Hey everyone! Finally, back on schedule and on time with this week’s stand-alone post. Make sure to stick around for next week’s post which will contain the announcement about the new series. So, without further ado…
Everyday Writing Tools
Earlier this week the stand-alone post was about how to maintain creativity. Although this is a stand-alone post and can be read separately from other posts this post is semi-related to the previous stand-alone post. In the previous post I listed a few things that can help writers to keep their creative energy. One of the things that I have found that does help me when I’m lacking motivation that I did not mention before is finding the right tool for the right task or discovering a new tool to use.
So, in this post I want to discuss some writing tools that can be used to help with everyday writing and motivation. I’m not going to go into detail on any of these tools but I’m just going to write some suggestions about some useful tools and leave it up to you to try them and decide if you like them.
Scheduling Tools
Sometimes the hardest part of writing can be scheduling your writing. For some people it’s because they don’t have the time to schedule writing or don’t have a way to keep track of their schedule enough to find space to schedule writing. So here are a few useful tools to help you schedule your writing.
I personally am a fan of Google Calendar (and other online calendar apps). I am a fan of this because I can easily color code all of my events and tasks to fit into my schedule and help me visualize my day. Because of this color-coded visualization, I am much better able to see when I have blank available spaces for writing and even in some cases, helps me to perfectly plan other events around my writing time instead of finding writing time around my other events.
For some people they don’t need a specific time to write in their calendar but rather – they need to remember to do their writing at all. In this case it’s very useful to keep a bullet journal. Bullet journals make it easy to keep track of appointments and tasks without using a calendar view. However, this method of tracking can take longer to update than online calendar apps since it is by hand and not always right next to you while discussing plans.
I also have had a friend suggest using some form of AI similar to ChatGPT to help you plan your daily schedule including work and other tasks. I personally have not used this method, but my friend had a few days off from work and had ChatGPT to help them to plan the ‘perfect’ writing schedule based off of criteria like health requirements, writing genre, and family situations. And her writing schedule worked perfectly for her.
Writing Tools
There are so many different types of writing tools that can be used to help a writer do their writing. Some of the most basic can be simple like Microsoft Word or Google Docs. Some people don’t like the format of either of those and would prefer to use something different. Here are just 3 examples of the large variety of writing tools out there.
My personal favorite is Zenwriter. Zenwriter is a desktop application that you can get that works similar to Microsoft Word. It takes you to a writing space where all the other tabs on your computer are not visible. It allows you to choose the background, the music, or the sounds that play in the space to help you create a writing space where you can feel peaceful and focused on your writing without any other distractions.
Scrivner is a writing site I have heard many writers say they really enjoy. I personally have never tried Scrivner (because I don’t want to try and figure out a whole new writing system when I have a different one that works for me) but I have it highly recommended for a good place to write – especially for those writing longform novels or a larger multibook series.
The last one is world building websites. There are so many world building sites out there that I can’t just list one on this section for tools. Many writers will use world building sites instead of a Story Bible or other form of printed, handwritten, or typed world building lists. Many of these websites are accessible from a variety of browsers and devices making it more portable than a folder on your computer or a binder full of printed world building papers.
Writing Community Tools
There are many writing community tools that can be used in daily life. Some of them are digital and some are in person tools that can be useful. Whether you need a community for someone to read your writing, someone to brainstorm with, or simply a community to make you feel a little less crazy when you spend all day talking to imaginary people there are many resources available, and these are only a few.
Nanowrimo.org is a wonderful place for hundreds of writers all over the world. Nanowrimo.org gives people access to discussion forums on a variety of subjects, regional forums for writers in your area, chances to connect with other writers and become writing buddies, places to help you track your writing goals, and even events throughout the year to help keep you motivated.
Discord is an online social app that often times has communities for a wide variety of things. Writing communities for certain areas, certain genres, certain types, and sometimes even for specific tropes exist on Discord. I am in several writing discords – two for local writing groups and one for fantasy writers specifically. Discord groups are easy to interact with and easy to keep track of on your phone and desktop.
Local libraries are also a great everyday tool to connect to a writing community. If you prefer to connect to your local writing community in person one of the best ways to do that is to visit your local libraries. Libraries and writers have a long history of working together to create places for writers to meet and share their ideas. Some libraries will even do writing events at different times of the year to help provide more motivation for writers in their communities.
Those are all of the everyday writing sources I have for this post. There are hundreds of different types of sources out there. These are just a few examples in each of these three areas that can help you in everyday writing. Make sure to do your own research and find the ones that you think will help you the most. If you have any really great ones that have helped you that I didn’t mention – feel free to comment them in the comments below!
That’s all for today’s post. I hope that some of these tools can help you and that you can find the tools that can help you with your everyday writing. Try out some new things and let me know what you think! Remember to check in with next week’s post to see the announcement of the new series. Don’t forget to like, subscribe, become a blog page member, share, and follow me on social media at the link on the bottom of the page. And remember,
Get Up, Get Writing, and Get Published. See you next week!
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