Tools for Freewriting and Collaborative Writing
BlindWrite (Web)
Best free writing software for freewriting
There’s an adage that is old the writing world: Write drunk, edit sober. The idea? Some of the best writing takes place when your brain is unhindered and free from distraction.
For the reason that spirit, BlindWrite forces you to write blind and edit… not blind. The app’s interface is a simple white-on-black text editor that asks you what you would like to write about as well as for how many minutes. From there, you are able to type away, but BlindWrite blurs out your text before the timer hits zero.
You are encouraged by this method to just start writing. When you can not see what you are typing, it is possible to punch out all your thoughts before considering such things as word choice and sentence structure, eliminating perfectionist tendencies that result in writer’s block.
Note: whenever you open BlindWrite, you will notice a chat bubble into the corner stating that BlindWrite has become Blurt. We have spoken with Blurt’s maker, in which he assured us that he does not have any plans to shut BlindWrite down. However, if you utilize BlindWrite, like it, as they are happy to pay a monthly subscription ($4.99/month for early adopters) to obtain additional features, Blurt is definitely worth looking into.
BlindWrite Pricing: Free
Searching for more how to eliminate distractions while you are writing? Check out our roundup of the best apps for staying focused and blocking distractions.
Google Docs (Web, Chrome, iOS, Android)
Best free writing software for collaborative writing
With a Google that is free account you need to use Google Docs to publish, edit, and archive your projects. It autosaves your document to Google Drive after nearly every word you type—ensuring you never lose element of your draft—and it backs up all you write to your cloud automatically. Plus it is possible to automate your document creation Google that is using Docs Zapier integrations.
And while this makes Google Drive a tool that is great any sort do my homework for me of writing, where it truly stands apart has been its collaborative features. With some clicks, you are able to share your document with others and provide them viewing, editing, or commenting permissions. And greatest of all, everyone you share the file with can edit the document together at the time that is same overriding others’ changes.
Similar to Word’s Track Changes tool, the Suggesting mode in Google Docs allows collaborators to recommend changes, which anybody can either reject or accept. In yourself if you accept it, Docs automatically incorporates the suggestion so you don’t have to type it. Docs also maintains a version history of every document you create, therefore it is an easy task to access earlier versions or see who made specific changes.
Google Docs Pricing: Free
Not an admirer of Google Docs or don’t want to create a Google account? Find another great option within our guide to the collaborative that is best writing apps.
Best free writing software for version control
Though Google Docs has great editing that is collaborative, it does not offer the same editing insurance of Draft. Draft’s take on editing is that a collaborator’s changes should not immediately alter the original document. Instead, a version that is new created for each round of editing.
After someone submits edits, it is up to the document owner to individually accept or reject them. Every time this is done, a new form of the doc is automatically generated, therefore the doc’s owner is because of the power to switch between these versions. It really works like Google Docs’ Suggesting feature, nonetheless it means that the original document is always easily accessible.
Whenever you’ve finished writing a draft, you can easily share it with other people via a hyperlink; download the content in Markdown, plain text, or HTML formats; or email it to yourself as a PDF, Google Doc, or Word file.
Draft Pricing: Free
Tools for Editing and Proofreading
Editing your own writing may be a beast. It’s hard to see typos whenever you know very well what a word is supposed to be, and it is difficult to understand what someone else may well not understand when you understand it perfectly. In the event that you want to send your editor a near-perfect draft—these tools can help you spot typos, grammatical errors, jargon, and more if you don’t have an editor to help you—or.
OneLook Reverse Dictionary and Thesaurus (Web)
Best free writing software for finding the perfect word
OneLook’s Reverse Dictionary and Thesaurus works like any other thesaurus you have used: Type in a expressed word, plus it suggests lots of synonyms to consider as alternatives. And even though the thesaurus is a must-have in just about any writer’s toolkit, OneLook offers some uniquely helpful options.
For example, you can enter a lot more than an individual word into OneLook: Enter a phrase and sometimes even a complete sentence. Say you can not think of a word you want to use that means “hard to consider.” Go into the phrase into OneLook, and it also returns options that are multiple “elusive,” “hazy,” and “mnemonic.” You can even filter the results by part of speech to see only nouns, adjectives, adverbs, or verbs.
Reverse Dictionary Pricing: Free