Honing your writing skills is essential, and not just for your professional life. Someday, you may want to share your view on social media, send an invitation, or start keeping a journal. While taking shorthand notes saves much time if the content if for someone else other than you, it’s best to demonstrate a professional level or writing abilities.
As you look at your favorite writers, you may think that they generate flawless content, at the snap of their fingers. No! That’s not how it goes. For many, it involves a lot of practice and desire to improve, from one project to another. Now technology has improved various aspects of our lives, including providing writers with solutions for their needs.
Some use a paraphrase converter for their paraphrasing needs, and you can find editors that give you a fresh analysis of the quality of your work, etc. Below are tools that will help you become a better writer:
1. Evernote – Take Notes
Our best ideas often come when you least expect them. Evernote is a note-taking app that allows you to save your thoughts, even in audio form. You can also clip web pages for reference later, using their Web Clipper extension.
2. WriteMonkey – Focus
When writing, it’s easy to get distracted, especially when you hit writer’s block. Everything else seems much more appealing than getting yourself out of this rut. This tool is easy to use, almost like a typewriter.
It also has other exciting features such as automatic spell check.
3. One Look Reverse Dictionary – Jog your Memory
Yes, we’ve all had moments when we couldn’t pinpoint the exact word you’d like to use. Just type in the concept you are thinking about, and the tool will give you words and phrases that relate to it. Who knows, you may even find better alternatives.
4. Toggl – Track Time
You may need to keep track of the time you spend on a particular project. If that’s the case, try using this tool. It records the time you spend on a task and will also send you reports. Just in case someone wants to know how much time you spent on a project.
5. OnlineParaphrase.NET – Professional Paraphrasing
Instances of plagiarism have increased over time. It is so, even though using text paraphraser could help one avoid it. Many people may not be comfortable with using paraphrasing tools due to fears of producing poor quality content.
The tool above, however, also includes human proofreading to ensure the final document is understandable.
6. Hemingway Editor – Effective Writing
For those who are verbose, this tool comes in handy by helping one identify words or phrases that are wordy or have the wrong format. It helps one achieve clarity in their writing by highlighting areas that need changes, e.g. using complicated words that are dull, passive voice, and more.
7. Hipster Sound – Improve Productivity
Some people function best in specific environments. Those who need ambient noise in the background for them to be at their optimal level of productivity, try using this tool.
8. Goodreads – Engage Other Writers
Here, you can organize your reading list in “shelves” depending on what you’ve read, are reading or planning to read. It’s also a platform to interact with other avid book lovers and writers.
9. Daily Page – Regular Practice
Writing is a craft that you improve with practicing on the regular. This tool will help you unlock your creativity by sending you prompts daily, which you answer in at least one paragraph. When you respond, you can opt to share it with others or keep it private.
10. Quora – Get Ideas
It’s a question and answer platform that allows you to join in the discussions or start one. You can also use it to identify the trending topics.
Conclusion
Sometimes as a writer, you may need all the help you can get. It can be in the form of a grammar checker, or an online paraphrasing tool. Whatever the case, find one that works for you.