Six Amazing Tools and Resources Every Writer Needs

Writing is hard work. If you're a writer, you know: it's a lot more than just getting words on paper. It takes incredible grit, discipline, and determination to write a story. Not to mention the hours of time, creative energy, and foresight you pour into it. That's why I've compiled a list of some of my FAVORITE writing tools to help you be more productive and make your writing life a little easier.

Now, I'm not going to overwhelm you with every tool and every app I use, but I am going to be sharing a few of the resources that I use ALL THE TIME that I can't live without. These are going to HELP YOU manage your time better, find inspiration, and help you stay organized and efficient in all your awesome writing pursuits.

Are you ready? Make yourself a cup of tea, and let's get started!

SCRIVENER

This is a writer's dream come true. If you don't have Scrivener... HOW ARE YOU STILL ALIVE? I'm not kidding... this program has changed my life for the better.

Maybe you write in Google Docs. Maybe you write in Microsoft Word. Maybe you even write by hand. And maybe, that works great for you and you love it.

BUT... maybe you struggle like I did.

You need Scrivener.

Scrivener takes away the stress and hassle of having multiple documents for one book. Everything you need to write your book (outlines, character profiles, research documents, world building notes, LITERALLY EVERYTHING) is right there at your fingertips in a little tool bar next to your manuscript. Say goodbye to losing documents, having to fish for them, and struggling to keep them all organized.

You can even have documents INSIDE documents, and bookmark them so that you can reference your outlines while you're typing up your awesome story.

And that's not even the best part.

Scrivener has all sorts of even AWESOMER (I know that's not a real word, but we're gonna roll with it) tools such as a way to set word count goals, drag and drop documents to seamlessly rearrange scenes, and SO MUCH MORE.

It's also completely customizable so you can change all the fonts, colors, images, etc. to match the aesthetic of your story (which I find so helpful for getting in the writing mood).

The could honestly be a post of its own (stay tuned), but for the sake of brevity, I'll stop rambling.

Long story short: Go check out Scrivener. Because it's awesome.

FREEDOM

I've had a lot of people ask me, "How do you stay so productive and consistent with your goals?"

My answer is always the same: FREEDOM.

Seriously, this app is my number one secret weapon against all the shiny distractions of the internet.

Here's how it works: Freedom blocks apps and websites for a set amount of time so that YOU can be free from the temptation of "Oh! Just let me check Pinterest really quick."

Welp, too bad. You can't check Pinterest because Freedom is keeping you from doing so. (Also, I don't think there's such a thing as checking Pinterest really quick. It's never really quick for me, in fact, it ends up taking me two and a half hours, and suddenly I find myself looking at cake decorating tutorials instead of writing. THE STRUGGLE IS REAL GUYS.)

This is why I use Freedom, and why you should too! Because I know that your story is way more important than looking at cake decorating tutorials. 😉

Freedom lets you have a free trial with up to 7 blockout sessions so that you can try the magic for yourself. It also lets you fully customize your blocklists so that you can keep specific apps and websites from distracting you. I tend to be a very distractible person, so I usually block out everything but Spotify (I need music, okay?) and Scrivener (obviously).

The paid version is about $3 a month, HOWEVER, if you find yourself continually looking up funny memes on Pinterest or watching Dude Perfect on Youtube when you SHOULD be writing... maybe it's time to set some boundaries.

I had to do this. Pinterest was stealing my valuable time.

If you're anything like me, believe me, your future self will thank you for taking the time to eliminate distractions.

You can get a free trial to Freedom here.

PINTEREST

I know I literally just condoned Pinterest as being a bad thing, but when it's placed within some healthy boundaries, I find it to be SO HELPFUL for visualizing my stories. Making a Pinterest board for my books is one of the first things I do when I have a new idea because it gives me some great ideas and inspiration for my brainstorming process.

Not only that, but it can be a powerful way to keep you motivated and excited about your writing projects. I love returning to my Pinterest boards and adding pins that remind me of the characters and world I created.

If you're ever in a rut and need some creative juice, go make an aesthetic board! (Just don't get caught looking at pretty cake decorations... unless your main character is a professional cake decorator living in Paris, and you need inspiration for her. BUT YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN. Don't get distracted.😉)

THE ENNEAGRAM

This is probably my favorite writing tool in my arsenal. This is my number one resource when it comes to developing (in my humble opinion) the most important part of my stories:

THE CHARACTERS.

The Enneagram is a personality typing system that focuses on discovering your internal desires, fears, and beliefs; and finding growth and healing. As you can imagine, this makes it an AWESOME tool for developing character internal conflict and character arcs!

I'm not going to go into all that the Enneagram does right now, but if you want to learn more about how to apply it to your writing, I have a post about that here:

How to Use the Enneagram to Create Gripping Characters

BE FOCUSED

The Be Focused app is a nifty little timer that I use to keep track of my writing sprints. I love it because it follows a principle called the Pomodoro Method: 25 minutes on. 5 minutes off.

This keeps me focused and productive with my writing, but also prompts me to take short breaks in between.

It's easier to not get distracted doing other things when you set a specific time limit for yourself. That way, when your mind goes, "Hey, let's check your email!" or "I really want to know the answer to this super random question. Let's Google it!", you can make a mental note to do those things AFTER your timer goes off. 25 minutes is not that long, and most of the time, you probably won't even remember what your mind got distracted by.

My favorite part about it is that it shows up in the tool bar on my desktop computer, so I'm not having to switch in and out of apps to mess with it.

MILANOTE

I'm a VERY visual person, so I love any resource that helps me picture my story. Milanote is like the best combination of Scrivener and Pinterest (which is a pretty awesome combination, if you ask me).

I mostly use Milanote to make sense of my messy story ideas by creating organized mood boards, character profiles, and basic outlines.

It's 100% customizable too, so you can create boards, drag and drop things around; and add your own structures, images, and maps. AND you can create boards inside boards inside boards. It's limitless, which is what I love about it.

And it's free. Which is always a plus.

Because I have Scrivener, Milanote mostly serves me in the brainstorming stage of my writing process, but I have seen writers outline ENTIRE novels inside of it. Even if you don't outline, Milanote can still be an awesome way to help you visualize your story and keep track of your most important details.

There you are, friends! These tools have been literal LIFESAVERS for me, and I hope that they help make your writing life even AWESOMER (no, that is not a real word, but I like using it)!

LET'S TALK

What are some of your favorite writing tools? Have you ever been sucked into the world of Pinterest when you SHOULD have been writing? Do you have Scrivener??? SHOULD AWESOMER BE A REAL WORD? I'd love to hear all about it in the comments!

Now go change the world,

-Ava