Writing Tools
Modern Tools Help Improve the Mechanics of Our Writing
by Tim Flood
“He lied on the bed.” … “He laid on the bed.” … Hmm …
Even the most skilled writers can benefit from tools to help with writing mechanics — spelling, grammar, syntax, customs, etc. There are online tools (some for free) to help you give your writing the gloss it deserves. You can even get help with foreign languages.
For your reference, here are some useful tools:
A free version of Grammarly will help give your writing a smoothness and gloss it otherwise might not have. It underlines the problems it finds. (I’ve used it to write this guideline.) It works by suggesting changes. If you disagree with a suggestion, dismiss it, and off you go. You can set up a free Grammarly account. It’s easy to use while you write in MS Word, Scrivener, texts, email, and more. And it provides many more insights than MS Word or Scrivener using their built-in tools. Yes, you’ll receive an annoying email or two from Grammarly and solicitations to pay for a paid service, but the free version is quite good. And no, its suggestions aren’t always correct — you choose.
Get some help in Microsoft Word. Under Preferences, choose Spelling & Grammar, and explore your many options. And don’t forget: You can highlight any word and right-click to do a Smart Lookup for a quick definition.
Scrivener users will benefit from a few suggestions to enhance their writing. Navigate to Scrivener > Settings > Corrections to explore options. Scrivener’s Corrections service is rather basic, but as mentioned above, Grammarly works in Scrivener, so you might not even need Scrivener’s help. As with MS Word, you can highlight any word and right-click to look it up.
There’s nothing like the Chicago Manual of Style for academic and professional writing. You must pay for a subscription, but it’s top-of-the-line — and some publishers require won’t publish without compliance.
If you seek to discipline your writing with natty precision, you can’t go wrong with Strunk and White’s classic, The Elements of Style, available online for free using Wikisource.
Find your own: There are lots of online tools. Open your browser and search for “online grammar tools” or “online writing tools.” You might be amazed by what you find.
Scrivener
— If you’re seeking tools to help with research, organization, writing, and formatting, check out Scrivener, an app made exclusively for writers. Available for Mac and Windows, plus there’s a version that works in concert with the iPad. There’s an extensive user community forum.
—The same company that gives you Scrivener (i.e., Literature and Latte) produces Scapple, an app like a virtual sheet of paper or a whiteboard. Use it to draw notes of your ideas and connect them using lines, arrows, and more.
Plottr
Using Plottr, you can arrange (and rearrange) scenes, plots, and character arcs as you navigate your way to the end of your plot—a virtual corkboard. Outline with visual story cards. Filter your timeline by characters, places, and tags. Color-coordinate your storylines to keep them organized.
Need a free thesaurus?
Check out Emote, the Merriam-Webster Thesaurus. If you use this link, it brings you to the word “emote” and you see its basic definition(s), synonyms, related words, and sometimes antonyms. Just type in your word over “emote” and see whatcha come up with!