Writers! Snap out of your autopilot mode for a while and assemble here! We know you will be familiar with this term. Just before I started working on this blog, I worked on a monotonous, exhaustive SEO-based listicle blog. I experienced what was my 7th autopilot episode in the month! From what I have understood, with monotony comes autopilot mode.
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So, what is the autopilot mode?
In writing, autopilot mode is when your brain goes unconscious, but you can still continue writing what you are writing about. To be more concise, your hands are doing the writing without your mind necessarily helping you. Basically, your mind is on a break.
Many writers go through an autopilot phase from time to time. And when this happens, there are chances the writing does not match the usual or set standards. This is why writing apps are great if you are a writer who juggles a lot of words and lengthy articles on a daily basis.
Writers today are under pressure to get their tasks done in the most productive way possible without compromising on quality. They are often loaded with lengthy, intense research-based articles to write, apart from the endless ad-hoc work that comes their way. This often pressures them to work quicker, leaving them almost with no time to proofread and edit the article further. They are often forced to submit their first draft as their final draft.
Writing apps come with a lot of features that will help your article sound better and more professional. These apps include features like word count tracker, grammar check, active voice-passive voice check, vocabulary prompts, and some even come with a plagiarism checker and also scores that judge the tone of your writing (whether it is professional, formal, informal, or just cordial, and more!)
Are you considering using a writing tool to get your writing one more effectively and efficiently? You are on the right track! Let us discuss how beneficial writing apps are for writers looking to be more productive and efficient in their writing.
Should I get that writing app?
In this fast-paced world, writers also need to be fast-paced! Gone are the days when writers had the luxury to feel and connect to whatever they were writing about, and writing is no more a job that can be romanticised. If you are serious about building a successful career in content writing or any kind of writing, you must consider getting a writing tool or app.
Writing apps enhance your writing in a way a writer cannot with the kind of timelines they face. They can help you polish your content and make it sound more professional, and sometimes even spark ideas and inspire your writing. Using a writing app can help you become a better-disciplined writer and is sure to offer you a learning experience along the way.
The following are some of the benefits that writing apps offer:
1. They fix grammatical errors
As a content writer, your work and language cannot be grammatically incorrect. It is a major red flag for publishers and clients if you submit a piece of writing with mistakes in it. Writing apps go through the content you write and scan them for grammatical errors. They point them out and provide you with suggestions to correct them. This is one of the best advantages of using writing apps, as they point out.
2. They provide feedback on our writing
Writing apps track and analyze your writing and often offer you some valuable feedback on your writing. They point out pain spots you need to work on to make your writing better. This helps you introspect your strengths and weaknesses as a writer and work on areas you think you need to improve.
3. They help you save time
Writing apps often provide you with suggestions that will help you complete your sentences. Apart from this, they also enable you to check your writing for apparent errors, which you can correct on the spot as you go. Writing apps also help check your entire content and highlight errors. This makes it quicker and easier for you to proof check and edits your article. You don’t have to spend time re-reading your entire piece and looking for errors.
4. They offer a platform to practice writing
Writing apps offer a great platform to practice your writing. The various features they come bearing, including grammar check, in-built thesaurus, active voice-passive voice checker, and more, will help you write more consciously and discipline your writing. This way, writing apps are a great platform to practice writing.
These are some of the many benefits writing apps offer writers looking to improve their writing and build a solid career in the field. If you are an aspiring writer or even one juggling a lot on your plate, you need to get a writing app now!
So, are you ready to find your writing pal who will help enhance your writing? Let’s move on to discuss the top 21 distraction-free writing apps that are ideal for bloggers, writers, and authors.
21 best distraction-free writing apps for bloggers, writers, and authors
Today, writing apps are extremely popular within the writing community. Writers are striving to write more and better in a shorter span of time. Writing tools come in handy when they have a short deadline to achieve this. There are many free and paid writing apps that are dominating the market today. Different writers need writing apps for different purposes.
This section of the article highlights some of the best distraction-free writing apps for bloggers, writers, and authors.
Google Docs/MS Word
Though it is not a writing application exclusively meant for writers per se, Google Docs and even MS Word are the OG writing pads that have been available on electronic devices for a long, long time now. Think of writing tools, and these standard word pads are sure to cross your mind!
They offer a basic canvas for both writers and on-writers to carry out their writing tasks. They can handle all your primary writing needs, and both of them are readily available for you, no matter where you are at.
Even though these are standard apps, they do come with additional plugins that can cater to the fundamental needs of writers. There is more to writing applications today than just a platform to write in terms of features, and we will discuss them below.
Versions available: In-built app + downloadable
Grammarly
Grammarly is one of the best writing applications that helps you check grammatical and other writing errors your writing may have. Though it is not an exclusive tool to write on, it comes with great features like spelling and grammar checker and helps you broaden your vocabulary by giving you alternate word suggestions and more.
Apart from this, the tool also lets you set the parameters for its judgments and provides you with the analysis of your writing on the basis of clarity, engagement, correctness, and delivery. In addition to this, the tool also comes with a prompt plagiarism checker.
It is an excellent tool to proof check and enhances your blog/article. Once you have run your piece by Grammarly, it should 100% be bulletproof.
Versions available: Paid and Free
Hemingway Editor
Hemingway is another great writing application that comes with its set of editing tools. It’s a free online editing tool, which also has a one-time paid version you can sign up for based on your needs. The app helps make your writing better and stronger.
For any kind of writing, readability and clarity are important. Hemingway Editor is a tool that helps analyse your writing based on the readability factor and offers you feedback, highlighting pain points in your writing you can work on.
The editor will judge your writing and prompt corrective suggestions based on the number of adverbs you have used, passive voice, sentences that are hard and very hard to read and perceive, and also based on your usage of words that have simpler alternatives.
The app can be used to write on and edit as well. Even the free version is effective enough to refine your writing and make it exceptional, readability-wise.
Versions available: Free and one-time paid version
iA Writer
iA Writer is a writing tool available across various devices, including Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. It negates all kinds of distractions word processing apps might come bearing and helps you channelize your focus purely on the text. It is one of the best writing tools for writers who want to focus just on the writing part of things. You will have no distractions in terms of choosing fonts, font size, formatting, and more.
Some of iA Writer’s features include different modes like focus mode, typewriter mode, and more. In addition to this, the app also displays word count, character count, estimated reading time, and more. There is also a Preview option that allows you to view your completed work in a format of your choice (e.g., PDF format).
So if you want to get some solid writing done, iA Writer is one of the best writing apps for you.
Versions available: Free (on Android) and paid versions
Storyist
Storyist is one of the best writing applications available on MAC/iOS for writers who are novelists and screenwriters. It’s an application that keeps track of your story, characters, plot, and more, also organizing them for you to keep better tabs on your writing. The application comes with a great text editor with dedicated tabs for comments, images, headers, footers, and style sheets. This helps in a clearer presentation of your work.
In addition to the above-mentioned features, the application also comes with tools for storyboarding, outlining, character sheets. If you are someone who loves to have your writing formatted and organized, Storyist is your go-to application.
Versions available: one-time paid version (as well as a 14-day free trial version)
6. Reedsy
Reedsy is a great platform for aspiring writers and the ones who are looking to self-publish their work. It is an almost distraction-free app and helps you focus on your writing. They offer aspiring authors and publishers a platform to connect with professionals and also provide them with free courses they can take up.
The platform offers an array of tools, including:
- Book Promotion Sites
- Book Review Blogs
- Booktube Channel Guide
- Book Title Generator
- Character Name Generator
- Epub to Mobi Converter
- Literary Magazines
- Pen Name Generator
- Short Story Ideas
- Writing Contests
- Writing Exercises
The editor allows the writer to write, track changes, import text, edit collaboratively with a third person, and more.
If you are looking for a writing app that will also help you network and work on improving your writing skills, this one is for you!
Versions available: Paid
Ulysses
Ulysses is one of the best and the most widely used distraction-free writing apps today. It is available for Mac, iPhone, and iPad and does away with all the unnecessary distractions that might slow your writing down. However, it does offer a plethora of tools that will assist your writing and help you organise your work.
The application offers a clean interface, along with a number of modes and editors, including a markup-based text editor as well as a themeable editor. It also comes with a typewriter mode, plain text enhancer, and keyboard navigation.
In addition to this, the application comes with several other features, including a number of organization, management, and synchronization features. You can also export your work in several formats.
Ulysses is your ultimate writing and editing application that offers important and the most useful features, thereby helping you make the best out of your writing.
Versions available: Paid/subscription
Scrivener
If you are a messy writer. Well, there’s no harm in being one. If you are a messy writer, Scrivener will save you. You might want to have a streamlined writing process, and then there’s no better option than using Scrivener.
The features like the integrated outlining to restructure your content, digital corkboard, which generates index cards automatically, Scrivener’s focus mode, which helps write without distractions, the dialogue picker feature if you are writing a novel are commendable. Did you know that you can also view documents side by side on the same screen using Scrivener? Yes, you can open up to four different documents in the same window and unleash your creativity. And you also get the full screen to yourself in the Full-screen writing mode, where you can drop back to the old-school writing; it’s just you and your words.
Scrivener is an amazing tool used by writers of all kinds, from novelists, academicians, lawyers, and students.
Versions available: Paid (30 days of free trial)
Ginger Software
It wouldn’t hurt to use a little bit of proofreading help while writing, and Ginger can be the aid. Ginger is an AI-powered writing assistant. For starters, Ginger helps detect spelling and grammar errors, from typo mistakes to errors in sentence formation.
Ginger also provides an amazing space to enhance your writing style and the flow with which you put forth your ideas in the content. Creative writing is an art, and to master the same, Ginger software can help a great deal. Ginger software has two products. The Ginger writer can be used for PCs and laptops for all the writing requirements. Ginger keyboard can be used for Androids, and it provides thesaurus, dictionary, and also acts as translator.
Ginger is one noteworthy tool that you can use to improve your writing skills.
Versions available: Free/Paid Premium Account
Evernote
If you are someone whose mind works in a tricky way and ideas pop up now and then during random parts of the day, then you need to make Evernote your friend. Good ideas should be pinned then and there, and with Evernote, you can do that.
Evernote is a note-taking app, and you can make notes of ideas to generate quality blogs and articles. With Evernote, ideas are better put into words. Yes, you can transcribe your voice notes as text using the dictation mode. The integration and team collaborations features on Evernote are worthy of trying out as well.
Evernote is a useful writing tool that allows you to keep your ideas intact.
Versions available: Free/Paid Accounts
Medium
Showcase your work and get to know about other writers’ work through Medium. Medium is a blogging platform where you can write, read and connect with millions of writers and readers.
With the help of millions of collaborator, Medium has built a trusted and vibrant ecosystem that generates great ideas and perspective and create a better community. You can create an account free of cost and read and write with merry. Medium is a great digital publishing space that is accessible to everyone.
Medium is an amazing blogging platform where you can write and connect with fellow writers.
Versions available: Free
Typora
If you want a carefree writing experience without any distractions, then Typora is the tool for you. Typora removes distractions like preview window, mode switcher, syntax symbols of markdown source code, and much more to provide an easy writing experience. Typora is an excellent tool for writing reports and essays. This Typora is a simple yet powerful markdown writer and editor tool.
It’s a tool that you must definitely try out for a seamless writing experience.
Versions available: free (currently in Beta)
WriteRoom
WriteRoom is a simple and powerful tool that provides you with a full-screen writing environment. It provides an inexpensive option for writers. It has a great neat view option.
Although WriteRoom comes with cons like not having a support markdown formatting, if you want to practice old-school writing, then WriteRoom can be a good option.
WriteRoom is accessible on Mac, and if you are a Mac user, WriteRoom can be your key to peaceful writing.
Versions available: Free for Mac
FocusWriter
FocusWriter, as the name itself says, makes you write with great focus and ease. It provides a minimalistic full-screen display that gets you to work without any distractions. Well, a fun feature is you can create typewriters’ sound effects with FocusWriter.
FocusWriter has fully customizable themes, provides multi-document support, and can be translated into nearly 20 languages. You also have the goal tracker, and line focus features available in FocusWriter. FocusWriter is available for Windows and Linux.
Dive into your writing and get your work done with any distractions using FocusWriter.
Versions available: Free (Option to donate an amount)
Dynalist
Are you one of those writers who outline and structure first and write next? High-five! Dynalist is the tool for writers like you and me. The major challenge while writing a blog, an in-depth research paper, or a novel is to organize your thoughts. Dynalist helps you do precisely that!
With a premium version, you can even collaborate with your friends or workers and organize together. An easy-to-organize file library and collapsible lists are among the features that will make organizing more accessible than ever.
Dynalist’s commercial edition adds unique shortcuts, backup to Google Drive or Dropbox, version history, and more features.
Versions available: Free and Paid ($7.99/month) options
Airstory
As writers, we often get carried away with researching and end up forgetting where we started from. Well, our wishes have been heard, and there’s a new tool in town: Airstory.
Airstory is a one-of-a-kind writing tool that combines the research and writing processes with a novel drag-and-drop feature. If you write nonfiction or do a lot of research for your writing, this tool helps you collect all of your material and then organize it into a well-written document.
Airstory integrates with various writing tools, such as Google Docs or WordPress, to allow you to simply export your projects. It also includes templates that you can use to assist the writing process rather than beginning from scratch.
Versions available: Paid
Day One
One of the best ways to find new ideas and be inspired is to journal. Day One is a journaling app where you can let out your feelings, prompts, or anything you’re feeling. And you can do it from anywhere – on the way to work, while you feel low or whenever an idea strikes!
Your inputs are synced across all devices, and you can even add pictures to your document!
Versions available: Paid
Final Draft
Screenwriters, this one is for you!
A final Draft is a tool that facilitates easy writing for screenwriters. They have all the tools you will need to write a script, and it makes your job extremely simple as you won’t need to format your script.
Final Draft is one of the most costly writing programs available. Still, it’s well worth the money and is available for a one-time fee rather than an ongoing membership. Final Draft is a PCMag Editors’ Choice for screenwriting software and one of the best writing programs in general.
Versions available: Paid
Blurt
If you’re one of those who want to get in the habit of writing every day, Blurt is a tool that can help you do that! You can write journal entries, blog articles, a newsletter, a book, or an essay!
After logging in, choose a project type and then establish a target word count for a writing project and by when you wish to finish it.
They have a sleek and distraction-free layout. By blurring out prior sentences, you can also avoid self-editing when composing the first draught. After completing a project, you can share writings straight from Blurt to Medium, copy them from Blurt, or export them as Markdown.
Versions available: Paid (After 14-day trial)
The Novel Factory
As the name suggests, the Novel Factory helps budding writers on their journey to writing a novel. It works on the web and via a desktop app.
If you enjoy nothing more than crafting complex characters and investigating their inner and exterior values, as well as examining the senses and intricacies of your settings, The Novel Factory is the place to be.
It also includes a plethora of useful templates, resources, and specific interactive features to assist authors of all levels of experience in saving time and better grasping both the broad picture and the minute details.
Versions available: Paid
ProWritingAid
ProWritingAid, a grammar checker, will ensure that all your blogs, e-mails, or any piece of writing are free of error! This editing program assists users in eliminating errors, optimizing word choice, and revising grammar and punctuation more quickly.
ProWritingAid editing software is accessible through web browsers on both Windows and Mac computers. It also works with Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and Scrivener. ProWritingAid is aimed at all types of writers, as well as company owners and bloggers. It is beneficial to anyone who spends a significant amount of time producing books, articles, or reports.
It does not require a monthly subscription, unlike other grammar checkers. Instead, you pay a yearly fee to use the app. However, you must pay an additional fee for plagiarism checker reports.
Versions available: Paid
Distraction-free writing apps do more good than writers usually believe. If you are working on writing heavy content, you must consider getting one of the writing applications discussed in this article. They not only help you improve your work, but they also improve your overall writing skills
Author bio:
Karthik is a hardcore SEO and web development, specialist. He is a Digital Marketing head who leads the development and SEO team at echoVME Digital, one of the leading digital marketing agencies in Chennai. Additionally, he is also one of the trainers at Digital Scholar. With experience of over a decade in the development field, he is the go-to person for any SEO and tech-related queries.