Mike Randa

If you're embarking on the monumental task of writing a full book, Scrivener is the way to go. Forget about the headache of trying to keep tens of .docx files organized. Scrivener's binder keeps all your chapters and documents tidy and easily accessible. The interface is designed to be as distraction-free as possible, and the note-taking page attached to each main document is great for chapter outlines or research notes. When you're done writing, you can choose which documents you want to compile, how to format them, and the output file type.

The best free app for writing notes in markdown there is. Packed with useful features, and community add-ons make it even better. I use it extensively in all my workflows.