I’ve tried the Ulysses free trial a few times, most recently a year or so ago, simply because so many writers rave about it, and the aesthetic is really attractive. I’m sure it’s great for many writers, particularly those who deal entirely in plain text and publish straight to a blog. But every time I try it (and I realize it’s being updated often, no doubt thanks to the cash flow generated by subscription model), I come away thinking it doesn’t suit my needs.
If I need simple, beautiful plain text writing for a short piece or anything that doesn’t require structural organization, I use iA Writer, which is much cheaper , just as elegant, and doesn’t pack all my writing into a single basket. BTW, there are other posts on this forum about how to make your Scrivener project look more like Ulysses.
If I need structured writing, Scrivener is at least as useful to me as Ulysses, though I agree the iOS app isn’t quite as smooth. Since I still use my Mac for big projects like books, it’s not a problem. Plus, Scrivener allows me to import pdfs and other reference material into a project, which for me usually works better than putting the reference material and my writing in two different apps side by side, though that’s doable if necessary. And I agree with the other advantages of Scrivener listed here in earlier posts, particularly its project-based approach, which is really ideal for my work.
If I need other functions in working with other writers and editors, like dealing with Word files, editing, etc., I use Pages or Google Docs, which are both free. Yes, I’d love to have one writing app that would rule them all, but I’ve pretty much given up on that fantasy just because as a journalist, bookwriter, and playwright, I have so many different needs, and better to use the best tool for each job. (I have the same philosophy with keyboards and iPad, which is why I have one of the latter but three of the former, but that’s a different post…)
However, I’d love to hear from Scriveners here who use Ulysses what unique features the latter has that Scrivener might consider adopting as well. I realize non Dropbox syncing must await changes in iCloud (Scrivener is one of the only reasons I keep my free Dropbox account), but what else does Ulysses have that Scrivener doesn’t — and should?
Oh, and let’s not forget the other advantages of Scrivener — like responsive developers and supportive forum user community!