7 Apps Writers Should Explore

I was killing time slowly starting this morning—still tired from the long holiday weekend.

So I was cruising the internet, much as I used to cruise the loop from Jeannette’s Diner (best curly fries ever) at the north end of my small  town to Loop Road at the south end.

Ah the life of a teenager—driving around just to see what was going on and who else was driving the strip through town. That old movie American Graffiti was way before my time, but the small town world it showed was still my small town world.

But I digress. I want to ask about the writing apps I found and explored. Voilà! Inspiration for today’s post.

I downloaded the ones that worked for me. I’m sharing the ones I explored because you might like some of them too. For your consideration…

7 Apps Every Writer Needs

Needs? Well, if only for the fun factor, but some are very useful.

1. The Hemingway App
Ernest Hemingway’s writing style was simple and direct. He could have been the inspiration for the “less is more” design ethic.

This app grades your writing by its readability. The higher the grade level, the harder your writing is to read. It checks adverb usage, word and phrase simplicity, and passive voice usage.

2. Evernote
The basic version of this which is the note taking is free. The next plan up is $7.99 per month. Evernote helps you capture and prioritize ideas, projects, and to-do lists, so nothing falls through the cracks.

Evernote helps you manage everything from big projects to personal moments, capture ideas and inspiration in notes, voice, and pictures, and helps you keep us with deadlines.

3. Simplenote
Is available on Apple devices, Android, and Windows. You can use it everywhere. and your notes stay updated across all your devices. No buttons to press. It just does it.

You can stay organized, find notes quickly with instant search and simple tags, work with a team, sharing lists, posting instructions, or publishing your notes online. Notes are backed up when you change them. There’s much more, and it’s all completely free.

4. Day One
If you’ve tried keeping a journal and couldn’t, this app is for you. It’s always available for you to make notes about what you’re doing. You can look back and see what you were doing a year from now.

The Basic is free forever. The paid Premium is $2.92 per month and allows you to sync over all your devices and has many more options.

5. TextExpander
Do you write contracts or have to insert your biography into marketing forms? This app will help you do that. TextExpander lets you instantly insert snippets of text from a saved text files or boilerplate contracts, etc.

6. FocusWriter
If you have a hard time staying focused on your work in progress, then try FocusWriter, a simple, distraction-free writing environment.

The app uses a hide-away interface that enables your monitor to be a “blank page.” Available for Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X, it’s also been translated into different languages. The app is free, but there’s a button to tip the creator $5.00.

7.Cold Turkey Writer
This app has free and a paid versions. It turns your computer into a typewriter by blocking out everything on your computer until you reach your writing goal.

Set your options like blocking everything out, disabling backspace or copy paste, and several more options.

Then set a goal, either a time length or word count, click start, and begin typing. If you set the option, you’re blocked from accessing anything else on your computer.

When you reach your goal, the block goes away. This seems to be the perfect app for getting a draft written fast.

Takeaway Truth

I love finding apps that actually help with productivity. Whether you’re a professional writer or someone who must write for your day job, you’ll find these apps useful. Let me know if you use any of them.