharing/exporting a document or draft, you'll have the option to export to AO3:

When your AO3 account is connected, the "Export to AO3" feature will display a list of your existing works. You can choose to edit or add a chapter to one of them, or post a new work entirely.

Whatever your choice, the exporter will copy the document HTML to your clipboard and open a tab straight to the publishing form on AO3. Paste the HTML, add your tags, summary, and any author's notes, and you're ready to post!

Part 5: The Future

Ellipsus is a bit of a fledgling compared to most writing software out there and has a pretty limited feature set. However, development is pretty active, updates come out regularly, and you can also vote on (or make your own) feature suggestions!

Happy writing! 💕