8 Amazing Resources To Improve Your Writing

Ian D Scofield
Aug 31, 2018 · 6 min read

Writing is one of my favorite hobbies. Since I was a kid, writing has been something I do to escape reality and have fun. Now that I am older, I have been trying to make it something more. Doing that hasn’t always been easy. So far I have made progress. While my first published work has been freelance and blog post style writing, I am working hard on fiction.

A number of tools have helped me with my writing. Today I am going to share some of those tools with you.

1) Scribophile

Scribophile is one of my favorite writing resources of all time. Writers from around the world use Scribophile as a place to get critiques. Instead of paying to have someone read over your work, you read other’s work to get enough points to have yours read. The concept is great because it encourages writer’s to work together and exposes you to a wide variety of advice.

While Scribophile focuses on fiction writing, there are still plenty of non-fiction writers present. Even a few academic writers.

The forums on Scribophile are also incredibly helpful. Have a question and don’t know where to get an answer? Need advice on anything to do with writing? Venture to the Scribophile forums.

2) Grammarly

https://grammarly.com

Distractions are part of my writing, I can’t help it. Was that a squirrel? Because of distractions and just being human I make spelling and grammar mistakes. To help find these and correct them, I use Grammarly. Grammarly is a website where you can upload your writing documents and have them checked for errors.

Over the years, the features on Grammarly have changed and improved. Now you can select the intended purpose of your writing and a few other tweaks to get the right input from the website.

In addition to the website, Grammarly has a browser plugin that allows you to get browser feedback on your writing. Anywhere you can input text, Grammarly will highlight errors and suggest changes. Best of all, the majority of features on Grammarly are free. You can, of course, opt to pay extra and get even more features but it isn’t necessary.

3) Scrivener

Unlike many of the other tools that I have and will mention here, Scrivener is not a website. It is a program that downloads to your computer or Apple device. It is designed to help you with the writing process. All of your first draft tools are built into one program.

By default there are tabs for your story, character, world creation, notes, and the likes. For most of the tabs you can also opt to utilize templates to give you a guide. As writer’s we are creative though, and the program allows us to create our own tabs and templates.

When you are all done with your writing in Scrivener, you can use it to produce manuscripts in a wide variety of formats. From eBook to formal publication to manuscripts for submission.

I only have two complaints about Scrivener.

  1. You can’t connect your work to the cloud as easily as it should.
  2. There is no online interface for when you are away from your personal computer.

Okay, and there is one more complaint. No Android version.

4) Evernote

Yes, I am mentioning something else that can be classified as a text editor. That is because this has syncing and is meant only for taking notes. Evernote is where I go to to store my ideas for new stories. If I am away from home, or even at home, and inspiration takes hold, I have a place to keep ideas.

In addition to being a great place to store ideas, you can store receipts, pictures, and other types of content there and it is accessible anywhere that you can log into the app, website, or program.

5) Google Backup And Sync

You have probably heard of Google Drive, the cloud network to store all of your files on. I use Google Drive for both my creative writing and freelancing. Why? Because I can access it from every one of my devices. I can even save a Scrivener save there and access it on my other computers.

Google Backup and Sync makes it even easier to use Google Drive on your computer. This program allows you to access your folders from Google on your computer. You can drag and files, access drive content, and share your content across computers easier than ever.

Start a writing project on one computer? No worries, I can pick it up on another computer without downloading it from Google Drive and then reuploading it. You also always have a backup of your writing or other information stored in the files.

6) Behind The Name

Sometimes I have trouble coming up with names for characters that aren’t major or that I haven’t spent time in my head developing. That is where Behind The Name comes in. It has all of the features a writer may need.

You can view a name by the region you want it to come from or view mythological names. Most popular names are also displayed and you can get a random name. Surname lists are also available.

What makes this stand out amongst other name generator websites that are out there? It has all of the features that I want, and ones that I didn’t know I’d want until I needed them. The clean interface also makes it nice.

7) Writer’s Digest

Writer’s Digest was one of the first writing websites that I ever browsed. It is a great place to find contests and resources. The community that Writer’s Digest has built up over the years is quite big and there is an amazing forum there too. Although, Scribophile’s is better in my opinion.

My first stop ever to Writer’s Digest was not for the helpful resources though. It was for the prompts. Writer’s Digest has a large collection of prompts that you can do and then post in the comments. It is a great way to build traffic to a writing blog.

For those that have a little bit of money to invest into their writing, there are a variety of paid resources on Writer’s Digest. A 2nd draft critique service can be really helpful. They also have classes that can help you to grow as a writer. I haven’t taken any of them yet, just because of the cost, but I do hope to take some eventually.

8) Reedsy Writing Prompts

There are a lot of writing prompts out there, but not so many hosts offer both a competition along with the prompt. Every week Reedsy puts out a new prompt, and with that a competition. You could win $50 and publication on the Reedsy blog if your’s is chosen.

And guess what, the Reedsy blog is right here on Medium!

More then a few of my stories have been inspired by the Reedsy writing prompts. Two of them are being workshopped on Scribophile right now. Another I am considering posting on here.

You can have all the tools in the world and still not craft good work. Practice and constant writing is key to growing as a writer. You can even feel it. The more I write, the better I feel about my writing. People also comment more on my writing as I continue to work on it.

That being said, these tools can help you to grow. They can guide your path and inspire you to do more. Make sure you check back on my Medium profile to find more helpful articles related to writing.

Ian D Scofield

Written by

Freelancer. Writer of Fantasy/Science Fiction/Thriller. I love to write.

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