As a writer, it always helps to find resources that can help us improve our craft. Whether you’re a content writer, an aspiring novelist, or a journalist, you can stay competitive by constantly honing your skills.
Admittedly, investing our hard-earned money in training and lessons is a good way of ensuring that we keep growing. Unfortunately, we may not always have the extra budget to purchase resources, and this is where free writing resources come in!
How can I improve my writing skills for free?
In the hopes of helping you become better as a writer, we have compiled some free writing resources for you. Remember, though, that sometimes, it’s easier to pour our time and energy on something that we’ve paid for. So our advice would be: be intentional about using the free resources you find here.
Improving your writing is not so much dictated by the resources you use, but by how much time and energy you put into it. Consistency can be a big factor, so be sure to schedule in regular practice.
What resources do writers use?
These days, resources for writers include the help of technology, which are especially hepful for content writers. Many of these offer ways to make your communication better, or help you improve your productivity.
Grammar and Style Tools
Other than productivity, writers may also use a little assistance on writing style and grammar. The following tools are as helpful as it gets:
1. ProWritingAid
ProWritingAid is a paid tool that also comes with a free option. It features a number of writing checks, such as highlighting vague words, or too lengthy sentences and repetitive words. Check out the free version before you think about making a purchase. We also have a review on ProWritingAid if you want to read more on.
2. Grammarly
If you need help to check your grammar and spelling, Grammarly is one of the most popular tools in the market. According to the website, it can correct more than 250 kinds of errors in grammar. It can also help correct contextual errors in spelling and issues in vocabulary use.
3. Hemingway editor
Sometimes, you feel like you’ve written the best you could, but getting another set of eyes on it may spot ambiguous bits that you can make even clearer. The Hemingway Editor lets you copy and paste your work into it and then it will analyze the piece sentence by sentence. This helps you to improve the way you communicate. Think of it as a spellchecker, but more for writing style, to make your message as clear as possible for your readers.
4. Grammar Girl
Confused as to whether to use affect or effect, advice or advise? Not sure which punctuation to use? Grammar Girl can be your best friend, offering tips right when you need them to pick the right word to use!
5. Wordcounter
Repetition may have its benefits, such as when you’re intentionally emphasizing a point. Other than that, using the same word over and over can get old and stale. Thankfully, the Wordcounter tool helps you find which words you tend to overuse—and also lets you find keywords from other articles you find online.
6. Thesaurus.com
Now that you’ve found which words you’ve used too often, the thesaurus.com website can help you find alternatives!
7. Cliche Finder
Not only would you want to dig out words you use too often, but cliches can also be overrated and you need to weed them out. Of course, finding a cliche in your work can be like finding a needle in a haystack—but the Cliche Finder tool has you covered!
Writing Productivity Tools
One of the major challenges of writers is maximizing your time to have the most and best quality output. This is where productivity tools can play a big part:
8. Calmly Writer
To do away with distractions, the Calmly Writer app offers you a blank page and a blinking cursor. (Of course, some writers get paralyzed by a blank page, but for productivity’s sake, it makes perfect sense!) The hidden menu includes options such as estimating reading time. You can use this tool online or as an extension to your browser.
9. StayFocusd
If you tend to get distracted by social media while trying to work, raise your hand! Yes, it’s very common for writers to lose track of time because they started browsing Instagram or Twitter. The StayFocusd tool is a browser extension that lets you set a limit on the time you spend on specific websites.
10. Focus Writer
The Focus Writer app uses an uncluttered interface with a hidden menu, so you can write with as little distractions as possible. You can access the menu by moving the mouse to the edge of the screen. The good thing is that this writing app supports more than twenty languages, and also comes with an option to set goal each day, timers and alarms, spellcheck, and one of the most important features: autosave!
11. Ilys
Another thing that can keep writers from finishing their work is the temptation to keep editing. (Perpetual editors, anyone?) To combat this challenge, the Ilys writing tool lets you set a word limit before you start working. Then, when you type, the screen shows you one letter at a time, so you’re forced to keep typing. You can only edit your work once you’ve hit your set word count goal!
12. The Most Dangerous Writing App
If there’s one word to describe The Most Dangerous Writing App, we might aptly choose sadistic! Why? Its goal is to keep you writing, and writing fast: you need to keep typing, because once it detects that you’ve stopped for about 3 seconds, it will automatically delete all that you have up to that point! If that doesn’t force you to hurry up and churn a piece out all the way to completion, we don’t know what will!
Writing Tools for SEO and Content Writing
In this world of content marketing, you also need tools that are specific to the game. Here are some of our favorites:
13. Headline analyzer
As a content writer, you know that the headline can make or break a piece. The Headline Analyzer tool from CoSchedule breaks your headline down into its parts, showing you hints for improving it. Every time you pick the best choice among different combinations, you even score points!
14. Yoast WordPress Plugin
Writing for search engines requires you to know some basic things to pay attention to. But it’s quite natural to forget some of them sometimes. The Yoast Plug-in for WordPress can help you make sure you don’t overlook any of them, by giving you scores based on these vital factors.
15. Google Docs
Sharing documents with other people on your team is made easier with Google Docs. The tool also allows you to set the level of access that each person has, such as editing, or only being able to make comments.
Using Free Writing Resources
Having access to free writing resources can be very helpful, especially in terms of productivity and output. But if you’re looking to improve your writing, you will need to be intentional about learning. For example, you can depend on a grammar and spelling tool, but you will only improve as you pay attention to your most common errors and learn to avoid them next time!
We encourage you to keep working on your craft, so you can be the best communicator that you can be in your chosen field!
Did you find this post helpful? Let us know in the comments below!
If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:
- 5 Writing Resources Every Pro Writer Should Have At Their Fingertips
- Eat the Frog: How to Boost Your Productivity
- Freedom App Review: How This Software Can Eliminate Distractions and Boost Your Productivity
- The Pomodoro Technique and How It Can Boost Your Productivity
Yen Cabag is the Blog Writer of TCK Publishing. She is also a homeschooling mom, family coach, and speaker for the Charlotte Mason method, an educational philosophy that places great emphasis on classic literature and the masterpieces in art and music. She has also written several books, both fiction and nonfiction. Her passion is to see the next generation of children become lovers of reading and learning in the midst of short attention spans.
