After Deadline
A New York Times blog about writing.
After the Deadline*
Checks
your story for grammar, spelling and style. Works as a plugin for
WordPress blogs, an add-on for the Firefox browser, etc.
Associated Press Stylebook*
The most used reference guide to writing news stories, the AP stylebook is available both in print and online for a small fee. It can improve general writing as well, especially for its alphabetically
organized guide to the use of common
and proper nouns.
Better PR Writer
An automated Web tool that scores the writing of your PR press release. Designed to measure the readability of your press release. There is a less than enthusiastic review here.
Citation Machine
Auto-formatting for citations of research papers
Copyscape
Check for online plagiarism.
Corpus of Contemporary American English
This BYU site includes transcripts of spoken language from radio and television programs and comprises academic writing from a range of disciplines allowing comparison of styles--spoken
language vs.written academic language.
Day One
Great journaling app for IOS and Mac. Clean look, syncing, photo imports, passcode, reminders, public publish option. Very organized and easy to navigate. $4.99.
Dragon Dictation
Voice to text app for iOS. Have to finish dictation before seeing the text. Free.
Easybib
Auto-formatting of citations for research papers
EditFlow
Content management
system for WordPress providing a snapshot of content with a calendar
feature. Advanced draft and pending review feature. User groups to keep
writing teams organized. Useful for multi-author websites.
Editorial
Powerful writing program for iPad and iPhone. High learning curves but valuable once you find workflows that suit your purposes. Beautiful inline preview. $6.99.
EditTeach
Resources for editing professors, students and working professionals to
help strengthen the craft of editing and support the work of editors.
EtherPad
Collaborative writing tool. Example here.
Evernote*
Access notes on any computer, tablet or phone. Search function
lets you find a note in either text or audio format. Free for iOS and
Android.
Fade In
Script-writing software with similar features to Final Draft without the price tag. Not as many of the extras that come with Final Draft but only $50. Windows, Mac, Linux.
Fargo
An outlining application that runs in your browser but stores your files in Dropbox. Build hierarchies, ideas branching off ideas. Users can hide parts of outlines as you’re working, to keep the document manageable. Elements can be moved to other programs for slide presentations, to create sections of a research paper, or as blog posts. Outlines can be dropped inside other outlines.
Final Draft
Industry
standard for writing screenplays on both Windows and Mac. Notes section
for keeping track of characters, special scene view to get an overview,
index card system for summaries, etc. $250.
Flip Text
Flip text. Use it on Facebook or Twitter. Free.
FocusWriter
App for distraction-free writing. A blank canvas to write on--and nothing else. Includes timers, stats, alarms, goals setting, etc. Free.
the Grading Game*
App for practicing your editing skills and win points. Avail at the App Store.
Grammar Girl
Writing Tips from a grammarian.
Grammarly
Automated proofreader and personal grammar coach.
Hackpad
Edit, organize and share documents. Sample.
Hemingway App*
The Hemingway app is designed to make you a better writer by highlighting problems in your writing. Goal is to make more direct and active--more Hemingway-ey, as the Washington Post proclaims. Just paste your text into the app and it will highlight hard to read sentences, adverbs, complex phrases, and passive voice. Color coordinated highlighting. Click on these words to see the suggested alternatives. Word count, readability grade, etc. $6.99.
Lexicon Valley
Slate's grammar podcasts.
Limpert's About Editing and Writing Blog
A blog about how editors and writers do their work by Jack Limert was editor of the The Washingtonian for more than 40 years.
Medium
Created by Twitter co-founders to support good writing. Clean design and
easy-to-use interface. For those who want to write but don’t want to
maintain a blog or website. Intended to be a place where smart people
plant their thoughts. Share a draft of a post with friends who can make
comments as marginal notes (rather than at the end of a post). Free, but Twitter account is required. No custom domains or customization.
Marked 2
Tools for writers including word counts, document stats, highlights repeated words. Mac only. $9.99.
oDesk
Hire an experienced proofreader based on an hourly rate (typically one hour for every 5000 words).
Online Etymology Dictionary
Gives you the history and derivation of any word. Free.
Overview
Developed at the Associated Press, Overview analyzes the complete
text of every document, extracting keywords and sorting documents into
categories and sub-categories.
Phraseology
iPad writing ap. Like Hemingway, it includes syntax highlighting, statistical tools, readability scores, and root word breakdowns.
Purdue Writing Lab
Writing and formatting help.
Readability Score
Cut and paste your text into a dialogue box to see the writing's grade level. Free, but for any contribution you get access to more advanced tools like readability alerts, PDF and Word doc processing and bulk uploads.
RedNotebook
Journaling app. Simple, quick to start. Easily search through old journals. Calendar navigation, customizable templates, export functionality. Free.
Scrivener*
App
that gives you a single place to dump all your ideas--especially for creating and managing complex writing projects,
whether you're trying to write a novel, play, TV show, or magazine
feature. Write in fragments and then shuffle scenes and chapters around
in a bulletin board mode, and collect research notes, multimedia files,
and character sketches. Allows you to slowly "grow” books, scripts, and
articles. Easily converting the document to an e-book, web page, a PDF
for print, or a Word doc. Works with the Mac and Windows. Free 30-use trial. $45 for the latest version-many writers swear it's worth it. Doesn't work on iPads though.
SEOmov
SEO writing tips.
Slickwrite
Writing app that checks grammar along with flow, structure, word frequency, and overused phrases.
Svbtle
Writing platform. Minimalist interface. Encourages reader response.
Trelby
Free script-writing alternative to Final Draft and Fade In. Enough features to get you started.
TV Tropes
Fiction writing help through examination of storytelling devices in creative works.
Ulysses
Writing app for Mac. Uses plain text or Markdown for writing, but also includes notes, exporting, organization and more. $44.99.
Word Counter*
Cut and paste your document (or just type) to see how many words, characters, and sentences you are using. As well as the average number of words in those sentences and the reading level. Free.
Word Frequency Counter
See how often you use (and overuse) words and phrases in your writing.
