The perfect writer tools make all the difference between staring at a blank page and finishing your manuscript. Most authors know this truth after spending countless hours wrestling with their fifteenth book draft.
These writer tools pack everything you need to improve your writing. Scrivener helps organize your chapters, ProWritingAid polishes your prose, while Evernote’s 225 million users prove its worth for research collection. Your writing environment stays distraction-free, and AI-powered suggestions guide you toward better word choices.
Our hands-on testing reveals which tools deliver real value for your writing. This complete guide shows you 17 writing software options that boost your writing quality, whether you’re crafting your first story or polishing your latest bestseller.
Best Writer Tools: Scrivener
Image Source: Literature & Latte
Scrivener stands out as the top choice for manuscript management, built by an author who needed better organization tools.
Scrivener Key Features
The Binder system keeps your chapters, notes, and research in one sidebar. Your story structure comes alive on the Cork Board through movable index cards. Writers get ready-made templates for novels, screenplays, and other writing formats.
Scrivener Pricing Plans
Scrivener sells platform-specific licenses:
- macOS Standard: USD 49.00
- Windows Standard: USD 49.00
- iOS Version: USD 19.99 The 30-day free trial counts only your active writing days.
Best Uses for Scrivener
Long-form writing projects work best with Scrivener, especially when you need to handle lots of research. The distraction-free mode and project targeting system help you focus on writing.
Scrivener Pros and Cons
Advantages:
- Powerful organization tools with drag-and-drop functionality
- Automatic backup system
- Extensive formatting options for various publication formats
Limitations:
- The steep learning curve for new users
- Separate licenses are required for different platforms
- Limited collaboration capabilities
The customizable toolbar and linguistic focus features give you complete control over your writing process.
ProWritingAid: One of the Best Writer Tools
Image Source: ProWritingAid
ProWritingAid helps you write better through AI-powered analysis and detailed writing feedback.
ProWritingAid Features
The software checks your writing with 25+ detailed reports covering grammar and style. The AI Rephrase tool makes your sentences more formal or adds sensory details with one click. Premium Pro users get AI Sparks – a new feature offering 50 creative writing suggestions daily.
ProWritingAid Cost Analysis
The software comes in three pricing options:
- Monthly Premium: USD 30.00
- Annual Premium: USD 120.00 (USD 96.00 with 20% discount)
- Lifetime Access: USD 399.00 (USD 319.20 with discount)
Premium gives you unlimited word count and rephrases. Premium Pro adds extra AI features.
How ProWritingAid Improves Writing
The software makes your writing better through:
- Real-time error catching with clear explanations
- Writing rules you can customize
- Works with Scrivener, Word, and Google Docs
- Compares your writing to 90 famous authors
ProWritingAid spots patterns in your writing and shows you exactly how to improve. You pick your writing style – academic, business, creative, or technical – and the software adjusts to match.
Best Writer Tools: Grammarly
Image Source: Grammarly
Grammarly works across 500,000+ apps and websites, turning your everyday writing into polished content through smart AI suggestions.
Grammarly’s AI Capabilities
The AI engine reads your writing context and audience to give targeted feedback. The system spots the difference between your writing, AI-created text, and Grammarly edits. Writers get unstuck fast with AI text generation for social posts, academic work, and more.
Grammarly Premium vs Free
Three pricing options fit different needs:
- Free: Basic grammar checking and tone detection
- Pro: USD 12.00 per month (yearly billing) with full rewrites and 2,000 AI prompts
- Enterprise: Custom pricing, unlimited AI prompts, extra security
Companies save USD 5,000 per employee yearly with Grammarly. The free version catches basic mistakes, while Pro users get 400+ extra writing checks.
Writer Tools: Integration Options
Grammarly fits right into your workflow:
- Desktop apps for Windows and Mac
- Browser add-ons for Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge
- Microsoft Office suite
- Mobile keyboards for iOS and Android
The tool helps everyone write better – from business emails to research papers. Your writing improves right where you work, whether in Google Docs or social media posts.
Writer Tools: Atticus
Image Source: Atticus
Atticus gives authors everything they need – writing tools and formatting features work together in one place, ready to use on any device.
Atticus Writing Features
The clean writing screen keeps distractions away while your work saves to the cloud. The Sprint Timer tracks your focused writing time, while the Writing Habits tracker shows your daily progress. Your word counts stay organized by selection, chapter, or full book, with custom writing goals to keep you moving forward.
Atticus Formatting Capabilities
Book formatting shines with the theme builder tool. Pick from ready-made themes or design your own chapter headers, breaks, and typography. The device preview shows how your book looks across 14 different formats. Unlike other tools, Atticus handles full-bleed images and large-print formatting without issues.
Pricing and Value
Atticus keeps pricing simple:
- One payment of USD 147.00
- Updates yours forever
- Money back in 30 days if unhappy
Make unlimited books and ebooks without extra charges – better value than similar tools. The software runs everywhere – Windows, Mac, Linux, and Chromebooks, with no extra platform fees.
Best Writer Tools: Google Docs
Image Source: Google Workspace
25 million monthly users trust Google Docs for writing tasks that go way beyond basic word processing.
Google Docs Writing Features
Writers get smart help with the AI-powered “Help me write” feature – perfect for everything from poems to thank-you letters. The pageless mode lets you write without breaks getting in your way. Smart Canvas builds your emails and meeting notes instantly. Type ‘@’ to pull up your saved content blocks whenever you need them.
Collaboration Writer Tools
Multiple team members jump right into the same document, editing together in real time. You control who sees and changes your work:
- Viewers just read
- Commenters give feedback
- Editors make changes and check the history
- Owners run the whole show
Integration with Other Apps
Google Docs plays nice with tools you already use. Connect to Asana for tasks, Trello for projects, and Slack for team chat. Add Grammarly to catch writing mistakes, or hop on Google Meet for document discussions right from your doc.
Your work stays safe with encrypted storage, ready whenever you need it.
Microsoft Word: Among the Best Writer Tools
Image Source: Microsoft
1.2 billion users worldwide choose Microsoft Word for writing tasks. Word packs everything writers need to create polished content.
Word’s Writing Tools
The AI-powered Editor catches spelling, grammar, and style issues right as you write. Read Aloud helps you spot mistakes you might miss when reading silently. Your writing gets smarter with AI suggestions across 20 languages – perfect for documents, emails, and web content.
Best Writer Tools: Templates and Add-ons
Word’s template library makes starting new projects easy, from academic papers to creative writing. Power up your writing with these popular add-ins:
- WritingAssistant spots text issues with AI
- Copyleaks finds copied content
- Qorus builds business documents
- PDFfiller handles PDF work
Best Practices for Writers
Simple sentences work best in Word. Skip the modifier stacks and keep your conjunctions under control. Find and Replace helps clean up words you use too much. The Outline view lets you jump through your document fast, making edits quick and easy.
Writer Tools: Sudowrite
Image Source: www.sudowrite.com
Writers built Sudowrite for writers – your AI writing partner that sparks creativity without taking control.
AI Writing Features
Two dozen AI models power your writing, including Claude 2 and GPT-4. Story Engine leads your writing journey from first idea to final draft. Your characters, tone, and plot stay strong while the AI matches your unique writing voice.
Creative Writing Support
The creative toolkit packs everything you need – Describe adds rich details, Expand builds scenes, and Brainstorm breaks through writer’s block. Canvas catches your plot twists and character secrets in one spot. Your character sheets and world details come alive with AI-generated art in the Visualize tool.
Cost and Limitations
Pick your perfect plan:
- Hobby & Student: USD 10.00 monthly (225,000 credits)
- Professional: USD 22.00 monthly (450,000 credits)
- Max: USD 44.00 monthly (2,000,000 credits, 12-month rollover)
Watch out for occasional clichés and character consistency issues across chapters. Your writing stays private – Sudowrite never uses it to train AI models.
Writer Tools: Evernote
Image Source: evernote.com
Evernote turns your messy research into an organized digital workspace. Your scattered writing materials find their perfect home.
Research Organization
The web clipper saves articles, PDFs, and web content straight to your notebooks. Source links stay safe while you tag everything as you clip. Your research notebooks keep complex projects tidy with clear reference tracking.
Note-Taking Features
Evernote handles every type of note you need:
- Audio clips for late-night ideas
- Pictures and sketches
- Handwritten notes
- Video files
- Web clips with source tracking
Quick ideas land in the Scratchpad feature, ready to grow into full notes. Writing templates speed up your work with ready-made formats for different projects.
Writing Project Management
Your command center lives in a dashboard note, tracking everything that matters. Checkboxes and reminders keep your writing on schedule. The Home screen shows recent work while widgets sort your projects just how you need them.
Team projects work smoothly with shared notebooks and custom permissions. Send your work to Word or Google Docs when editors need to see it.
Best Writer Tools: Hemingway Editor
Image Source: Women Love Tech
Hemingway Editor makes your writing bold and clear, just like its namesake author.
Style Analysis Tools
Colors show you exactly where to improve. Yellow marks mean your sentences need simplifying, while red spots warn about confusing passages. Blue highlights catch unnecessary adverbs and purple shows where simpler words work better.
Readability Scores
Your writing gets scored against the automated readability index – showing how easily average readers understand your work. The editor aims for an 8th-grade reading level, matching most U.S. adults. Watch your score change as you edit, seeing exactly how each fix helps.
Writing Improvement Tips
Smart suggestions tackle tough writing problems. The editor spots sentences four grade levels above average, marking them for fixes. Long sentences split into clearer chunks, and fancy words become simple ones. One-click brings AI suggestions that keep your meaning and tone.
Think of the colored highlights as friendly advice, not strict rules – your unique voice stays intact while clarity improves. Clear writing works for everyone, no matter their reading level.
Freedom: One of the Best Writer Tools
Image Source: Freedom
Freedom puts your focus back where it belongs. Users gain 2.5 extra productive hours every day.
Distraction Blocking
Website and app blocking works across all your devices at once. Your blocking settings sync between Mac, Windows, Android, iOS, and Chrome. Social media, games, and other distractions stay out of your way while you work.
Productivity Features
Start blocking right away or schedule sessions for later. Your writing routine stays strong with automatic blocking at set times. Focus Sounds fill your space with coffee shop buzz or office sounds, helping you settle into work.
Customization Options
Freedom fits your exact needs:
- Custom blocklists for each writing task
- Exceptions for sites you need
- Different rules for different devices
- Locked Mode keeps you focused
The Today tab shows your active and scheduled blocks. Device Admin runs quietly in the background, making sure nothing breaks your focus.
Ulysses
Image Source: Ulysses
Ulysses brings minimalist design and powerful features together, perfected since 2003.
Writing Environment
The distraction-free mode clears away everything but your words . Your workspace fits just right with custom fonts, line spacing, and paragraph settings. Pick light or dark themes for your perfect writing studio. Grammar and style checking works across 20 languages.
Organization Best Writer Tools
The new archive keeps your finished work safe and organized. Writers get:
- Quick keyword searches
- Custom table headers
- Sketch and note tools
- Writing goals with progress tracking
Export Options
Preview your work before publishing it anywhere. Send your writing straight to WordPress, Ghost, and Micro. blog, or Medium – tags and featured images included. Your files export to PDF, DOCX, or ePub formats, switching styles fast when needed.
iCloud sync keeps your work ready on every Apple device – Mac, iPad, or iPhone. The tree structure beats old-style file systems, making content easy to find and organize.
Perfect Writer Tools: Dabble
Image Source: Dabble – Craft your story
Dabble turns messy story ideas into organized plots. Fiction writers get powerful plotting tools that make sense.
Novel Writing Features
The auto-focus mode fades away toolbars while you type, keeping you lost in your story. Your workspace fits just right with typewriter scrolling and special fonts – even options for dyslexic readers. Track your progress with daily goals and NaNoWriMo word counts.
Plot Development Tools
The Plot Grid system borrows its magic from Harry Potter’s plotting method. Writers get everything they need:
- Multiple plot lines and character arcs
- The story notes with pictures
- Drag-and-drop scene sorting
- Easy plot point labels
Cloud Backup
Your work stays safe with cloud backups protecting every word. Write on any device – PC, Mac, Chromebook, Linux, or mobile. Work offline when needed – everything syncs once you connect.
The Story Notes section keeps your world-building, characters, and research organized in custom folders.
Best Writer Tools: Notion
Image Source: Notion
Notion brings writing tools and knowledge management together. Your ideas find their perfect home in one organized space.
Writing Workspace
The block system handles any content you create. Drop in text, equations, or anything else with the + menu. Words flow easier when the auto-focus mode dims your toolbars. Your writing gets extra power with equations, code blocks, and web bookmarks right where you need them.
Knowledge Management
Connected databases make your knowledge work smarter. Link different pieces together to build your web of ideas. Quick notes land right where they belong with the Button feature. Your work looks exactly how you want it – spread out in galleries or organized on kanban boards.
Template System
Writing templates match whatever you create. Make them work your way:
- Build structured sections
- Show database views
- Design custom themes
- Set up automatic workflows
Everything about your writing lives in one spot – from progress tracking to research notes. Start fresh with ready-made templates or build your own perfect format.
Publisher Rocket
Image Source: Publisher Rocket
Publisher Rocket shows authors exactly what sells on Amazon. Your book marketing decisions come straight from real market data.
Best Writer Tools: Keyword Research
Amazon shopper search volumes guide your book listing choices. Each keyword gets scored 0-100 for competition – lower scores mean easier ranking spots. See monthly earnings for books under your keywords, pointing you toward profitable targets.
Market Analysis
Your research covers 19,000+ Amazon categories. The platform tracks how categories grow each month:
- Rapidly declining: below -20%
- Significantly declining: -15% to -5%
- Relatively flat: -5% to 5%
- Significantly growing: 5% to 15%
- Rapidly growing: above 20%
Competition Analyzer reveals daily and monthly sales for rival books.
Book Marketing Tools
AMS keywords power up your Amazon ads with hundreds of targeted options. Find perfect matches through author names, book titles, and ASINs. Smart keyword targeting cuts ad costs by 57%. The reverse ASIN tool shows you winning keywords from competing books, making your descriptions and ads work harder.
Sell just 45 extra books and your Publisher Rocket pays for itself. Your Amazon presence grows stronger with every insight.
Writer Tools: Cold Turkey
Image Source: Cold Turkey
Cold Turkey means business when blocking distractions. Your computer becomes a pure writing machine.
Focus Features
The Frozen Turkey mode locks you out of your computer completely for set time periods. Pick any blocking time from 1 to 999 minutes. Meet your word count goals or stay locked out of other apps until you do.
Website Blocking
Nobody gets past Cold Turkey’s blocks. The system lets you:
- Stop specific sites, apps, or all internet
- Build custom blocklists for different writing tasks
- Lock down system settings
- Protect Time & Language settings from changes
Productivity Settings
Track exactly how Cold Turkey helps you focus. Built-in stats show your blocked time across apps. The Pro version adds scheduled blocks and app passwords. Your settings stay private on your computer – no data collection is needed.
Pay once, use forever – no subscriptions needed. Motivational quotes pop up on blocked pages, pushing you to keep writing.
Best Writer Tools: Dragon Dictation
Image Source: Nuance Communications
Dragon Dictation turns your voice into text three times faster than typing.
Voice Recognition
The recognition engine learns your voice and handles background noise without losing accuracy. Your words flow naturally in 20 languages, with special terms for different industries. Complete sentences work best – the software catches your natural speaking rhythm.
Editing Commands
Control your text with just your voice:
- Remove words or phrases
- Cut, copy, paste anywhere
- Move through documents
- Format text as you speak
The Command Center lets you create voice shortcuts for tasks you do often. Your common actions turn into quick voice commands.
Training the Software
Quick exercises make Dragon understand you better. Teach it specific words through the Train Words box – your voice patterns stay saved for next time. The Accuracy Center gives you different ways to practice, from reading exercises to adding new words.
Help guides show you every command right when you need it, making Dragon easy to learn. Your voice patterns stay private on your computer and never shared anywhere else.
Writer Tools: Reedsy Editor
Image Source: Reedsy Blog
Reedsy Editor formats your book to professional standards while you write. Your manuscript looks perfect from the first draft to the final page.
Formatting Tools
The smart formatting bar pops up when you select text, giving you quick access to headings and links. Your existing formatting stays intact when you bring in work from other places – headings, styles, everything. Pictures, captions, and scene breaks fit perfectly in your ebook with automatic sizing.
Best Writer Tools: Publishing Features
Export your book as EPUB 3 or print-ready PDF files that work with major publishers. Pick your perfect book size:
- Trade: 6 x 9 inches
- Digest: 5.5 x 8.5 inches
- Reedsy Standard: 5 x 8 inches
- Pocket: 4.25 x 6.87 inches
Three professional templates match your book style: Reedsy for modern non-fiction, Classic for traditional books, and Romance with decorative chapter titles.
Collaboration Options
Edit and share feedback in real-time with your team. Everyone needs a Reedsy account to work on manuscripts. Clear contracts protect your rights and spell out collaboration terms [164, 165]. Share files through direct uploads or connect with Dropbox and Box for easy sharing.
Conclusion
Writing tools make your work better. Each one serves a clear purpose – Scrivener organizes manuscripts, ProWritingAid polishes your writing, and Grammarly catches mistakes everywhere you write.
Different tools solve different problems. Book formatting becomes simple with Atticus and Reedsy Editor. Freedom and Cold Turkey keep distractions away. Dragon Dictation turns speech into text fast. Publisher Rocket shows you exactly what sells.
Pick tools that match how you write. Novel writers love Scrivener’s organization and Sudowrite’s creative spark. Business writers get more done with Google Docs and Grammarly.
Your writing improves when you combine the right tools. These 17 options work for every writer – from first-time authors to seasoned professionals.
