When it comes to writing, there are a lot of software packages that can help boost your productivity and improve your final product. Whether you’re a blogger that has a lot of editing to do or an event organizer that needs to write hundreds of pages for your next annual report, there are tools available to make your job easier.
Here, I classify writing tools into different category and hope that you get the best from your online writing. I have also included good pen for those pen lovers that have been requesting for it. Have fun!
Editing Tools
Grammarly
Cost: Free with premium upgrades available at $29.95 per month, $59.95 per quarter, and $139.95 per year
Notes: Grammarly’s Google Chrome plugin helps catch grammatical errors in nearly everything you write online. The premium plans also offer vocabulary and sentence structure suggestions.
Click here to start using Grammarly.
Pro Writing Aid
Cost: Free with premium upgrades available at $40 per year, $60 per 2 years, $80 per 3 years, or a one-time lifetime subscription fee of $140
Notes: Pro Writing Aid is a desktop app you can use with programs like Scrivener, Word, and Google Docs. It catches grammar errors, suggests style changes, and even checks for plagiarism.
Click here to start using Pro Writing Aid.
Organization Tools
Trying to organize a massive project like a nonfiction book or novel can be overwhelming.
Writing tools to help you keep track of your plot, characters, and overall progress:
Scrivener
Cost: $40
Notes: Scrivener users call this the ultimate organization tool for writers. It allows you to view your notes, research, outline, and writing all in one place. It comes with several helpful tutorials.
Google Docs
Cost: Free
Notes: Google Docs is great for collaboration. It allows you to invite others to make suggestions and comment on your work. My team and I use it for nearly everything we write.
Click here to start using Google Docs.
Evernote
Cost: Free
Notes: Evernote helps organize your ideas, notes, research, or any other important information you want to quickly store as you find it so you can easily access it later.
Click here to start using Evernote.
The Novel Factory
Cost:
Windows desktop version: $39.99 one-time charge
Online version: $7.50 per month, $20 per month, or $60 per month (discounts for paying annually)
Notes: The Novel Factory is an online app that helps new writers complete their manuscripts and experienced writers become more productive. It contains dedicated tools to aid with plotting, character development, and drafting.
Click here to start using The Novel Factory.
Campfire Pro
Cost: $49.99 one-time charge
Notes: Campfire Pro is a writing software that helps you create and organize characters, plots, and worlds for your stories.
Click here to start using Campfire Pro.
Productivity Tools
If you’ve ever found yourself distracted by everything on your computer except what you should be working on, here’s a way to shut them out while you’re writing:
Freedom
Cost: $6.99 per month, $29 per year, or a one-time charge of $119.99
Notes: Freedom allows you to block apps, social media, email, and whatever websites you choose — and on your own schedule.
Qwerkywriter Keyboard
Cost: $249.99 – $299.00
Notes: I LOVE my Qwerkywriter keyboard! It reminds me of the manual typewriter (remember those?) I learned on back when the earth’s crust was cooling. Yet the Qwerkywriter has all the modern conveniences upon which we so depend. It has the feel and sound of the classics but does all the work of the moderns. I wouldn’t trade mine for anything. In fact, I have one for each of my computers.
Click here to buy your Qwerkywriter Keyboard.
Marketing Tools
Published or not, you need your own website to build a following and increase your visibility. A well thought-out website is the most effective marketing tool you can have.
Setting up a website or blog seems daunting, but even if you aren’t technically savvy, you can easily set up one with these resources:
Bluehost
Cost: $2.95 per month for basic hosting (exclusive deal)
Notes: Bluehost provides hosting, domain names, and other tools to help you easily create your author website.
Click here to get your hosting through Bluehost.
If you need help setting up your author website, I created a simple, start-to-finish guide to creating your very own within 30 minutes. Click here to check it out for free.
Mailchimp
Cost: Free with paid options
Notes: Mailchimp is easy-to-use email marketing software that helps you turn website visitors into customers and subscribers — a must for growing your audience.
Click here to start using Mailchimp.
Leadpages
Cost: Starts at $25 per month
Notes: Leadpages allows you to easily create landing pages (webpages where you can offer free stuff — like a story, a guide, or a free chapter of your book in exchange for a visitor’s email address). My team has used this to grow my email list to over 50,000 subscribers.
Click here to start using Leadpages.
Writer Coaching
Interested in having me mentor you while you write?
As a member of my exclusive online Jerry Jenkins Writers Guild, you get:
- Intensive live online writing workshops with tips you can immediately apply to your writing
- Interviews with top writing and publishing experts who reveal inside information
- Live Q&A with me where you can ask me anything
- A private community where you can connect and interact with fellow writers
- And so much more!
Registration opens only a few times per year.
Click here to join the waiting list!
Writing Courses
I offer several specialized, self-paced courses to help you hit the ground running with your novel or nonfiction book:
Confidence Jumpstart — Crush Your Fears and Write That Book!
Fiction Jumpstart — The Secrets to Writing a Compelling Novel
Writing for the Inspirational Market — A Guide to Writing with a Powerful Message
Others
Pen
Rollerball Pens
You can’t go wrong with a standard black and blue pen. “I always use the Elite pens. They make me feel special, and they write very well,” said University of Kentucky junior Howard Payne. They’ll allow you to take notes at any speed in any setting. If you tend to scribble out your notes at high speed during lecture, I’m looking at you.
Classic #2 Pencil
When in doubt, always go with a pencil. You’ll definitely need one for standardized testing and multiple-choice tests. “I always have to use pencil. I don’t know if it’s because of how I was raised, but I just cannot get into using pens,” said UK senior Eric Johnson. “I make mistakes all the time and am constantly having to erase.” Don’t we all?
Mechanical Pencil
Some people prefer to use mechanical pencils over regular pencils, because you don’t have to deal with tiresome burden of sharpening them. Let’s face it, most college classrooms don’t have pencil sharpeners anymore. UK sophomore Alex Graves said, “Mechanical pencils are my go to writing tool. They are really like my spirit animal.” This can’t be refuted, since it seems like a piece of cake to simply refill the pencils with lead. No need to cry over the lead breaking on a regular pencil any longer. These will certainly come in handy the next time you forget to charge your laptop.
Ergonomic Pencil Grip
“I have to use pencil grips. I can’t survive without them,” said UK sophomore Haley Harris. “They have become an intricate part of my life.” You can never go wrong with having a pencil, but it becomes a pain to grip the damn thing. We can all relate with our sore fingers in constant recovery from taking pages of notes at the speed of light with a pencil. These will make your scramble to finish that in class essay easier than deciding what to watch on Netflix.
Multicolor Pens
If you ever need to successfully complete a colorful project, look no further than these. They come in colors all across the spectrum. We all know adding colors to your notes makes studying something that doesn’t feel as torturous as a six-hour layover sans wifi. “I use these colored pens all the time for various crafts,” said UK senior Erie Fisher. “Doing something creative can be an easy way to escape from the stress of school.” Do you sometimes need to just color and forget about finals? The answer is hell yes, so grab those markers and color away.
Turquoise Fountain Pen
Using a fountain tip pen can feel like a magical experience. You can use it to write calligraphy and thick letters. It takes skill and talent to use one of these, but it’s worth the time and effort to learn how to master them. Plus, you’ll feel fancy AF, which doesn’t sound too bad.
GC Writing Quill Feather Pen
It may seem a bit far-fetched, but according to senior Chris Tucker, using a quill is the way to go in terms of writing. “I feel like I just came out of the world of Harry Potter. I use my quill to write messages to friends and send them with an owl,” said Tucker. In all seriousness, using this in the middle of class will probably make you stand out. It’ll certainly attract the attention of fellow Potterheads as well as the rare pen connoisseur.
Colored Pencils
Sometimes you just have to resort to using colored pencils if you run out of other writing tools. Every student should have some for that obscure craft assignment we all get. Even if you don’t like to color, you can always use them for throwing at those annoying kids in class who always interrupt the professor.
Sharpie Permanent Markers
At some point, most students will have to use a sharpie to write the name of their classes on the top of notebooks and folders. I can definitely attest to this, because I have a large stack of less than half filled notebooks with class titles on top. Always keep one handy because you’ll never know when you get the chance to draw on a snoozing classmate.
Best-rated pen
Pilot FriXion Clicker Erasable, Refillable & Retractable Gel Ink Pens$16 for 74.7 stars, 67,003 reviews
“In a world of fake news, where you can’t trust an Instagram model who says she really lost weight using the skinny tea, this pen stands out as a beacon of hope,” writes one reviewer of this pen, which really does what it says on the package. “It claims to be an ink pen, and it is! It claims to be erasable, and it is.” (We tested it and found that it erases “more cleanly and evenly than a pencil.”) Over 55,000 other five-star reviewers are just as impressed with this Pilot pen, and not just because you can erase its ink: “This pen is comfortable to hold, and it writes very smooth. It’s a lifesaver, a time saver, and my new favorite pen,” writes one self-proclaimed pen snob. And a college student who also uses this pen’s waste-saving refill feature likes that the pens “do not smudge and do not bleed through paper” and says they “would be miserable without them.” One reviewer notes, however, that the erasable quality of the ink is heat-activated, meaning there’s a chance that, “if put near high heat/sun/humidity, back pockets, etc., the ink will disappear.” They still give this pen five stars — claiming to be “flat-out addicted to these pens” — so it’s not a deal breaker, but it’s definitely important to keep in mind.$16 FOR 7 AT AMAZON
Best-rated (less expensive) pen
Paper Mate InkJoy 100ST Ballpoint Pens, Medium Point, 1.0mm, Assorted Colors4.7 stars, 22,350 reviews$3 for 18
More than 80 percent of reviewers give this set of colored ballpoint pens five stars, and many can’t believe their value. “I was honestly shocked at the great quality of these pens,” writes one reviewer, who was fully prepared to throw them away in disappointment, but “was pleasantly surprised when I received these, they are terrific!” They add, “These pens are actually triangular, which very comfortably fits in your hand just perfect. I mean, these are no high end pens, but for everyday writing with cool colors, they hit the mark, greatly exceeded my expectations.” Others praise them for not smudging or skipping. “They’re easy to hold, write smoothly, don’t skip, and are just great pens to have around,” says one repeat buyer. Plus, “These pens write like butter,” raves another reviewer. The one issue you might run into with pens these good is keeping track of them. One reviewer writes “I just wish people in my office would quit stealing them.
Best fine-tip gel pen
uni-ball 207 Retractable Gel Pens, Micro Point, Black$29 now 59% off4.7 stars, 24,630 reviews$12 for 12
“I don’t even know myself anymore. Except that I love these things. Heck I never knew I could have that kind of a relationship with a pen,” one reviewer writers. Another customer says they’re so in love with their pen that they even followed a classmate home who didn’t return their beloved Uni-Ball. It’s this pen’s fine tip that caused this reviewer to act so irrationally. Another reviewer who writes in “a thin loopy style” says, “That’s why I really enjoy the very fine tip of these pens; everything just looks so much neater.” Others love the pen’s “no-skip” smooth glide. One reports, “It writes like an angel gliding across a picturesque frozen lake on the most expensive ice skates.” Dozens also give these pens top marks for being long lasting. “You won’t find yourself scratching circles in scrap-paper trying to get the ink restarted… These things are ready to go when you are, until the last drop is gone.”$12 FOR 12 AT AMAZON
Best fine-tip ballpoint pen
Pilot Acroball PureWhite Ballpoint Pen, Assorted Colors, Black Ink$8 for 5$11 now 27% off4.8 stars, 3,225 reviews
“The bane of all fine-point users — finding a fine point that is dark enough to actually see — has finally been solved,” writes one reviewer, who thinks the secret is in the pen’s ink. “Pilot calls the ink ‘Advanced,’ but for me, the better word would be ‘Perfected.’ It is the darkest black ink from a fine point pen that I’ve ever seen.” Many other happy purchasers agree, saluting the Acroball’s combination of a fine tip and a winning ink formula. “The ink is always smooth, never gums up, and very fine, leaving your writing neat, precise, and clean,” says one, while another adds that the fine tip actually makes their handwriting easier to read. “My handwriting, which is cursive/chicken scratch, is more legible thanks to the ultra fine point. The ink also dries super fast with minimal smudging and glides onto the paper as smooth as butter.” And finally, many love the design of these pens, highlighting the “unique white barrel” and the “vibrant and fun” accent colors.$8 FOR 5 AT AMAZON
Best no-bleed pen
Sharpie Plastic Point Stick Water Resistant Pen, Ink, Fine, Black$30 now 50% off
4.8 stars, 4,754 reviews$15 for 12
“When Sharpie launched this pen that doesn’t bleed I did cartwheels,” says one reviewer, and nearly of a quarter of reviewers were just as excited about these no-bleed pens. “They do not smear while writing like so many other pens do,” says another. One says this claim holds up “even when using it to write on dinky recycled paper that I got from the dollar store, it doesn’t bleed out onto the pages below.” One leftie even says that they “don’t have trouble with these smudging.” Others just like the way these write. “Sharpie Pen is my go-to writing instrument for beautiful, permanent, ‘write on virtually anything’ writing needs,” one says. “Every single day. The sturdy, fine tip and smooth tip edges provide a consistently smooth, ‘get out of the way’ delivery of clean, smudge-proof penmanship.”$15 FOR 12 AT AMAZON
Best pen for lefties
Uni-Ball Jetstream Ballpoint$11 now 9% off4.7 stars, 1,999 reviews$10 for 4
This pen has a vocal fanbase on Amazon, many of whom are lefties who appreciate its fast-drying ink that “dries almost instantly” and doesn’t smudge when they write. As one lefty says, “Being left-handed, I have always had a problem of ink smearing and making a mess, not just on me but also on the card or letter that I was writing. I also have not been able to find a pen that doesn’t skip, one that writes smoothly and just feels good using it. This pen solved all of my problems! I love using it. It puts the fun back into writing!” Another raves, “Writes really smooth and dries quickly. A must have for left-handed people!”$10 FOR 4 AT AMAZON
Best multicolor pen set for bullet journaling
iBayam Journal Planner Pens4.7 stars, 62,251 reviews$8 for 18
More than 200 five-star reviewers who bullet journal love this set of multicolor iBayam pens. “These exceeded my expectations,” writes one such reviewer who was looking for fine-tip pens with minimal bleed and likes that the pens also “write fluidly” and the colors are “bright and unique.” Another reviewer who purchased the set to help their daughter start bullet journaling reports that the pens don’t bleed through paper and have minimal ghosting and no smudging. And a third reviewer praises the pens’ “vibrant” colors and how thinly and precisely they write, which makes it “so much easier to design my bullet journal.
Conclusion
Did you know that the average person only has about 20 minutes to grab someone’s attention? You’ve got to capture them in the first few lines—or you might lose them forever. And while you can always tell them your story later, it’s much easier to get their interest in the beginning.