[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$fwstswaxnrxdu":3},{"code":4,"message":5,"data":6,"timestamp":42},10000,"success",{"full_name":7,"position":8,"description":9,"language":10,"stars":11,"forks":12,"stars_gained":13,"age_days":14,"hn_threads":15,"one_liner":32,"summary_md":33,"topic":34,"github_topics":37,"license":38,"homepage":39,"updated_at":40,"history":41},"hughhowey\u002Fneo",12,"A novel-writing tool created by a novelist.","JavaScript",1560,212,1115,78,[16,22,27],{"id":17,"title":18,"points":19,"comments":20,"posted_at":21},49314647,"Neo: A distraction-free word processor for authors, by a wannabe author",9,2,"2026-08-15",{"id":23,"title":24,"points":25,"comments":25,"posted_at":26},49369324,"Neo: A novel-writing tool created by a novelist (Silo's author)",1,"2026-08-20",{"id":28,"title":29,"points":25,"comments":30,"posted_at":31},49491696,"Hugh Howey's distraction-free word processor",0,"2026-08-29","A local-first word processor for novelists and screenwriters who want a book-shaped page instead of a general-purpose editor.","## The problem\n\nWriters of long fiction end up fighting their tools. General word processors treat a 90,000-word manuscript like a memo; Scrivener-class tools solve that but bury you in a binder, inspector panes and compile settings. NEO starts from the opposite premise: it is an Electron app that assumes every file is a book, so chapters, section breaks, numbering, drop caps and export formats are built in rather than configured.\n\n## What's different\n\nThe structural editing is the real idea. Chapters and `***` breaks are created by pressing Enter repeatedly, and prologues and epilogues drop out of the numbering automatically. The Outline tab turns chapters and sections into draggable index cards — a way of working that tools like Scrivener and Ulysses also offer, but here it doubles as a reordering mechanism for the prose itself. The Darlings tab is unusual: cut passages are parked, not deleted, and can be restored to their original position. Manuscripts live as plain HTML and JSON in `~\u002FDocuments\u002FNEO Library`, which is a real advantage over database-bound apps.\n\n## Who it's for\n\nNovelists and screenwriters working alone on macOS, Windows or Linux who want one deliberately narrow tool and are comfortable with a menu of keyboard shortcuts. Scriptwriters get Courier-formatted pages with Fountain and .fdx import\u002Fexport, which is credible for a first release. Anyone who needs track changes, comments, cited references, collaborative editing or a plugin ecosystem should stay with Word, Google Docs or Scrivener. The README itself says so.\n\n## Cost of adoption\n\nFree and MIT-licensed, no account or subscription. It is an Electron app, so expect desktop-class memory use and a Linux sandbox workaround on newer Ubuntu. The AI cover-art feature is optional but requires an OpenAI API key and spends money per image. The author is upfront that goals and momentum \"need more testing\" and that import is rough. Files are plain and portable, so the lock-in risk is low, but the project is 78 days old with a single primary maintainer.\n\n## Verdict\n\nThis is a brand-new project, not an established one: a Hacker News thread with 9 points in mid-August, then +1,115 stars on the monthly JavaScript board in late October. That trajectory looks like a spike driven by the author's existing readership rather than sustained adoption, and a one-person Electron app can stall. The design choices are defensible and the file format is honest. Try it for a single manuscript before you move a series into it.",{"slug":35,"name":36},"productivity","Productivity & Utilities",[],"MIT",null,"2026-10-24T19:05:09Z",[],1792883143]