9 Online Tools to Help You Write That Great American Novel
There’s a reason why your writer friend has gone MIA lately: November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). Since we love a good creative challenge, we immediately jumped at the opportunity to show off our literary skills… until writer’s block and online distractions (we’re looking at you, Twitter) got in the way, that is. That’s why we’re downloading nine online tools to help us kickstart our creativity and help us stay on track this November.
1. Novlr: Created by writers, this elegant writing platform has everything you’ll ever need to craft your masterpiece — from a dedicated focus mode to a Google Drive backup. And best of all, it’s free to try for all of November!
2. Bubbl.us: Need a quick digital tool to brainstorm new ideas? This is it. It’s simple yet packed with features, and mind-mapping your way to cool new plot points and character development is a snap.
3. Write or Die: If you need a little extra motivation to meet your word count, check out this dangerous app. No, you won’t die… but there are severe consequences if you procrastinate (for instance, if you slack off in Kamikaze mode, your entire text will lose its vowels.)
4. StayFocused: Stalking your ex on Facebook can feel like a pressing issue when you’re stuck on a chapter. Kill the procrastinating itch by downloading this free extension that limits the amount of time that you can spend on certain websites.
5. The Hemingway App: If you’ve already made it to the editing stage (woot!), this app is definitely a no-brainer. With the purpose of making your writing clearer, it highlights complex sentences, adverbs, passive voice and unnecessarily long words. Download it now… your IRL editor will thank you later.
6. Omm Writer: Looking for a little peace on your all-day writing sesh? With this simple tool, you can completely customize the ambiance of your virtual writing room — from relaxing tunes to cool background themes.
7. One Page Per Day: Looking at an infinite blank page can be hella intimidating… especially when you have a daily word count quota. With this typewriter style writer, all you get is one page to work out your ideas. Done and done.
8. Plinky: Writing prompts are a great way to spark new ideas, and this fun website has a ton of them. Simply flip through the prompts to get your creative juices flowing.
9. Grammarly: Spellcheck is great, but sometimes we need a little more hands-on editing. With the Grammarly extension, you can correct over 250 types of grammatical mistakes and improve your vocab with helpful suggestions (heck, it even works on emails and Facebook posts!).
Which writing tool is your fave? Tweet us by mentioning @BritandCo!
(Featured photo via Getty)