Download writing apps

Most word processors can add a lot of background code over the time you take to write a long document. Cut and pasting, saving, deletions, forgotten tabs and spaces, and formatting changes all add up to a lot that can go wrong.

Because of all this code, there is a chance that the text might have issues when you use it online. It can be especially true if you use WordPress and also in publishing in ebooks. The quickest and easiest way to clean a document, big or small, is to copy all the text into a basic text editor such as Notepad or TextEdit. You can then convert everything to plain text. Then you can copy back the clean text into your blog editor or word processor for ebook formatting.

However, many writers now favor Libre Office. These two office suites branched from the same development stable, so they have a lot of similarities. However, it uses traditional and straightforward menus, toolbars, and icons but does not have the ribbon function found in Word. In some ways, this is a good thing because it lets you get on with the writing process instead of hunting in ribbons for buttons. If you want simplicity, AbiWord is well worth trying. It has been around for a long time now, and while it might look a little outdated, its functionality is not.

The best way to describe AbiWord is uncluttered. It is ideal if you are looking to write distraction-free. However, due to its print limitations that require an external program to see a print preview, it might not be the best alternative to write your book. Like other alternative word processors, it has all the standard features you would expect, and it works with most file types. One of its key features is that it allows drag and drop paragraphs, which can, at times, be practical.

While Excel has had this for years, Word never has, so working on two documents at the same time is much more efficient in WPS. Free Office gets a mention because it can export. It is a convenient tool for self-publishers.

Apart from that inconvenience, it has all the advanced features you would expect in a modern word processor. It comes with advanced formatting options, the ability to create databases for bibliographies and footnotes, as well as track change.

All you need is your free Dropbox account to use Dropbox Paper. As well as being a text editor, you can add audio, images, Youtube videos, Slideshare documents, and Trello cards. It really is a great free writing app for you to create documents and then share them with your team or online. FocusWriter is a simple, distraction-free writing environment. It uses a full-screen hide-away interface that you access by moving your mouse to the edges of the screen. It allows the program to have a familiar look and feel to it.

But by getting everything out of the way, you can immerse yourself in your work. Calmly Writer has been designed to help you focus on writing. Zoho Writer is an online alternative to Microsoft Word. Almost everything you do in Word, you can do with this word processor. There are even collaboration tools. Scribus is an open-source program for desktop publishing. It gets a mention here because it is free, but also because it is such a feature-rich cross-platform program. Perhaps it is not a choice for most authors and bloggers.

But you might have a desktop publishing need one day. Are you ready to start writing a book? You need to hunt a little to find good writing programs for writing books and novels. A writing app or author software for a book is entirely different from a word processor.

The best book writing programs consist of many elements. You need plot timelines, character builders, and event tracking. It should also include note-taking and research pinning tools. Here are four of the best book apps and free writing software to help with writing and publishing your books or ebooks. For a dedicated book writing tool, Shaxpir gives you a lot of features in its free version.

The Manuscript Builder uses drag-and-drop tools to rearrange your manuscript. You can change the order and hierarchy of chapters and scenes. So you can find a structure that works for you. You can set your goals and track your progress. You can also keep detailed notes about your characters, places, and events. As far as a book writing program or author app goes, Shaxpir offers you a huge range of features.

It is not free writing software, but I have to include Scrivener in this list of apps because there is a generous trial available. There is also side-by-side viewing, word count targets, and a full-screen editor along with print, export, and publishing tools. It has everything any writer could ever need. But it is counted by the days that you use the software. So if you use it every second day, your trial period will last you for 60 days.

Scrivener is available for download for both Windows and Mac. There are also iOS apps for iPhone and iPad. To save a piece of writing, it supports the same five formats. But, you can use Print option to save it as a PDF too. FocusWriter is nice writing software which lets you put your creative thoughts out there with all the essential tools. Celtx is a creative writing software which lets you write for various projects like film , theater , storyboard , novel , audio play , comic book , etc.

The three main features to highlight in Celtx are:. It provides basic tools to modify content like customizing font type, color, and size, adding typographical emphasis bold, italic, underline, and strikethrough , aligning text, adding bullets or numbering, etc. This free writing software supports only Celtx project to import or export. Celtx is a nice software to create different media projects. It provides all essential tools to write for a special project like screenplay, stage play, storyboard, comic book, etc.

It also lets you write multiple projects in different windows at a time. Manuskript is an open source writing software for fiction and non-fiction projects.

It lets you write novels, stories, trilogy, research papers, etc. To start with, it lets you enter the count of each attribute of a particular type of project. For example, if you want to write a research paper, it lets you enter number of sections and words per section. To write for either fiction or non-fiction projects, you can choose simple text editor or index cards. You can also see the outline of a project with the statistics of its key attributes.

Manuskript is a portable writing software. It also provides tools like Spellcheck, Dictionary, and Frequency Analyzer. EditPad Lite is basically a text editor with various features to support your writing skills. You can write a piece while customizing font type, style, size, and script , configuring text layout and direction, inserting a TXT or HTML file, adding date and time in desired format, and more.

It provides advanced tools to search and navigate through a document. You can also set preferences like configuring keyboard shortcut keys , modifying editing options and tab properties, selecting keyboard navigation options, etc. It provides Convert menu for converting text to uppercase, lowercase, invert case, etc.

You can also delete duplicate or blank lines, trim leading or trailing Whitespace, and do more. EditPad Lite is a text editor for both programmers and non-programmers. I use IA Writer on my laptop, desktop and mobile. It's an elegant, easy-to-use word processor and it syncs my writing across all of my devices. Use for: Writing whatever, wherever Pricing: Free. That's right, if you're a writer on a budget, you don't need to spend any money buying expensive writing software or apps.

I like plain text editors for writing something short quickly and easily, without thinking much about it. I use Dynalist to create bullet-point outlines of articles and book chapters before I dictate them. It also enables sharing and collaboration, which is useful if you want to commission an article and give it to another writer to create. If you're the type of writer who likes to outline their work in advance, this app is useful.

It also supports Markdown and can be used as a to-do list tool. For instance, it has features such as Markup-Based Text Editor, keyboard shortcuts so that writers can be faster, a library to organise notes and documents, set writing goals, publish directly to WordPress and Medium, and so on.

It includes mobile and tablet writing apps. Arguably, it's not quite as distraction-free as IA Writer, but it helps you organise both small writing projects like a blog post and large ones like a book. Final Draft is the default app of choice for screenwriters. I've experimented with Final Draft and it strikes me as an example of powerful writing software with a bigger learning curve than your typical word processor.

Although I don't write screenplays I was in a creative writing group a few years ago, and a few screenwriters in it used this app.

I'm a big believer in the power of journal writing for finding new ideas and conquering issues like writer's block. I use the writing app Day One every morning to write a short entry about what I'm struggling with and areas to focus on. Use for: Writing articles and blog posts Pricing: Free. I use Evernote to record ideas for blog posts and book chapters during the day.

So this is certainly a note-taking app worth exploring. I also save articles and writing prompts I like into Evernote as part of my personal swipe file using the mobile app. This writing app also has several other features worth exploring such as dictation mode which will easily allow you to transcribe your voice notes as text, integrations, team collaboration and more. You can read about how I take charge of Evernote in this guide.

Bear is a popular alternative to Evernote. The good news is writers can use Hemingway Editor to improve their writing and self-editing skills. Paste your text into the application and it will provide suggestions for removing unnecessary words here and there such as adverbs or tautology. It also suggests reframing specific sentences from passive voice to active voice and much more.

Hemingway is useful when you wish to reduce your word count without leaving out any essential points from your article. I use Ayoa to create mind maps for articles and book chapters. This writing app enables me to finish articles faster. I recommend outlining as a way of working for non-fiction writers who want to increase their daily word-count.

Use for: Non-fiction, creating a daily writing habit Pricing: 4. Blurt is an interesting new app with the aim of helping writers work a little every day. The interface takes on the appearance of a sheet of paper, and lacking any elaborate formatting options or research notes to mess around with, you have no choice but to write.

You can still adjust the font, track your progress, and even set a timer for writing sprints using the toolbar at the top — but it safely tucks these features away from view. If in-app distractions are your kryptonite, FocusWriter might be the solution you need. It certainly covers all the bases in terms of potential diversions; users can customize a list of distracting websites and desktop apps, plus connect Freedom to their phones to block distractions on there as well.

Another one of the best free writing apps out there, Evernote takes written organization to a whole new level. With dozens of templates for everything from classroom note-taking to personal planning to structuring a novel, Evernote makes admin not only easy, but fun! Besides abundant organizational templates — again, all for free with the basic plan — Evernote also lets you tag everything in specific categories, share your notes with collaborators, and even chat with them in-app.

One of its coolest features is the Web Clipper, which you can use to save any excerpt of web content that appeals to you. More than anything, Evernote is a work-saving app designed to be adaptable and accessible for all kinds of writers and their projects. But after comparing Reedsy Prompts to similar writing inspiration apps like Writing Challenge and The Brainstormer, we can honestly say it has much more to offer.

Whatever your writing project, we hope these apps can be of use to you — and indeed, of service to everyone who gets to enjoy your work. Check out our list of novel writing software for some more intensive writing programs, or this list of writing tools to help hone your creative process.

If you're tired of staring at a blank sheet, check out these 30 things to write about. Feel free to steal these ideas! In this post, we reveal the seven essential story elements and show you how they work together. Whether you're working on a story, an essay, or an article, here's how to write better with these 5 tips. Try them on for size!

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