What’s better than a cup of coffee?
A cup of coffee that never gets cold!
About 83% of Americans drink coffee, and writers tend to be especially fond of their daily cup of joe. However, when you’re in the writing zone, it’s easy to forget about your coffee until it’s icy cold.
Luckily, now there are digital travel mugs with a warming feature. Simply plug the mug into your computer using a USB connection, and your coffee will stay hot for hours!
From warming mugs to smart typewriters, there are all sorts of cool tools for writers. In this article, we’ll review some of the best tech gadgets, along with a few free online tools!
Are you ready to take your writing to the next level? Read on to learn about 9 innovative writing tools.
1. Organizational Apps
First, one of the best ways to free your mind up for a day of writing is by relying on an organizational app. Here’s a shortlist of organizational tools for writers:
- Wunderlist
- Calendy
- Time Timer
- LastPass
- Evernote
- Todoist
Organizational apps like Wunderlist help you manage multiple to-do lists, keep track of important papers, and set reminders. That way, you can put all of your focus on making your writing come to life!
Next, Calendy is perfect for keeping up with all of your writing-related appointments, such as meetings with editors or new clients. Finally, the Time Timer app is another one of our favorite time management tools.
The Time Timer app displays a large countdown, helping you get a realistic idea of how time’s passing. As you watch the timer countdown, you’ll be motivated to focus on the task at hand.
2. Smart Typewriter
Smart typewriters are becoming highly sought after tech gadgets in the writing world. A smart typewriter is one of the best ways to block out digital distractions. A smart typewriter has a similar design to a regular typewriter. Using an E ink screen, you’ll be able to see your words, as your typing them, along with a word count.
The smart typewriters also come with wifi functionality. By connecting to the wifi network you can sync what you’re typing to your laptop or computer. If you’re somewhere without an internet connection, no worries. The typewriters also come with different folders for storage.
You can simply save your writing into a folder and sync it to your computer when you have a wifi connection. In addition to freeing you from distractions, the freedom smart typewriters offer is a big plus. Imagine, going on a weekend-long camping excursion to write, and not needing a single piece of paper!
3. Best Laptops for Writers
Laptops are also digital tools that give writers the freedom they need to get the job done. When you’re using your laptop at home, we suggest you set it up as ergonomically as possible.
An ergonomic setup means you’re setting your workstation up in a way to promote good posture. By taking the time to create a back friendly work station, you’ll be able to avoid all sorts of health issues down the road.
To achieve an ergonomic setup, you’ll need to purchase a mouse, and keyboard to plug into your laptop. You could also look into getting a second monitor to make your setup more visually friendly.
Since you’ll need to plug a lot of things into your laptop, look for models that have multiple USB ports. When you go to buy your laptop, we suggest you start shopping online, rather than in the store.
Online, you can start to gather facts about different laptop models from sites like lenovo.com. Start identifying what laptop features matter most to you, such as screen size and storage space. Next, determine how much your writing budget will allow you to spend and narrow your selection from there.
4. Tablets for Writing
Moving on, after finding the right laptop, it’s also a good idea to invest in a tablet for writing. Your laptop will likely wind up having some type of work station at your house. Whereas a tablet is a writing tool that’s easier to keep free of additional accessories that might tie you down.
Instead, you can carry your tablet with you while you leave your work station for a few minutes to refresh your mind. Then, if a great writing idea pops into your head, you can easily record it.
Screen Reader Support
Tablets are also great for proofreading pages and articles. For instance, if you’re using Google Doc’s you can turn on the screen reader support. Simply go to the tools at the top of the page, and click accessibility settings. Next, click the box next to “Turn on Screen Reader Support”, and click “OK”.
Now, you’ll see a new section pop up in your toolbar called accessibility. When you have a section of text you want the tablet to read out loud, highlight it. After highlighting the text, click “Accessibility”, “Speak”, and “Speak Selection”. Now, as you walk around your yard or house with your tablet, you can hear your words read back to you.
5. Mesh WiFi System
Does a slow internet connection weigh you down when you’re trying to write? While one room might have a strong wifi signal, as you walk around your living space to complete writing projects, you may find the signal’s weaker the further you get away from your modem.
Luckily, by investing in a mesh wifi system, you can cover your entire home with a high-speed wifi signal. One of our favorite options is the Google Nest Mesh System. Instead of dealing with dead zones, you’ll always have a fast and stable internet connection!
6. Hemmingway Editor
Another great proofreading trick is to use an online book or article editor. The best part is, there are all sorts of free book editing software programs available online, as long as you know where to look for them.
For instance, you should try using the free Hemingway App online. The application allows you to identify different ways to make your writing more powerful, clear, and effective. On the right-hand side of the app, you’ll see 5 colored boxes.
Each colored box represents different writing metrics used to grade your paper. For instance, the app will count the number of instances you use adverbs, passive voice, and complicated phrases.
Your sentence structure will also be graded in varying levels such as hard to read, and very hard to read. Next, at the top of the page, you’ll see your readability grade. To hold your reader’s attention, it’s a good idea to aim for the readability of grade 9 or lower.
7. Premium Grammarly
Did you know that women catch spelling mistakes more than men?
An online study shows that about 75% of women notice spelling errors, compared to 66% of men. However, no matter how good your spelling abilities are, noticing your spelling mistakes is a lot trickier than spotting the mistakes of others.
Luckily, Grammarly is a free online editing tool that can check your articles for both spelling, grammar, and punctuation. The free online writing assistant is easy to use and will do wonders for improving your writing quality.
If you want to take things to the next level, you can invest in Grammarly Premium for about $11 a month. When you upgrade to premium you’ll get additional tips such as word choice suggestions, tone adjustments, and more!
8. Voice Typing Software
You should also be on the lookout for writing tools that will help give your wrists a break. For instance, voice typing software is a great way to relax your wrists, while still producing content.
Google Docs has a free voice typing option, however, you can invest in more advanced voice writing software such as Dragon Naturally Speaking. The more advanced the software, the better it’ll be at recognizing words and formatting your work.
Be patient with yourself as you make the transition from writing your thoughts to speaking them. While it can feel a bit awkward at first, the more you do it, the easier it’ll become.
9. Easy Access Thesaurus
Next on our list of tools for writers, you’ll definitely want to get a thesaurus. There are about 171,146 words in the English language. However, most native English speakers, only know around 15-20,000 words at any one time. By using a free online thesaurus, like the ones offered by relatedwords.org, you can begin expanding your word bank.
Finding the Best Tools for Writers
As you can see from this article, the best tools for writers are the ones that help promote productivity. From creating high-speed wifi signals to eliminating distractions, there seem to be digital tools to help you overcome any type of writing hurdle.
Take a moment right now to think about the biggest challenges you face when you go to write. Finally, decide which digital tool from this article will help you crush those writing challenges once and for all!
Are you ready to learn more writing tips and tricks? Then go ahead and read another one of our articles!