Top 5 Apps for Writers That Help You Increase Your Productivity

by Tiffany Porter

The life of a writer is complex and exciting at the same time. On the one hand, you get paid for what you love to do more than anything, but on the other hand, being a creative creature, you never know when inspiration will evaporate. When writing is work, downtime is unacceptable. And downtime occurs when we feel insufficiently productive, inspired, and motivated because we did not properly plan the process of the project as a whole, this day or this week.

In this article, we propose fixing this situation with apps for productivity. We have compiled a list of the top five solutions that will help you always stay in the working rhythm with a huge supply of inspiration inside.

Trello

Trello is one of the leading applications in the project and workflow management market. Your success also largely depends on the organization of the workflow, so try this app. You can list all your current projects, set tasks, and write notes in one panel.  What is significant is that you can take notes for co-authors if you work in a team. Most likely your clients are also working with this application, so think about learning this tool.

Prompt! This app is also great for managing your personal tasks, and increase productivity in personal matters too. No one obliges you to use Trello only as a working tool. Plan all aspects of your life with this application and you will feel the clarity in your head. And clarity in the head means more inspiration and creative ideas for work!

FreshBooks

If you are a beginner freelancer, you have only one customer and you work through UpWork, for example, you don’t need any accounting software for now. Firstly, it’s quite realistic to keep in mind your mutual settlements with one customer, and secondly, UpWork already has a built-in billing function.

However, if you are a bird of free flight, you have ten customers, for each of whom you discussed individual conditions for cooperation, then congratulations, now you are not only a writer but also an accountant. Fortunately, Fresh Books will help our creative and humanitarian brains cope with numbers and not make mistakes.

This accounting program will help you bill your customers simply and correctly. Most freelancers use this accounting software, as it is easy to use and effective in terms of accounting. Sooner or later you will have to deal with accounting, but it is better to start preparing for this in time. By the way, all packages have an affordable price, which makes the application so attractive.

WordCounter

This is a must-have app for all newbies! Everyone who works with text often encounters the involuntary repetition of words. This online writing tools for authors will help you quickly identify words that are repeated and make your text diverse. You just need to insert your text in a special block and the app will show all the words that are most often used in the text. Accordingly, you need to replace them.

By the way, this application can also successfully work as a determinant of keyword density. If you work with texts in order to increase the position of pages in search results, it is necessary to understand which word or phrases are most often used in your text.

In addition, excessive use of a particular phrase can be rated as spam by search engines. Therefore, the golden mean between the readability and beauty of your text, SEO fullness, usefulness, and sense is important here. This application helps to balance and improve your intuitive skills in using the right linguistic constructs in the right places.

Calming Soft Music

Do you know this feeling when you know what you are going to write about, but you just can’t catch the necessary wave and get to work? This is especially true for those who voluntarily (or involuntarily, as the last few months) work from home, surrounded by family, children, pets, and pots rattling in the kitchen. At such moments, the ability to concentrate and gather all your thoughts (and strength) into a fist is critical.

We recommend using the Calming Soft Music application to disconnect from external noise, calm down, feel for a foothold, focus on the task, and feel how thoughts begin to fill your head.

You can ask a reasonable question - why not use iTunes or YouTube in the background? Well, of course, the choice is yours. Calming Soft Music has already collected melodies that will help you concentrate and start writing.

Prompt! Use these melodies for yoga, Pilates, and spiritual practices. This is the perfect two-in-one app for anyone looking for writer's inspiration within themselves

The Brainstormer

All that we see around us is an endless space for generating new ideas for your books and articles. All you need to do is just grab one of them by the tail. The Brainstormer article writer tool invites you to generate an idea for your new story with a single click.

This app will let you come up with anything. For example, you can work out ideas for a character, choose the most suitable genre, and even generate unrealistic ideas for a science fiction story. The application is available for iOS and Android, and the prices are just ridiculous - about one or two dollars.

Important note! This is certainly a useful application, but do not let it make too many decisions in your place. Remember that this is just an algorithm that combines data in a random order, and you are a creative person who is able to come up with a lot of original things with your own mind. Use this application if you feel the creative block and you need the first push, and start creating yourself further.

Conclusion

Of course, it is possible to continue the list of useful online writing tools for a very long time. We tried to collect the most useful solutions in the modern technology market. Each of the applications that we have listed is designed to solve your specific problem, but in combination, they can make you a much more successful, organized, and inspired writer. Try it all at once and see for yourself!

Tiffany Porter has been working as a Chief Writer at Online Writers Rating reviewing variety of writing services websites. She is a professional writing expert on such topics as digital marketing, blogging, design.  She also likes traveling and speaks German and French.

How To Turn Everyday Things Into Inspiration To Write A Book

by Ana Mayer

Most writers have experienced writer’s block at least once. And if you have never written a book before, then this stupor might be more intimidating to you than ever. However, it’s not that difficult to start writing a book as it may seem. Here are twenty-five tips on how to turn everyday things into inspiration to write your book.

#1 Talk to People

The easiest and most obvious thing you can do is go out and talk to people. Using one brain (your own) is good but having many brains submitting ideas to you is even better. You will be surprised by the things you can catch in the speech of your family, friends, colleagues, or acquaintances.

#2 Watch Television

Television is great! Movies and tv shows too as well as animation. Get a subscription on a platform like Netflix and look for the shows or movies you like. They will help you better understand the genre you want to be writing in and maybe even give you some cool ideas for your book (especially true for news reports).

#3 Recover Old Memories

If you think this might be painful for you, feel free to skip this tip. But remember that recovering old memories can be very useful when you are looking for ideas for a new book. Go through your photo album, read the love letters you wrote as a kid, and do anything else that helps you remember things from the past.

#4 Start Forming Habits

Writing is not just about inspiration or motivation. It is also about habits. As soon as you start forming a habit for yourself to write, you will start learning to get inspired almost instantly at your heart’s desire. By the way, you could use an app like Habitica to help you develop your habits.

#5 Answer Random Questions

Yes, that simple. By answering random questions even complete strangers ask you, you will discover that you have learned a lot about yourself and about the world around you. This will definitely get the gears turning in your head which will give you great ideas.

#6 Meditate Occasionally

Meditation is a practice that can help you clear your mind and make your body relax. All you need to do is sit in a specific pose and perform some exercises. Once your head is clear, you will realize that it is much easier to think in the first place.

#7 Listen to Great Music

Music can be an amazing source of inspiration, especially if it is good music. Open your Spotify app and choose the playlist (or compile one) that best corresponds to the mood you want your book to have. Maybe some songs will help you visualize entire scenes.

#8 Look on the Internet

The World Wide Web is by far one of the best sources of ideas and the best place to look for knowledge. There are anything and everything that your heart or soul may desire. Logically, ideas may come flooding to you even while you are scrolling through your Instagram feed.

#9 Tend A Garden

Gardening is another way to clear your mind and recharge your inner batteries through being closer to nature. Even if you don’t have a garden, you can still get some plants that won’t require a lot of your time such as succulents or cacti.

#10 Clean Up Your Surroundings

In order to sort out what is inside, you must first tidy up your surroundings. Check out The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo or another similar book on organizing and cleaning up to make the process more effective.

#11 Get Inspired by Everyday Heroes

You don’t need fictional characters to inspire you – just read some newspapers or watch the news on your television. There is always a story of some real-life hero who saved a kid from under a car.

#12 Imagine Extreme Situations

How about getting wild with your thoughts? Try to imagine extreme situations. For example, you are stranded on an island. Or you were flying on a plane and suddenly it comes crashing down so you need to survive someway. What would you do?

#13 Learn Languages

As fascinating as it may sound, learning languages can actually give you ideas for writing a book. You can start out by using an online translation service to help you with some of the content you find.

#14 Change Your Medium

Instead of sticking to writing, consider changing things up a bit and doing something else. For example, you could start painting or sewing. Pottery is also a good option.

#15 Write Down Random Things

Everything that comes to mind – write it down. Use an app like Evernote or a physical notebook to jot it down. These could be completely random things but you may discover later that they are actually genius.

#16 Get Inspired by Your Day Job

Many writers start writing their books while still working at their day job and many of them, sadly, hate their jobs. Instead of having negative thoughts try to find some positive things in your day job that might give you ideas for your book.

#17 Turn Normal into Weird

There are different ways you could use reality and one of them is to turn something normal into something weird. Once again, look at your day job for inspiration.

#18 Visit Yard Sales

Yard sales are literal treasuries. This is why going to Yard Sale Search, looking up local yard sales, and then visiting them will give you access to things that might not be found elsewhere.

#19 Set Deadlines

Some people work better when they have a deadline. If you are one of such individuals, setting deadlines for writing your book can stimulate your brain to generate ideas. Just make sure that you create small, achievable goals rather than aiming too high from the start.

#20 Go to Art Galleries

One of the biggest advantages of art pieces is that they can tell a story you never expected. Go to art galleries and look for the stories that you will want to tell in your book.

#21 Visit Museums

Museums are similar to art galleries in a way. You can find yourself in virtually any epoch or time period just by looking through the exhibits.

#22 Switch Your Scenery

Yes, we are talking about travel. Traveling to different places can enrich you with dozens of new stories and ideas! By the way, don’t forget to use different apps such as Google Flights to help you while you are abroad.

#23 Play Dumb

Just for a moment, imagine that you are a child. Imagine that you don’t know how the world works and explore your surroundings. Try to get a completely different look at the world around you.

#24 Take a Shower

You may have noticed that showers are the place where you get so many ideas flashing through your head. This is because your body and mind relax while you are standing under the hot water.

#25 Dump Your Thoughts

This is probably the simplest technique of all. Just sit down and dump your thoughts onto the paper in front of you. Write and write and write until you feel like there is nothing else left inside. And then, read it.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, it’s worth noting that all of these tips may be helpful while looking for ideas in your everyday life for your next book. Of course, most ideas will come to you out of the blue, so don’t stress too much if you have been thinking for hours but there’s nothing you found. Keep searching and you will find the ultimate fit eventually.

This article was written by Ana Mayer, a project manager with 3+ years of experience. While projects can do without her participation (which means almost never), she likes to read and create expert academic materials for the Best Writers Online  review website. Such work gives her the opportunity to write articles on the most relevant topics of today.

How to Develop the Theme of Your Story: A 7-Step Guide for Beginners

by Scott Matthews

Writers approach themes and stories differently. Mentioning the word ‘theme’ in a room full of writers will most likely ignite a fierce debate. Most genre writers have a hard time embracing all that a good theme can offer. For those who write to entertain, discussing themes usually brings to mind fictitious images that leave their readers amused with their story.

Today, you’ll not only do away with this misconception but also learn how to develop a theme that can be easily integrated into a novel. Learning how to develop a story so that you take your readers on a thrilling journey is crucial to becoming a remarkable novelist. Here are seven steps that will help you develop the theme of your story. But first, let’s understand what a theme is.

Defining a theme

The theme is one of the writer’s most powerful tools. It’s a statement that you make about the topics that you discuss in your book. A book’s theme is usually derived from the emotional development of characters or from the consequences these characters face as a result of their actions.

By using your theme in the right way, you end up creating an emotional connection between your readers and characters. This hooks your readers into the character’s way of life and leaves them with a hangover after reaching the conclusion.

By doing it well, you’ll avoid using your theme to enforce a message on your readers. You’ll allow your readers to conclude for themselves by reading and learning lessons or experiencing the consequences with your characters.

Identifying your theme

What is commonly referred to as a theme is made up of two elements namely the themes and the author’s thematic statement about those themes.

According to top essay writing service, theme is defined as a central topic that authors discuss in their literary work. A theme on its own cannot make a statement. It’s an idea that is highlighted from the beginning to the end of a book. While most novels are not limited to one theme, it is best to choose a couple to highlight.

By making a point of choosing these themes during the pre-writing stage, you’ll easily identify and amplify the concepts in the drafts that will follow. Common examples of themes include empowerment, fulfillment, hope, order, injustice, and greed to name a few.

Your thematic statement

After identifying all the prominent ideas that you’ll discuss in your novel, you need to think about the other side of the coin: the thematic statement.

A thematic statement is defined as the message of your novel. It’s the stance that you take on the predominant themes in your book. While a novel can have several thematic statements, there’s always one statement that stands out. For instance, in the novel, The Dark Between, the dominant thematic statement is, “You can never stand on your own in someone else’s shadow.”

Developing your theme into a story

To develop your theme into a story, here are seven practical steps that you need to take:

1.    Study great examples of plot development

As custom essay reports, reading is one of the best ways to develop and improve your writing skills. Great writers will inspire you with examples that will help you get the elements of your craft right. While reading other peoples’ works, it’s important to take note of the effective elements that they use in their books. Note how the characters change over time and the sequence of events.

You should avoid comparing yourself to these authors or trying to copy exactly what they are doing. Remember, you are reading their stories to improve your writing skills. By reading these examples and focusing on yourself, you’ll end up developing a great story.

2.    Shape your story with plotting processes

The source of great plots are good ideas and curiosity. Your story needs to begin with a hypothetical situation. A good story should be brought to life through a clear and focused plotting process that will shape the story.

Also, developing a clear summary is one of the best ways to brainstorming ideas that will help your characters and plot to grow.

3.    Create a timeline of your plot’s events

According to Dissertation Today, understanding the ‘when’ of your story is critical when you are developing a story. By creating a timeline of the plot of events, you’ll easily navigate between the scenes and chapters. And this will help you have a clear picture in mind. Even if you aren’t intending to plot the whole novel in advance, it’s crucial to create a timeline.

4.    Develop your characters in exciting ways

It’s important to think about the process of developing your characters. At the initial writing stage, you need to identify the main goals of your primary characters and their personalities. Regardless of your story idea, your characters should develop in exciting ways. Show how their ambitions or fears affect their decisions. And show the consequences of these decisions

5.    Change the 5’Ws

All stories are made up of the 5 W’s namely: what, why, when, where, and who. ‘Who’ are the dominant characters in your story. ‘What’ is the situation that your characters find themselves in. ‘Where’ is the location or the setting. And ‘when’ is the time.

According to best paper writing services, a great story not only contains satisfying answers to these five questions but also highlights the developments in all these areas. By making all these elements of your plot change in a convincing way, you’ll take your readers on an interesting journey.

6.    Outline the scenes

Creating a storyboard is one of the best ways of developing a story. You can use index cards or pieces of paper such as post-its. Summarize all the key events of a scene in two lines or less.

Include the characters involved and the purpose of the scene. Reorder the scenes according to your story until you have a sequence that makes sense. Sometimes you’ll have to reverse or shift an early scene towards the end to connect with your readers.

7.    Incorporate action-driven elements

According to assignment help, change is the only thing that makes a story move forward. Your characters have to act so that your readers can enjoy the ride. Even if you are writing a less dramatic story such as romance, this point applies. Change is one of the best ways to develop your characters.

Conclusion

After working on all aspects of your story, it’s important to share your work with other writers to get feedback. Sharing your work with other writers will help you seal the holes in your plot. In most cases, these holes cannot be seen with your eyes. Don’t fear criticism. It’s exactly what you need to become a great writer.

Bio

Scott Matthews is a talented editor and writer at dissertation help online, best resume writing service, buy custom essay and best essay writing services uk. He loves mentoring students and authors during his leisure time. He is interested in technology, literature and business.