Writing is the act of creating new information in any format, so finding the right tools is fundamental to creating quality content. If you’re finding it difficult to write your next blog post or article, try using one of these free online content writing tools instead – they will save your life and boost your productivity!
Here are the best tools that can help you!
Ommwriter
Cost: free web version or $7 for the full program
Do you find the clacking sound of old typewriters satisfying? Do you find soft, neutral colours calming? Does nothing really get you focused quite like a purposeful, long, deep breath? If so, Ommwriter might be the tool to help you reach your goal. As the site’s tagline reads, Ommwriter is “a perfect place to think and write.”
With soothing background noises, customizable keyboard noises, and peaceful backgrounds to choose from, Ommwriter could just be the “break” from everything else going on around you that you need to write.
Check it out if: your very best writing ideas come to you while in “savasana.”
To Doist
Cost: free or $4/month for premium plan
Have you ever woken up in a cold sweat, panicking about something important you forgot to do? Or, god forbid, gripped in dread about how far behind you are on your word-count goals?
Well, To Doist might be able to help. It’s the ultimate app for creating to-do lists — but these aren’t your grandma’s pen-and-paper lists with little check marks beside them (though we mean no offense to your grandma). It lets you get a daily or weekly overview of your tasks, prioritize the tasks that are most important, and even lets you assign tasks to other people if you’re working on a specific goal with other collaborators.
Check it out if: you have never been able to find an agenda that’s souped up enough to keep you on track.
Marinara Timer
Cost: Free
The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method meant to promote productivity. In a nutshell, it stipulates that you should work for 25 minutes, then take a 5-minute break, then work for 25 minutes, take another 5-minute break, etc., etc.
The free-to-use Marinara Timer makes this easy for you by alerting you each time your work sessions and breaks are up. It also offers customizable timers in case the 25/5 isn’t quite right for keeping you on track. Fun fact: taking a break to stand up or walk (or do anything but sit!) every hour is also a good way to protect your back if you sit hunched at a computer working for long stretches at a time.
Check it out if: consistent breaks from work help actually keep you focused on the task at hand.
Microsoft Word
Microsoft Office also has an established word processor in Microsoft Word. As one of the early word processors, Microsoft Word probably has the most variety in formatting options. So if you need to write a longer document with many sections or headers, Word has you covered.
Grammarly
Of course, we couldn’t list our favorite writing tools without mentioning Grammarly! Grammarly’s products do more than identify grammar and spelling mistakes; they also offer detailed writing enhancements focused on clarity, conciseness, and tone. You can install Grammarly as an extension for Chrome, Safari, or Firefox web browsers for free, or check longer pieces of writing in Grammarly’s online editor. Grammarly Premium, a paid service, provides deeper writing feedback, detects plagiarism, and offers style and vocabulary enhancements.See for yourself how Grammarly works!Download Grammarly and start writing.GET GRAMMARLY
Twords
Twords describes itself as “the web app that nudges you to write.” The app operates based on three principles—awareness, accountability, and consistency. Twords makes you aware of your writing habits by tracking how much you write each day and month. “Accountability buddies” notify you when you miss several days of writing. If you get writer’s block, you can consult a library of prompts, set a timer to challenge yourself to write for a specific amount of time, or read an article about the habits of successful authors.
Evernote
Evernote is a software program that syncs digital items across all your devices. For example, suppose you are at the office and you want to consult a website that you viewed on your desktop last night at home. Or you are at the gym and you want to access a photograph or an email, but all you have is your smartphone. You can set up Evernote to monitor certain folders on your computers. Anything that you add to the folder is accessible from all your tech gadgets. You can even search your notes if you don’t remember where you saved something.
Google Docs
Google Docs is a well-known online word processor. Its collaboration and organization features can help you write a draft of your short story and share it with a few friends for comments, for example. Google Docs allows you to store your documents in Google Drive, which allows you to access your documents from anywhere.
Mellel
Cost: $50 (or try a 30-day free trial)
The people behind Mellel don’t just know word processing — they also know catchy, memorable marketing. Their description of why writers should choose Mellel starts like this: “Mellel is a writer’s dream come true. To start, it is exceedingly boring: it just works, day in and day out, reliably. An enormous number of people used Mellel to write and they all report that their journey with Mellel was boring and uneventful. As well it should. In other words, it does all the mundane bits, and leaves the creative stuff to you.”
Mellel is not free (and note that it’s only for Mac). In return for the price tag, you’ll get more book-specific tools than other, perhaps more traditional word processors — such as outlining and bibliography-making functions. And, judging by the witty, funny copy on Mellel’s website, Mellel makes the process of writing much more fun than they let on.
Check it out if: you’re a Mac user who wants more than the Pages app offers.
Milanote
Cost: Free for basic plan or $12.50/month for premium.
Milanote is an easy-to-use creative writing app to organize your research, ideas, characters and outline in one place.
The vast majority of novelist-oriented writing software is organized around the idea of a linear document. But for most people, writing isn’t linear — because thinking isn’t linear. Writing is about gradually getting a jumble of ideas into shape, and Milanote’s writing app matches the way writers think.
Check it out if: you’re a plotter who likes a flexible workspace to organize ideas and see a birds-eye view of how your story outline is coming together.
Evernote
Cost: free for basic plan or $9.99/month for premium.
Its cute, little green elephant logo aside, Evernote is a great and easy-to-use option for writers who could do with a little more organization in their lives.
The app lets you quickly jot down thoughts, record audio notes, save online articles you’re hoping to reference, and it will sync all of this information across all of your Evernote-installed devices. What’s also handy about the app is the collaborative aspect of it: you can create shared accounts, so that multiple people can access saved documents at once.
Check it out if: you’re prone to getting great ideas while on the go, and need somewhere to make sure you don’t forget them by the time you’re home.
Ulysses
Cost: $5/month or $40/year (or try a 14-day free trial)
While it’s ultimately a writing tool, one of the best assets of comprehensive programs like Ulysses or Scrivener are their organizational features. At the end of the day, whether you’re writing a blog post or a full-length novel, the seed of an idea doesn’t get too far without the ability to organize that idea into a cohesive piece of writing.
And that’s exactly what Ulysses allows you to do: organize your thoughts into a well-written work. This is accomplished through features like customizable writing goals and deadlines, plain text enhancements, a distraction-free typewriter mode, bookmarks, outlining functions, and more.
Check it out if: you’re working on a lengthy piece of non-fiction, like a blog post or essay. (For a comparison of Scrivener vs. Ulysses, keep reading!)
Scrivener
Cost: $45 (or a 30-use free trial)
Literature and Latte’s word processor is a popular writing tool — also, in large part, thanks to its organizational capabilities that seamlessly allow writers to turn fragmented ideas into a fully realized book/script/research paper/or whatever else you’re writing.
Scrivener vs Ulysses
Apart from the price (Scrivener charges a one-time licensing fee while Ulysses charges yearly), the two platforms offer many of the same features. So we’ll focus on what makes the two programs different.
- Scrivener’s corkboard function is an absolute favorite for writers who rely on visual aid to help with outlining. The function looks like an actual corkboard, and lets writers pin notes to the board in chronological order.
- Scrivener offers templates for works such as fiction, essays, recipe collections, screenplays, comic books — which gives Scrivener another point for versatility.
- Ulysses boasts an interface that is slightly more clean and simple — so if ease-of-use is high on your priority list, it might be the better option for you.
- Ulysses offers a very helpful WordPress and Medium integration, which bloggers who publish on either of these platforms will love.
Check it out if: you’re working on a longer piece of content (like a book or screenplay) and want one comprehensive place to manage all your work. (And don’t forget to check out our equally as comprehensive review of Scrivener’s newest update: Scrivener 3!)
Conclusion
The Best Writing Tools is brought to you by the writers at Alonissos WordPress, on behalf of their writing app, Alonissos Writer. We cover the tools that writers use on a daily basis including but not limited to – free online content writing tools, writers tools, types of writing tools, effective writing tools, free writing tools, writer tools app, best writing apps,creative writing tools and techniques.