I love typing. There is something so satisfying about typing on a keyboard. While I can type almost as fast on my iPhone, the experience just doesn’t compare to a full keyboard. Plus, I always feel a little naked in meetings when I have to use a Notes app in a meeting with a group of people using laptops and writing programs. I’ve been searching for writing software that gives me that PC experience with the option to export my work into an Office program. So far, this looks like it might be my best solution for all of my writing needs.
To become a truly skilled writer, you must hone your skills with a prolific amount of words. You will be confronted by a variety of writing tools, but these best writing tools for authors should be sufficient to get you writing at your highest potential. Here they are:
Scrivener
Scrivener ($45) was our previous pick for the best long-form writing app, and it’s done nothing to lose that crown. Unfortunately for Scrivener, Ulysses has just gotten a lot better. With the ePub export in Ulysses being so good, Scrivener is no longer the default choice when you want to publish an ebook. To be fair, Scrivener still does give you a lot more power and options when exporting, and is still your best option if you want to export to the Kindle format.
Scrivener also has an iPad version ($19.99) which is very good. It was even featured in the Best of the App Store in 2016, but requires that you use Dropbox to sync your Scrivener projects instead of iCloud. This makes sync a little more cumbersome, and we still think Ulysses is a better choice for most writing projects.
iA Writer Pro
iA Writer Pro offers a couple unique features like Syntax Control, which scans your document and highlights your adjectives, nouns, adverbs, verbs, prepositions, or conjunctions. This allows you to see if your sentences are balanced. This feature is not limited to just English and supports several other languages as well. iA Writer Pro also has a Focus Mode that highlights one sentence at a time by making the surrounding text fade into the background, reducing the temptation to edit.
iA Writer is $28.99 on the Mac App Store and has companion apps for both iOS ($8.99) and Android (Free). There’s also a Windows version which is $19.99 and offers an installable extension for syncing to iCloud. If you use a PC or Android device and want to write on the go, check out iA Writer as it is the only app we reviewed (besides Microsoft Word and Scrivener) that has support outside the Apple ecosystem.
Focused
Focused has one incredibly awesome feature that makes it worth noting called “Zen Mode.” We published an article over at Tools and Toys on music to help you focus, but Focused actually bakes this right into the app itself by providing curated soundtracks designed to help you focus and concentrate on your writing. I personally listen to a lot of the music mentioned in the Tools and Toys article when I write, and the ability to launch it from the writing app and not have to open Spotify or Apple Music (or rely on an internet connection) is a really cool idea.
Focused is $19.99 and in our opinion doesn’t offer the same level of writing assistance that Ulysses does, but is still a very polished app. Focused is also a part of SetApp, so if you have a SetApp subscription you can try both Ulysses and Focused for yourself and see which one is right for you.
Byword
We previously selected Byword as our favorite Markdown writing app, and it can certainly be used as a pro writing app today. We believe that Ulysses just offers a few more tools and UI enhancements that make it a better choice for more lengthy writing projects.
Byword is an excellent application, and at $10.99 for the Mac app and $5.99 for the iOS version, it’s a great option for a writer looking to upgrade their tools on a budget. The lower price does mean that Byword receives less frequent updates though, and while the current apps aren’t lacking anything, they don’t get updated nearly as often as Ulysses does. Both the Mac and iOS apps do have an available “Publishing” in-app purchase that must be purchased for each version that allows you to publish your writing straight to an external source (like WordPress). It also offers iCloud sync which works flawlessly (in our testing) between the Mac and iOS versions.
Bear
Bear really isn’t a pure pro writing, but it can be used for smaller writing projects and supports Markdown formatting. It has a beautiful user interface and at $1.49/month or $14.99/year, it is a much more affordable option if you don’t need all the power that Ulysses offers.
Bear is limited in its export options though, and you won’t be able to publish straight from Bear, but it does offer some unique features, like cross-linking between notes, todos, and browser extensions to quickly clip things into Bear. Bear is really a note-taking app (one we think does an excellent job), but it’s so well done that it at least deserves a mention here.
Microsoft Word
We’re including this in the list only because this is what a lot of people think of when they need to write a document, but in our opinion it’s one of the worst options available. Not only is Microsoft Word very expensive (it starts at $70/year with Office 365 and goes up from there), but as we outlined above it locks you into a proprietary file format that is difficult to publish from (if you use the features that it offers). If you don’t use these extra features, then there’s really no reason to use Word as the myriad of features just clutter up the screen.
Word used to be the de facto option for sharing text documents throughout an office, but (thankfully) with the advent of plain text (and Markdown in particular), that is changing. We recommend that you use a tool that affords you the flexibility that these other formats offer.
Pages
Pages is also not a great option for the same reasons listed for Word, but at least it’s free on the Mac App Store and offers you an easy way to get started. It’s actually pretty powerful as word processors go, but still has the same drawbacks inherent with that application type we outlined earlier.
Pages does have free iOS versions that sync reliably with iCloud, so you’ll be able to sync your documents wherever you go with your iPhone or iPad. If you just bought a shiny new MacBook and want something that will allow you write on the go but you don’t have any money to spend on a fancy writing app, Pages will work, but you will run into formatting issues.
Apple Pages
Pages that say it all. Beautifully.
Pages is Apple’s Mac-native equivalent to Microsoft’s Word. The reason I have it featured in this list is because it comes included with most Apple devices — suggesting you have access to it if alternatives should fail.
Pages weigh on simplicity and essential functions.
Pages works seamlessly across all your Apple devices, meaning you can pick up where you left off from your iMac to your iPad should you have to go out for example.
One fantastic benefit of using Pages (over the others) is the ability to use the Apple Pencil on an iPad allowing you to write, create drawings, annotate documents and select and scroll as you would with your finger.
It’s Free, but if you don’t have it installed, you can get it here.
Write!
Distraction-Free Writing.
Write! claims to be the only text editor you need for distraction-free writing. Its minimalist interface helps remove distraction by hiding all the features and buttons.
When I first got into writing some years ago, this was the first writing app I landed on to hold my thoughts and prose. It was also my first exposure to a minimalist writing app to focus on distraction-free focus.
Write! carries many useful features such as a configurable autocomplete, an intelligent spellchecker and productivity counters. You can easily manage any writing project structuring using tabs, sessions and folders.
You can get the complete Write! experience for $24.95 with cloud access and maintenance updates at $4.95/yr.
It’s available on both Windows and macOS. You can check it out here.
IA Writer
Get Focused.
One colossal feature I appriciate from IA Writer is its strict core value to focus. This is reflected in its minimal interface crafted to cut out the noise. It’s just you, your thoughts, and the words on the page (read: screen). It provides the uncluttered environment you need to write well, supported by discrete, powerful features, from Content Blocks to Syntax Highlighting with Markdown.
If writing is all you need in its most basic uncluttered form, then check out IA Writer here. Each app purchased separately.
Drafts
Where Texts Start.
Getting words down has never been easier.
Drafts for me has been one of my jot-down note-taking apps during those epiphany moments, which would otherwise see me scrounging around for a pen and paper or ultimately trusting that I will remember but ending up forgetting.
It’s been my go-to app to quickly capture text (when I’m on the go). As Drafts have suggested on their website, its “post-its” for the digital age.
Drafts is a great writing tool for those that want to get the text down and polish it when time permits. And when you’re ready to knuckle-down, you can set up a text editing experience that’s perfect for you, with tons of interface adjustments like custom fonts and control over spacing, line height, and margins.
It features a customisable extended row above the keyboard to convert, manipulate, and transform your writing quickly. Make lists, use Markdown to get things just right.
It also integrates with a bewildering array of apps and services that might work with your workflow.
You can check out more here or get it straight for Mac here and or for your device here.
Ulysses
The Ultimate Writing App for Mac, iPad and iPhone.
This Apple Design Award Winner app is top-rated among writers of any calibre.
It offers a simple and intuitive workspace you can customise to suit your preference. It features a clean, distraction-free interface,
– Markup-based text editor,
– Typewriter mode,
– A brilliant organisation and management feature — so that you can keep your work where you’d like it to be, featuring hierarchic groups,
– Let’s you write anywhere utilising full iCloud Sync across all your devices.
Ulysses has been my choice of editor for over three years now. It helps organise my writing in a structured library that fits my liking, from research to learnings, to articles and blueprints. Everything is in one place, across all my devices.
At $4.17/month with a yearly subscription, it is defiantly worth checking out.
You can find out more about Ulysses here; try it here for free, or alternatively; it is also available via Setapp here.
Conclusion
Whether you are a blogger or a regular, all-purpose writer, you know how important it is to have the software tools to help make your writing process simpler. There are numerous options available at the moment for writers, but not all of them are created equal. Some make everything too complicated or too basic. As any writer knows, the best writing tools are those that take care of the formatting for you while leaving you with ample space for creativity.