If you only choose one tool to get off this list, it has to be Grammarly.
Grammarly is a writing assistance tool that can help edit your writing live. It can even improve conciseness and help tailor it towards a set of goals (more on that in a bit). You can get the free Google Chrome extension that allows Grammarly to analyze your text even when you’re writing directly in Google Docs or Medium.
The free version detects spelling, grammar, punctuation, and some aspects of delivery. I think it’s enough for most beginner writers, and I used the free version for a while before I decided to invest in the premium version.
I pay for the premium version because it saves me a ton of time and catches all the little grammar and spelling errors I miss during my late-night editing seshes. I’m using it right now as I type! The premium version gives you the option to set goals (audience, formality, domain, tone, and intent). It then gives you an idea of how well you’ve hit them.
Some other fun things about Grammarly are that:
An engaging title is arguably one of the most essential elements of a piece of writing. And I don’t know about you, but I still struggle with capitalization rules when it comes to them. Enter Capitalize My Title.
You can write your title directly in the text box or copy and paste it in. From there, select your style (APA, MLA, etc.) and case type (title, sentence, uppercase, etc.). That’s it! That’s all there is to it.
It might be simple, but if you’re an anxious writer (like me), then this handy little tool will give you the reassurance you need.
Since most of your writing is probably online, SEO is (or should be!) at the top of your mind when cranking out content. I first found Yoast as a WordPress plug-in, but they also have an online tool that does the same thing.
Basically, you plug in your keyword, then write (or copy/paste) your article, and it’ll spit out a score for how well you’ve optimized it.
It’ll also give you a few pointers on how to improve your SEO and readability (I’ve attached some examples below).
Nothing sucks more than spending a bunch of time crafting a blog post only for it to be hidden away in the Internet abyss. Optimize your content!
Do you ever wonder, “is there a better way to say this?” Well, you’re in luck because Wordtune is a tool that’ll help you do just that. It’s another Google Chrome extension that can help you break out of the monotony of writing.
I’ll sometimes catch myself using the same expressions over and over again, and Wordtune’s been super helpful in getting me out of that comfort zone.
And if you’re starting to sound repetitive on the word level, you should check out Word Hippo. It’s essentially a thesaurus that gives you a whole bunch of synonyms. On the flip side, you can also search up antonyms when you can’t quite remember what the opposite of something is. If you’re not sure what a word means, it has a section for definitions, too.
Happy writing!