Swap Word for an IDE: use VS Code, Markdown, Git version control/branches, and built-in AI to draft, revise, and safeguard your novel like a developer.

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IDEs (like VS Code/Cursor) don’t care if you write code or prose—they’re powerful text workbenches.

Git gives your manuscript “time travel”: snapshots, safe experiments via branches, and easy rollbacks.

GitHub adds cloud backup + collaboration workflows that scale beyond Track Changes.

Modern IDEs can bring AI inline + in-editor chat with your manuscript as context (less copy/paste, more flow).

Markdown keeps drafts portable and future-proof, but you may still convert to .docx for traditional submissions.

Tradeoffs: learning curve, limited WYSIWYG formatting, collaboration requires buy-in, and some AI features cost money.