4 Essential Writing Tools that Will Help You Reach Your Writing Goals

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There are 4 essential writing tools that will help you reach your writing goals, whether you’re writing a book, an article, an essay, or publishing a blog post. These 4 tools are guaranteed to increase your effectiveness and your efficiency as a writer.

FYI, this post has been written by Dave Chesson (and edited by Lorraine Reguly, owner of Wording Well).

I’m not an advocate of using a tool for everything. I feel it’s possible to get almost everything you need taken care of as a writer using only the basic tools that come with your computer.

However, I’m a firm believer that a few carefully chosen tools can make a big difference.  In some cases, as I’ll discuss, they can even help lower costs in the long run.

So, to help you potentially get the most out of these tools, I’m going to share with you my personal picks for writing that are truly worth your time. They’ve made a big difference to my writing life and I hope they help yours as well.

Essential Writing Tool #1: Specialist Writing Software

The first category of tool I’ll recommend is specialized writing software.

There’s nothing particularly wrong with Word or Google Docs… but, while these may be fine for casual writers, there are far more suitable options out there for serious writers.  With the right tools, you can become more organized, track better, and get into the writer zone with greater ease.

Scrivener

Scrivener is my personal writing software, and it’s also favored by big-name bestselling authors such as Michael Hyatt.

Scrivener is absolutely packed full of features, so expect a slight learning curve if you’re using it for the first time.  But once you know how to fully use it, it is incredible what you can do, and how you can organize your writing.

Some of the main reasons I personally favor Scrivener and why I recommend it so strongly include:

1: It is packed with everything you need to write a book, including fully integrated research, and the ability to visually storyboard your work.

2: It is complete with formatting capabilities and options to export into any e-book format.

3: It is customizable with access to a large list of Scrivener templates, allowing you to make Scrivener fit your writing style, genre, or purpose.

4: There is an app version for iOS. This is great for editing on the go.

5: Its excellent value – you can try Scrivener for a full 30 days for free, and then you can save even more money by using a Scrivener discount code to help lower the costs further.

6: Scrivener is always offering new versions and updates.

Scrivener takes some getting used to at first, but I wouldn’t want to write a book using anything else these days.

FYI, if you need a hand getting your book published, let Lorraine help you. She offers author assistant services via Wording Well!

yWriter

yWriter is a great example of software created by someone who truly needed it.

Frustrated by the options available to him while he was working on his own novels, the creator of yWriter decided to take matters into his own hands and create the software he needed to write his books.

yWriter is only available for PC, but if that’s you, it’s well worth checking out because:

1: The software is totally free to use despite having a lot of premium features.

2: It was created with fiction writers in mind, so yWwriter has the option to store data related to characters, scenes, and objects.

3: It is updated regularly with new features. yWriter is constantly being worked on, with new versions in beta mode at all times.

Overall, Ywriter isn’t as powerful and slick as Scrivener, but considering it’s free, it’s superb, making it a great option for Windows writers. Read More

New Technology vs. Old-Fashioned Writing Methods: What’s the Best Way to Write?

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How fond are you of writing? What’s the best way to write? Which writing method is your favorite?

Writing, as an art form and communication means, has evolved and thrived for thousands of years since carvings on walls. There is not one exact piece of evidence for where writing originated, as its earliest forms were found in various parts of the world by written Egyptians and Sumerians. Their writings were discovered dated from 3500-3200 BC.

Today, we have more modern writing methods. From using a desktop computer, laptop, tablet, to a smart typewriter that can store millions of documents and connect to the Internet, modern-day writing has made it easy to gain knowledge and gather information.

Indeed, writing has created a strong and never-ending bridge of possibilities for speakers and readers of all languages locally and around the world. It promotes talent, expression and much more. Writing will continue to progress.

Let’s look at a few novel writing instruments in history. Some of these writing methods, obviously, are no longer used today, as they have been replaced by other writing methods as history advanced, but it’s fascinating to see the evolution of different writing methods! (Note: These writing methods are different from writing tools!)

Reed Pen

Reed pens go back as far as ancient Egypt in the 4th Century. They used to come with a split nib. They are a writing tool that works by cutting then shaping a straw of reed or bamboo.

Quill Pen and Ink

With the aid of ink for permanence, quill pens are plucked from big-sized birds or geese. Many people still love the use of the quill as its sharp strokes offer style, accuracy as well as flexibility versus the contemporary ballpoint pen.

Someone actually bought me a quill pen and ink set as a Christmas gift one year!

Fountain Pen

A fountain pen or nib pen contains a slim container for liquid ink. The nib plants the ink to the paper by means of drawing the ink from its reservoir.

Check out these cool ways of writing! #writers #freel­ancers #bloggers

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5 Sites to Use to Improve your Writing Skills

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As people, it is second nature for us to want to improve ourselves.

It is why many of us read books for ways to improve communication skills and others look for ways to improve their relationships. On a less serious note, it also why people now know that sites like newcasinosonline.co can improve your card gaming skills, and spend hours on them.

The desire to become better at everything we do is noble and ingrained; and on that note, today we are going to look at 5 sites that can help you improve your writing skills to improve the readability of your blog content or take your freelance career to a new level.

Use these 5 Sites to Improve your #Writing Skills #writers #freel­ancers

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5 Sites you can Use to Improve your Writing Skills

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8 Great Writing Tools to Keep You Motivated to Write

 

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Are you an UNMOTIVATED writer?

If you are, then I have some good news for you!

My guest today, Linda Craig, has compiled a list of 8 great writing resources to help you become motivated again! She’s also appeared on Laying It Out There; she wrote the post How Writers Can Use Blogging to Increase Reading Audience!

Take it away, Linda!

Motivation is KEY to Success

A writer’s motivation determines the success of his/her projects. You might be really inspired with an idea, but your motivation to devote hours, days, and weeks to it may evaporate as soon as you start working. The lack of commitment may result from improper time-management skills, distractive writing environment, improper idea-gathering techniques, or personal issues that don’t allow you to focus on the work.

There are different ways to surpass these issues. One of them is by using online tools and resources that keep you focused on the work and inspire you to write more content in less time. Let’s check out 8 awesome writing tools that will motivate you to bring your ideas to life!

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Some FUN Writing Tools to Get You In the #writing Mood

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Admit it. Writing can be both boring and difficult. Sometimes it is a good idea to take a break and play some games, but if you are trying to stay focused, here are a few tools to motivate you, help improve your writing, conquer writer’s block, and make it fun again.

Some unique and  fun writing tools include:

A Cliché Finder – a must-have for any writer

BlaBlaMeter – it lets you know how much bullshit hides in your text…

Written? Kitten! – counts your words as you type them and shows you a picture of a dog or a cat every 100 words (or 200, 500, or 1000)

I Write Like – a free, statistical analysis tool, which analyzes your word choice and writing style and compares them with those of the famous writers.

Vocabulary.com – provides a multiple choice quiz to help you learn new words (or to reinforce the meaning of words you might already know

One Look Dictionary Search – a unique search tool that helps you find what you need

I have to give a shout-out to Michele Clements James for the last four tools. 🙂

750 Words –  This site tracks your word count, gives you a nice big screen to write on, automatically scrolls as you write (like a typewriter), and automatically saves your writing as you go.  It also lets you know when you’ve passed the 750-word mark. 250 words per page is considered to be the standard accepted number of words per page. So, three standard pages are about 750 words. (Yes, I know I already mentioned this tool already.)

6 writing tools

YOUR TURN to share:

Share your favorite tool in the comment section. (If you cannot include a link due to the anti-spam plugin I use on this site, simply spell out the URL, and I’ll make sure to include the correct in my response to you.)

 

Did You Know You Could Become a Freelance Editor?

Being a freelance editor, in my opinion, is even better than being a freelance writer. First of all, it pays more. Secondly, it is the best job I could ever ask for. I love editing, I love words, and I love helping others. Finally, I love reaping the many rewards (check out the many benefits of being a freelance editor).

If you are not currently working at your dream job and want to be a freelance editor, then sign up to get on the “interest list” for my upcoming course!

I am in the process of designing a course that will teach you EVERYTHING about being a work-from-home editor and entrepreneur.

This includes:

– how to get paid up-front… ALWAYS! (before you do any work)

– how to get testimonials

– how to market yourself

– where to find work

– how to leverage social media for your business (because, YES, you will be actually running a business if you are successful!)

– how to keep accurate records

– how to easily calculate your costs

– how to communicate with potential clients so they turn into ACTUAL clients

– how to organize your time (so you can complete all of the tasks involved in running your biz)

– how to deal with difficult clients

– which projects to accept

– when to raise your rates

– AND MORE! (INCLUDING BONUSES!)

Plus, I want to get to know you so that I can give you EXACTLY what you need to succeed!

So, DO you want to know more about how to become a freelance editor?

If so, SIGN UP HERE.