Let’s face it. Writers struggle to write. Some more often than others. This struggle is not restricted to new writers alone. However, new writers tend to struggle more for a lack of the vital tools that can help them write effectively. I know this because I was once at that stage, and I can tell you for free that getting acquainted with the right writing tools is a sure way to overcome these challenges and set yourself up for success as a writer. 

Some common issues writers often struggle with are writer’s block, lack of confidence, and difficulty organizing their ideas. These challenges can be frustrating, but there are many free tools and resources available that can help writers overcome these challenges and take their writing game to the next level.

In this post, I will share my favourite six writing tools. You will find these writing tools very useful especially if you are just starting out as a writer or if you own a small business and cannot afford the premium tools.

I will also share the pros and cons of these writing tools, so you can decide which works best for you.

Before that, let’s talk about why you need to write effectively.

Why is Effective Writing Important?

Writing is a fundamental skill for effective communication. Effective writing is important because: 

• It helps you to communicate your ideas clearly and concisely

Whether you are writing a memo to your boss, an email to a colleague, or a blog post for your website, you need to be able to convey your message in a way that is easily understood by your audience. Effective writing helps you achieve this goal by ensuring that your message is clear, concise, and easy to follow.

• Effective writing helps you build your personal and professional brand as a writer

People perceive you as a competent and intelligent person when you write well. This helps you build credibility with your audience; whether that’s your boss, your customers, or your readers. Clear, well-written content shows that the writer has put in the effort to research and understand their topic, and this can help to build trust with their audience. 

If you are writing a book, the opening lines are critical, likewise the blurb. If your content has grammatical errors or a weak opening, readers may not make it past the first few sentences. 

• Effective writing is a powerful tool for persuasion

Whether it’s convincing someone to invest in a business idea, persuading an employer to hire you, or simply getting someone to agree with your point of view, strong writing skills can distinguish you for success.

As a copywriter, your sales copy is your chance to pitch your product or services to potential clients. Poorly written content can ruin that chance.

• Effective writing helps your website rank higher

If you write blogs, quality content can help your website to rank high on the Google search engine. This means better visibility for your website. As more people visit your website, your chances of converting those visitors into buyers increase.

Now let’s head on straight to the writing tools 

6 Amazing free writing tools

1.      Grammarly   

Even the best writers make mistakes. You need a tool that can help you eliminate those glaring spelling and punctuation errors and even improve the grammatical structure of your sentences. Grammarly is that tool. It is an online grammar and spelling checker that catches errors in your article and improves the overall quality of your writing.

Grammarly even goes further with vocabulary enhancement and style suggestions. It has both a free and paid version. The cool part? It can be installed as a keyboard on your mobile phone or as a plug-in on your PC. This means it can actively highlight errors on any application where you are writing (such as social media apps and Google Docs).

Pros:

• Grammarly improves your writing style and eliminates redundancy in your text.
• Grammarly is available as a browser extension, desktop application, and mobile app, which makes it accessible and easy to use across devices.
• It has a plagiarism checker to ensure the originality of the content.
• It provides feedback on the tone of writing and suggests alternatives to improve the overall message.

Cons:

• The free version of Grammarly has limited features and functionalities. Grammarly’s suggestions may not always be accurate, and sometimes it may suggest changes that alter the original meaning of the text. So you still need to proofread.
• It can be distracting and sometimes interrupts the writing flow by suggesting corrections for every sentence.
• It may not be suitable for technical writing or specialized fields as it doesn’t understand industry-specific jargon or terms.
• It may not provide in-depth explanations for grammar rules, leaving users to blindly accept corrections without understanding the reasoning behind them.

Grammarly can be a useful tool for anyone who wants to improve their writing skills. However, keep in mind that it’s not a replacement for human editing and proofreading.

2.      Google Docs 

If you’re looking for a free word processor that allows you to collaborate with others and access your work from anywhere, look no further than Google Docs. This tool is perfect for writers who want to work on a piece with a co-author or editor or for those who want to have their work available on any device.

Pros:

• Collaboration: Google Docs allows multiple users to work on the same document simultaneously, making collaboration easier and more efficient.
• Accessibility: Google Docs is accessible from any device with an internet connection, so you can work on your documents from anywhere.
• Auto-save: Google Docs saves your work automatically, so you don’t have to worry about losing your progress if you forget to save.

Cons:

• Limited features: While Google Docs has a lot of basic features, it may not have all the advanced features that other word processing software, like Microsoft Word, may offer.
• Formatting issues: When importing or exporting documents to and from Google Docs, formatting can be lost or altered, leading to potential inconsistencies.

3.      Canva 

As a writer, you know that great writing is only half the battle. Creating visually appealing graphics to accompany your writing is just as important. That’s where Canva comes in. This graphic design platform is a great tool for creating professional-looking graphics for blog posts, social media, and book covers.

You can also prepare written content in Canva and save as a PDF file. This feature is useful for preparing documents like eBooks and proposals.

Pros:

• User-friendly interface: Canva has a user-friendly interface, which makes it easy to use (for both beginners and professionals).
• Wide range of templates: Canva offers a wide range of templates for different design projects, such as social media posts, logos, flyers, presentations, and more.
• Customizable design elements: Canva allows users to customize design elements, including colours, fonts, and images, to match their brand and design requirements.
• Collaboration: Canva offers collaboration features, which allow multiple users to work on the same design project simultaneously.

Cons:

• Limited design customization: While Canva allows users to customize design elements, it has limitations in terms of design customization compared to more advanced graphic design software.
• Limited font choices: Canva has a limited selection of fonts, which may not be ideal for users who require more font choices.

4.      Quillbot 

If you struggle with expressing yourself properly in the English language, Quillbot can be a great help. This tool can help you paraphrase or summarize your content to make it clearer and more concise. Simply write the best you can, then copy and paste it on the Quillbot interface to reconstruct your sentences.

Pros: 

• Ease of use: Quillbot is user-friendly and easy to navigate.
• Improves writing skills: Quillbot can suggest alternative words, phrases, and sentence structures that can help improve your writing skills.

Cons:

• Accuracy: While Quillbot can produce high-quality rephrased text, there is always a risk of errors or inaccuracies. Always double-check the output to ensure it fits the context.
• Limited vocabulary: Quillbot may not always have the right synonym or phrase for a given context, which can result in awkward phrasing or unclear meanings.

5.      OneLook Reverse Dictionary

We’ve all been there: you know what you want to say, but you just can’t remember the right word. That’s where OneLook Reverse Dictionary comes in. Simply enter a description of the word you’re looking for, and the tool will generate a list of possible matches.

• Time-saving: OneLook reverse dictionary saves time by allowing users to quickly find the word they need instead of searching through a traditional dictionary or thesaurus.
• Easy to use: OneLook reverse dictionary is easy to use. All you need to do is enter a phrase or description of the word you’re looking for, and the tool will provide you with a list of possible matches.

Cons:

• Limited search results: The tool may not provide every possible match for your search query, and it may not be able to find rare or obscure words.
• Not always accurate: The definitions provided by the OneLook reverse dictionary may not always be accurate or complete. It is important to verify the meaning of a word before using it.

6.      ChatGPT 

ChatGPT is a powerful tool that can make data gathering easier for writers. This web-based AI tool is a language model that can suggest content ideas and create content that you can use as the basis for your writing. It is also a great tool to make research and gather data for your writing project.

Pros:

• Easy to Use: Using ChatGPT is as easy as entering a prompt/request in the chat interface and waiting for a response.
• Time-saving: Writers can save time by using ChatGPT for research purposes or to quickly generate content for social media posts or articles.
• Creativity boost: ChatGPT’s ability to generate unique ideas can inspire writers and provide them with new perspectives and insights.

Cons:

• Dependency: Over-reliance on ChatGPT for writing could lead to a decrease in creativity and critical thinking skills. 
• Loss of author’s tone: ChatGPT cannot produce content in the author’s tone so its content lacks personal voice and style. 
• Inaccuracy: ChatGPT can sometimes provide inaccurate or irrelevant information, which could mislead writers or harm the credibility of their work.
• Spam: Google may flag AI-generated content as spam because it may be of low quality and lacks originality. 

NOTE: Ensure to always edit and verify content generated by chatGPT so that your articles are always credible and original.

Incorporating the writing tools for success

There you have it, six free tools to upgrade your writing game. By utilizing these tools, you can streamline your writing process, eliminate errors, and create high-quality content that engages and resonates with your readers.

Note that all these tools are only accessible online. Also, editing and paraphrasing tools like Grammarly and Quillbot require you to second-check their corrections to ensure they fit in your intended context. Over-reliance on paraphrasing tools might reduce your creativity. So be sure to use them only where necessary.

This list of tools is by no means exhaustive. There are several other tools available to make writing easy and help you smash your writing goals. But with the ones given in this post, you are good to go. You can use some or all of them.

If you are a blogger for instance, you can use ChatGPT to generate ideas, get inspiration, or gather information on the topic you want to write about and create an outline for your blog post.

Thereafter, create your original content in Google Docs to keep it safe and easily accessible even if you forget to save it. While writing, you can use the OneLook Reverse Dictionary for any word you are trying to remember or to find alternative words or phrases that fit better.

With Grammarly installed on your device, you can edit your article after writing. Then you can copy any part of your text that needs grammatical modification and paste it into Quillbot for paraphrasing.

Finally, you can use Canva to create images to enhance the blog post and make it more engaging for readers.

To wrap up,

Quality content can spell the difference between success and failure for you as a writer. Writing does not just end with pulling up a string of letters together. It also involves carefully arranging words in a way that makes sense to the intended reader. 

Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just starting out, these free tools can help you upgrade your writing skills and create content that stands out. 

Now it’s your turn. Which of these tools have you used before? Are there other free tools that have worked for you? Please share in the comments.

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Cheers,

To your writing success.