September 11, 2015 3 min read

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Let’s face it: Writing doesn’t come easy for everyone.

If you need a little extra help in the writing department, there are some fantastic (free) writing apps that can improve your abilities instantly.

Grammarly

This writing tool can be used in both Microsoft Word and Outlook, and is kind of like having your English teacher standing over your shoulder, suggesting edits and corrections to improve your writing. This is a great resource for anyone who wants to catch those common grammar errors and get suggestions for stronger vocabulary substitutions.

Features include:

Word choice suggestions

Plagiarism proofing

Detection of 250+ grammatical errors

Contextual spell-check

A basic version is free, but premium plans start at $29.95/month.

Hemingway

Want to write strong, simple sentences like Hemingway? You can.

The free Hemingway app “makes your writing bold and clear” by highlighting potential edits. Different colors help you spot sentences that are too long or too dense, complex words, adverbs that can be eliminated, and places where you’re incorrectly using passive voice. By writing within the Hemingway app, you can pare down your ideas to their most concise form.

Related: 5 Blog Topics You Need to Stop Writing About

Airstory

Airstory is an outlining tool for writers who want to plan their stories within a simple drag-and-drop tool. Using Airstory, you can create searchable, taggable cards that you then organize and drop into an outline, complete with headings, subheadings, and more.

For individuals who struggle to plan and organize content, this resource eliminates the need for hundreds of notecards and makes the outlining process clean, simple, and easy to manipulate. Still in its early days, this tool is free to use for those granted early access.

OneLook Reverse Dictionary

For those moments when you have a word on the tip of your tongue (but can’t for the life of you think of it), there’s the free OneLook Reverse Dictionary. You type the concept into the search bar, and it generates a list of words and phrases that match your query.

Using this tool, you can:

Explore similar concepts

Answer basic questions

Find words for which you only know the definition

Generate lists of words in a category

You'll never waste another minute thinking, “What is the word for that?”

Write with Confidence

Using these free resources, you can improve your writing right away (as long as you’re open to suggestions). Don’t fear the blank page. Start writing smarter.

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