06 Oct 12 Best Writing Apps for Writers
As a writer, I know how the writing process can sometimes be thought through. Besides the creative part, where the most energy is invested, there is a technical part of the writing. Every writer occasionally deals with technicalities such as checking for spelling and grammatical errors, finding the best matching synonym, choosing the proper style format, taking notes, and quickly navigating through them.
Every writer needs help to be as productive as possible. Today, that kind of help can be easily found among many writing apps available across Android and App Stores. These apps can ensure your writing process passes smoothly without wasting your precious time.
However, there are numerous apps, and finding the one that best suits your needs can be tough. That’s why I’ve created this list of the 12 most popular and most helpful writing apps so you can easily find the perfect one that matches your writing needs.
1. Zoho Writer
What is it? Word processor, the free alternative to Microsoft Word
Who is it for? Larger companies with decentralized teams, freelancers, and anyone who needs quality syncing in real-time.
About Zoho:
The Zoho application is a part of the Zoho Docs family that allows users to join forces and work together on the same project in real time. This app is suitable for Android just like iOS users. Its primary focus is on providing a more productive working flow as it lets its users work simultaneously on the same document and edit it together. It’s of the highest interest for larger companies with globally decentralized teams. Still, freelancers can also have huge benefits, such as reducing communication expenses and significantly reducing the time invested in one project.
Where to purchase? It’s available as a free online tool or to be downloaded via App Store or Google Play
How much does it cost? It’s free
Further research – Zoho review
2. ProWritingAid
What is it? Proofreading and editing tool
Who is it for? Anyone who needs an easy way to quickly and accurately check for spelling and grammatical errors
About ProWriting Aid:
This app is an excellent online editor. The primary purpose of this app is to help writers quickly and easily clear their text from accidentally misspelled words, identify grammatical mistakes, and check for plagiarized content and possible contextual errors. The best part of this app is that it offers numerous different improvements to any mistake that the software identifies, so there are better chances that every writer will find the best matching solution to a problem with their writing style. This app is strictly for Windows or Mac users and it can’t be used on smartphones.
Where to purchase? It’s available as an online tool or once ProWriting Aid is purchased, it can be accessed via the desktop app
How much does it cost? Available as a free online tool or in a premium version to be downloaded.
Further research – ProWriting Aid review
3. Scrivener
What is it? Paid word processing software
Who is it for? Primarily for writers who are writing more significant pieces of content on an everyday basis
About Scrivener:
This fantastic app is mainly intended for writers who need help writing larger forms of content, such as books, for example, or any project that requests a larger scale of writing. The main benefits of this app are that it lets you import almost everything you need from your research, photos, art, links, outlines, etc, and not just your text. This app also let you organize everything you’ve import and counted, it lets you brainstorm, plan, write and finally format it as you wish. Scrivener comes in Mac and Windows versions and, for iOS users, is also available.
Where to purchase? Available for purchase as a desktop program and on App Store
How much does it cost? There are two pricing options: full price for standard purposes and discount price for academic writing.
Further research – Scrivener review
4. Evernote
What is it? An app that enables you to take notes
Who is it for? Any writer who needs help with organizing his notes
About Evernote:
This affordable yet handy app has long led note-taking and syncing apps. Evernote is a cloud-based tool that lets you quickly take notes on your computer or smartphone. It’s available for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS. What’s probably interesting the most is that notes can be accessed offline, although, for smartphones, a paid membership is required. Evernote has three plan options, and the first one is free. The free plan includes almost all premium member features, and the limitations are primarily in the size of the notes and the number of uploads.
Where to purchase? Available for desktop download or via App Store or Google Stores
How much does it cost? There are free plan options as well as paid ones.
Further research – Evernote review
5. yWriter
What is it? It is an excellent tool for chopping and changing
Who is it for? Novel or book writers or anyone writing longer forms of content
About yWriter:
yWriter is similar to Scrivener and organized around novel structured projects. Each project is divided into chapters, which are further divided into scenes. There is an option to efficiently specify characters, locations, items, and pictures in tabs for quick research on any vital information. This platform is free to download and use. However, this application is mainly for Windows users.
Where to purchase? Available for free desktop download
How much does it cost? It’s free
Further research – yWriter review
6. Fade In
What is it? Screenwriting software
Who is it for? Screenwriters
About Fade In:
If you aren’t familiar with this application, let’s introduce it as a powerful, straightforward, and softer screenwriter. What makes this application especially interesting is the interface’s color, which is always dark or black. This is done to help all professional writers who stare for hours at a computer screen. The black interface is much easier on the eye. All screenplays you create in Fade In are saved as Fountain fail, meaning you can open and edit it in any text tool.
Where can you purchase it? Available for desktop purchase or via App Store or Google Play
How much does it cost? It’s a paid tool with a free trial option
Further research – Fade In a review
7. Libre Office
What is it? Free office software, a free alternative to Microsoft Office
Who is it for? For all writers who are looking for lower costs office software
About Libre Office:
LibreOffice is a suite of office software that presents a free Microsoft Office alternative for all those needing an excellent office packet. The LibreOffice is complete software with features almost entirely replicating Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. Furthermore, it’s compatible with different document formats, such as newer DOCX, PPT, and PPTX files. This free office suite is available for Windows and Mac users, and lately, an experimental Android app – LibreOffice Viewer – is not stable enough for now.
Where to purchase? Available for desktop download and on Google Play
How much does it cost? It’s free
Further research – Libre Office review
8. Ulysses
What is it? Text only editor
Who is it for? For writers who would instead focus on content rather than on formatting
About Ulysses:
Ulysses app for Mac and iOS users only provides minimal user experience. It is unreplaceable for those who need a straightforward focus on writing and don’t like to waste much time on different buttons, menus, and interfaces. It’s a perfect app for anyone who believes that less is more. The huge advantage of this app is its signature feature, Markdown. Put it – it’s a way to apply basic formatting to text without using any buttons or menus. The advantage lies in easily exporting a file from Markdown to HTML or PDF, as Markdown language will always translate clearly into proper style. This way, writers ensure they don’t lose their valuable time and energy exploring many different typeface options but rather save time for more critical tasks.
Where to purchase? It’s available for purchase on Mac or on the App Store
How much does it cost? It’s available for a subscription, either monthly or yearly
Further research – Ulysses review
9. Writer
What is it? No fuss space to write
Who is it for? For writers who want to write without unnecessary features for formatting and editing text
About Writer:
The Writer is an app that primarily enables users to write without distraction. Therefore, it’s pretty simple and convenient – similar to Ulysses, but this app is only available for Android users. It also supports Markdown, so if you aren’t familiar with this feature, it’s the end time to become familiar with it. What’s important also to mention is that this app performs exceptionally well on more significant documents, which isn’t the case with the other apps of this type, as many different apps fell on the task of performing the same quality of output when more significant documents needed to be entered.
Where to purchase? The writer is available only on Google play
How much does it cost? It’s free
Further research – Writer review
10. AP Stylebook
What is it? Associated Press Stylebook in digital form
Who is it for? Mostly for journalist
About AP Stylebook:
Rather than carrying this inconvenient and unhandy 638-page book wherever you go, you can subscribe to AP Stylebook Web-based service and ensure you stay unpadded frequently with the latest changes in AP Style writing. This AP Stylebook subscription comes with the useful Ask the Editor feature so you can easily overcome any doubt. Subscription to AP Stylebook is a paid membership, but the convenience is that the companion app for iOS is free.
Where to purchase? AP Stylebook offers a paid subscription and an iOS companion app.
How much does it cost? You’ll need to pay for a subscription to purchase an AP Stylebook.
Further research – AP Stylebook review
11. Day One
What is it? Journal app
Who is it for? For anyone who enjoys keeping a journal
About Day One:
This is the go-to app for all of you who like writing journals. It’s a fantastic app developed especially for those writers who believe that journals can shape their skills and make them even better writers than they already are. This app has all it takes to quickly enter and shape your text in the best possible way, with endless other functional possibilities such as calendars, reminders, sharing and publishing, timelines, filters, and search functions. This paid app can be purchased via the Mac Store or App Store.
Where to purchase? Available only via Mac or App Store
How much does it cost? It’s a paid app
Further research – Day One review
12.Mind Note
What is it? Mind mapping app
Who is it for? For anyone who likes mind mapping his thoughts
About Mind Note:
Visualizing your thoughts can be very useful when brainstorming different ideas and ways to go at the beginning of your writing process. This app is irreplaceable for all of you who like mind mapping on the computer. This mind map application allows you to adorn branches of your map with photos and stickers from the app’s bank of stickers. This enables you to express your thoughts even more clearly through visualities. Also, it allows you to sync any task with other “to-do” apps, leaving you with a more productive outcome and saving you time and energy. This app is only for Apple users, so it’s available only through the Mac and App Store.
Where to purchase? On Mac store or App store
How much does it cost? It’s a paid app with three paid solutions
Further research – Mind Note review
I hope this post helped. Comment below what writing app you love and use.
If you have any questions about writing, self-publishing, or blogging, message me, at Kim@Browngirlswhowrite.com and I will write a blog post about it.
Kim 🙂
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