5 Writing and Inspiration Apps Every Writer Should Consider
By Tess Pajaron/ Writing a novel comes with a lot of ups and downs.
There are days without inspiration, days when you learn you’ve been punctuating wrong for your whole life, and days when you would rather throw your manuscript down a toilet than continue. These apps will help you to keep inspired and write with confidence every day. Give them a try to make your next work a best-seller.
1. Grammarly
Many of us who have tried Grammarly are familiar with a feeling that is all too common: how did we ever manage before it? Grammarly corrects your grammar and spelling, and is smart enough to flag up the incorrect uses of certain words. It will offer corrections but also tell you why those corrections are being made, helping you to learn more for the future. There’s a premium version for upgrade if you want even more tips, but there’s also a free version which you can use whenever.
2. Scrivener
Scrivener is like Microsoft Word, only with all of the unnecessary parts taken out and lots more useful features added in. Most exciting is the ability to put everything into sections. Use them to separate out chapters, to create contents pages and synopses, and then rearrange everything later when you decide you want to put some of the story into flashbacks. You can also keep working while out and about, with a handy app for those moments when you just have to write down what you’re thinking.
3. Hemingway
Hemingway is an app which is all about improving your writing style from Open Collgeges. It helps to do things like take out adverbs, cut sentences down to a readable length, change your syntax, and eliminate the passive voice. It can also confirm your word count, give you a rating for how readable your work is, and help with formatting. When you first load it up there’s an example screen to show you have everything works, so you can have a bit of a practice before you put it into action.
4. The Brainstormer
Stuck for an idea? The Brainstormer is an app which can give you a whole new novel in one spin of the wheel. It will offer you a plot starter, story setting, subject matter, and even style with one touch. Keep spinning until you see something that catches your eye – or sparks off another idea inside your head. You can use this to create a new novel, or just to do some creative thinking while you are stuck on your present work. They also have character and world building wheels which you can upgrade to.
5. Lists for Writers
Stuck for ideas even though you’ve tried The Brainstormer? Alright, head over to Lists for Writers. This app takes things a step further. There are whole lists of things that you might want to include in your novel. These include plot points, character traits, phobias, weather types, dramatic situations, genres, occupations, and so much more. If you need to create someone – or somewhere – new, then this is the ultimate tool to get your mind working. Best-selling author James Patterson recommends making a list of character traits when you start a new novel, then refining it down to the most interesting 3-5 that you picked out.
These apps will all help you to get that novel written. They will spark the initial idea, create a world for you, allow you to write in peace, and even provide the much-needed editing afterward. No matter what genre of novels you write, you will definitely find these tools useful – whether you are a beginner or a seasoned hand.
With a background in business administration and management, Tess Pajaron currently works at Open Colleges, Australia’s leading online educator. She likes to cover stories in careers, writing and marketing.
https://www.opencolleges.edu.
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