Whether you’re writing a book, blog post, or academic paper, there are many challenges to writing well. Spelling, grammar, and punctuation are some of the main concerns, but you also need to create a schedule that you can stick to, remain productive, and meet deadlines.
Managing the organization of larger projects is also a major concern for many writers. You need to understand the conventions of the genre you’re working in. It’s nice when a software program can help you identify areas of your writing that aren’t technically wrong but could be stated in more powerful ways.
There are many types of writing programs on the market, and these are five of the best ones.
Squibler
If you’re looking for book writing software that’s aimed at people who would like to write fiction or non-fiction, you should check out Squibler. Whether you want to write a screenplay, a novel, a children’s book, or a non-fiction book, there are templates available that will make organizing your thoughts simple.
In addition, If you ever struggle with finding inspiration, you’ll love the writing prompts. There’s even a timer that pushes you to put words on the screen. Squibler has a free version and a paid version, so you can try it before you put your money towards the product.
Scrivener
If you’ve ever felt completely lost while working on a long project, you should take a look at Scrivener. This word processing and document management system is great for organizing your thoughts and work.
Perhaps you’re writing a novel, non-fiction book, academic research paper, academic essays, or any other type of project that’s difficult to manage because of its length and complexity. Use Scrivener to help you better see the trajectory of an argument or the narrative arc of a story.
Scrivener lets you compare two documents side by side. This can be used for many things. You can check consistency between two parts of your text, or look at a photograph you’re describing, for example.
There’s also a corkboard feature that shows you an overview of your work all at once so that you can better understand how each piece of text is fitting with everything else. You can even reorganize your draft simply by moving one of the parts on the corkboard. You can use this feature to create the structure of your text before writing, and you can modify your structure easily as you go.
The entire concept behind Scrivener is like a ring binder, which lets you easily rearrange pieces of text. You can also set target goals, and you can even import notes from documents outside of Scrivener.
Lastly, if you ever struggle to remember which parts of your manuscript are finished and which parts still need editing, you’ll love how Scrivener allows for color-coding sections according to their level of completion.
If you’re still unsure, take a look at this Scrivener review. It tells you even more about how Scrivener can help you manage your projects.
Ulysses
If you want an easy way to manage your blog posts, copywriting materials, and general website content, you should take a look at Ulysses. This software is especially great when you use it for short-form writing.
It’s also useful for projects that you intend to publish online because you can easily export to HTML or even auto-publish on WordPress or Medium. This app helps you organize all of your writing projects in a single library while helping you set and stick to your goals and track deadlines.
Keeping track of secondary information that doesn’t belong in the text but is relevant to it can be a struggle as well. If this is you, you’ll appreciate the ability to attach information like keywords, images, and notes to your text.
Freedom
It’s common for writers to get distracted by text messages, social media, email, and other interruptions. Freedom blocks these messages so you can spend more time working and less time checking your inboxes.
If you have a tendency to become distracted by websites as well, you’ll love that Freedom can also block this. Freedom works with Mac, iOS, Android, Windows, and Chrome, and it syncs all of your devices. You can also plan out your schedule and track your work time.
Hemingway Editor
In the online world, readers value clear and concise prose. Ernest Hemingway was known for writing short sentences with simple words that even elementary students could understand easily.
This concept is used with the Hemingway Editor app, which scans your text for passive voice, complex phrases, and sentences that are simply difficult to read because they’re too long. The app also assigns a reading grade level to your text so that you can determine if you’re writing at a level that your intended audience will understand.
Hemingway Editor also catches adverbs, which often detract from your meaning by adding clutter. Long, complicated sentences, passive voice, and adverbs are highlighted with a color-coded system so that identifying problem sentences is easy.
The app itself is free, but a one-time payment gives you access to bonus features – the offline desktop app being the most notable.
Improve Your Writing With These Tools
You can spend years working towards becoming a better writer, but many apps can help you speed up the process. They will show you where you could improve your text, and help you manage large, complicated projects.
Many of these apps have free versions, so you only need to buy the apps that will genuinely benefit you and your writing style and genre.