Draft is a writing program that emphasizes simplicity, version control, and collaboration. I found Draft while I was looking for a program that allowed me to easily save and access specific versions of my writing project as I was working on it.

Draft was created by a programmer looking for an ideal work space in which to collaborate and retain control of the different versions that writing inevitably goes through. With this in mind a program was created that makes it easy to work with others and still keep track of all the changes, whether good or bad.

Version Control

Draft was made with version control as its top most priority and you can tell. When working on a document it’s easy to save a ‘draft’ copy. Just access the drop down menu in the top right corner and select the first option: MARK DRAFT. You’ll see the number of drafts (located below the drop down menu) increase in number each time you make a new draft save.

You can then access these drafts, and their differences, by clicking on the draft number below the drop down menu. This will bring up a side by side comparison of the different drafts with the changes highlighted in green and red. The green highlights typically indicate that something was added, while the red highlights are for text that has been removed.

Draft also saves what it calls minor drafts or changes. When you are inside the drafts you can click on the ‘show minor’ option and the program will adjust the number of drafts to show different versions that the program auto-saved along with the ‘drafts’ that you manually save. For each draft that is saved in the program, whether it’s an auto-saved draft, or one that you saved manually, you have the option of either reverting to that save or deleting it permanently.

It’s important to note the program isn’t perfect, so sometimes it can be difficult to see exactly what it means by the red and green highlights. It seems to be more accurate on manually saved draft changes, than with drafts that were auto-saved. Despite this, the version control is actually quite useful and accessible.

Collaboration

Collaboration is the second major feature of Draft. Even though it was one of the driving forces behind the creation of Draft, it’s not as intuitive and can be more awkward to work with than some of the other features. Everyone who wishes to work on a document in Draft must have a Draft account. The free account will give access to all of the features. When you wish to share a document with another person, you can do so by accessing the expanded menu on the left of the screen when working on your document. In the menu there will be a green ‘share’ button. When you click the button you will be given the option to either share a link or send access to your document through email.

I have only worked with a collaborator through email invitation, so I can’t speak to the shared link method, although I imagine it works in a similar manner. When your collaborator receives your invitation, they can then make changes in the document. When they are done they will click a button to submit their changes. On your end you will see that there are now multiple collaborators on your document. When your collaborator has finished with their edits the note ‘edits are ready’ will appear in parentheses next to the number of collaborators on the document. If you click on the text it will take you to a page where you can see the name of your collaborator, or collaborators if more than one. Clicking on their name will take you to a page where you can accept or delete their changes.

Although the collaboration tool can be less intuitive, it’s actually a very useful feature. It allows for a clearer view of the changes being made to a document before accepting or rejecting them.

Hemingway Mode

Hemingway Mode is one of the more unique features on Draft, and possibly my favorite. Hemingway Mode is a feature that removes your ability to delete or move backwards in your document. It forces you to continue writing without editing. I found it frustrating at first because I have a bad habit of trying to edit while I write. But once you get into the swing of things it’s very useful. This features helps you to stop overthinking your writing and ‘just get it down’. You can access Hemingway Mode in the top right drop down menu when inside of a document you are working on.

Draft has a few other small features such as a way to create To-Do’s and an auto-simplification tool, which helps to make your writing more concise and clear. Draft was made by one programmer in his free time, so if you feel that this tool would be useful, you can support him by paying a monthly subscription. Your subscription will also unlock more features. To read more about Draft and its features follow this Link.

Overall I think that Draft is an attractive program. It’s certainly unique, and even if it’s not always intuitive, it provides some very useful features.