Google Docs is great, but it lacks an endless number of features that can be found in softwares that power in specialization. Docs is a document editor like Word; that's what it tries to be, and it does it well. It has features not found in other composition software because like those softwares, it too is specialized. But there are things it cannot do. For example, Scrivener is designed specifically for novelists who want to tab back and forth between documents; for example, you can have four documents on your screen, have notes and images side-by-side with what you're writing, even have webpages downloaded into the software. Focuswriter is also very specialized; it tracks the amount you write and the capacity for visual customization is IMMENSE.
I entitled this writeup "google docs at home" because I do think you can bring features that many people would consider docs-exclusive to your other software. Besides document formatting, which you can really only get with Docs or Word or other office suites, another strong allure for Docs is being able to write on any computer or device and have your document sync so you can work on any secondary or tertiary device you own. You can work at your desktop, get on the bus and write from your phone, get to the library and pick it up from your laptop. I have tinkered around, and I believe I have found a method to emulate this in any composition software whatsoever.
You will need:
Dropbox will ask you to designate a folder. You have to install the software. Once you do, it will sync all of your documents stored in Dropbox to that folder. You will be able to view them from any device, and any changes made to a file in that folder will update on any other device with Dropbox installed.
Mine automatically designated a folder, entitled Dropbox, in my home directory. You can designate a different folder in your filesystem. You can also select a folder with content already inside of it, which will be synced.
Dropbox is nice because the sync is almost instant. It takes around five seconds for me. This is because text documents don't take up much space, so you can download them quickly even on mediocre wifi.
One advantage of Focuswriter is that, if you have the document open, it will immediately notify you if a change has been made to the document on another device, and allow you to either keep your current version currently loaded, or update what's displayed to the new version. If you can't use Focuswriter, a number of other programs available on every desktop operating system (windows, linux, mac) will work.
If you want to use proprietary software across multiple devices, this method will still work; however, you should play it safe safe and ensure that all the files update between devices before you open them; I can't guaruntee that Scrivener will prompt you for changes, for example.
Unbeknownst to me at the time I set this up, this method is actually how Literature and Latte (the company that maintains Scrivener) recommends using Scrivener on multiple platforms. Back in the day when I used Scrivener as my writing software, I had a USB stick that I carried between devices.
Docs requires an internet connection. It runs in your web browser. The power of this method, in my opinion, is that you can actually go offline and continue to work on the file. When you reconnect, Dropbox will check when the file was edited, and update accordingly.
If you have a Chromebook you can supposedly edit docs offline, but I had a Chromebook and I was unable to get it to work. You can also get a web extension that supposedly allows this, but I have also been unable to get that to work.
This method is useful for a number of reasons, but unuseful for a number of others. Firstly, you cannot edit the same document on multiple devices at a time. Additionally, you cannot collaborate with other users. In Google Docs, several people can work on a doc at the same time; they can each individually type text in different areas of the document, and their text will be saved. They can also leave comments attached to specific areas of the documents, or suggest edits that can be approved or denied. I believe there is also a chatroom attached to the document that can be used. None of these features are available with this method.
I do my writing and composition in other software, but dump it into Docs when I want to share it with my friend who writes, so that he can comment on specific lines, it makes it so much easier.
Funnily enough, I'm actually writing this writeup specifically in Obsidian and using Obsidian Sync, a service I pay for, instead of doing the dropbox method. This means I use three entirely separate cloud storage solutions for the composition of my documents. I guess I'm a true renaissance man.