Lay Out the Foundation of Your Writing
Before you start writing, it’s important to know what you’re writing. These apps help you plan out your next text masterpiece.
When you need some structure in planning your next novel or screenplay
Story Planner for Writers
For anyone who has ideas for novels or screenplays and wants to lay out everything in writing.
Story Planner for Writers is a complete all-in-one solution for anyone who is planning on working on their next novel or screenplay. With Story Planner, you can lay out your characters, settings, chapters and acts, scenes, and more. It’s the ultimate app for planning out your story before writing it. You can also rearrange everything through drag-and-drop gestures, so it’s super easy to use. Plus, after you’re done hashing out the details and structure, you can export your work as plain text, Final Draft, Scrivener, or just as a PDF. Plus, Story Planner gives you complete story stats so you can see if you’re balanced or not in terms of characters and settings and scenes. It’s a must have for any aspiring novelist or screenwriter.
Why we love it
Planning out a story can be very difficult work, but Story Planner makes it easy with a ton of different ways to organize your characters, locations, and scenes, as well as exporting your data out.
Outlining life’s projects and tasks has never been easier and more appealing.
Suru : To Do List & Notes
For anyone who loves to plan, mind map, or outline their next project
Suru’s ability to break down lists into easy to read sub-categories, and its beautiful user friendly interface quickly becomes one of my go to apps. Do you want to create multiple folders with endless categories and subcategories? If so, this is your app. Not only can you add tasks, brainstorm new ideas, and track project progress, but you can also add notes to each item. This multi-level and customizable outline tool does it all from reminders, to sharing your work. Keep your life in order with the power of Suru.
Why we love it
If you need to get your tasks tidied up, this is a great way to do it. Its intuitive interface allows you to get in, record, and get right back to what you were doing.
Write, Edit, Rinse and Repeat
Now that you have a basic idea of what you’re writing, it’s time to get those words out. As you write, make sure to check what you’ve written and make edits when necessary. Rinse and repeat.
Write Beautifully with Bear from Shiny Frog
Bear – Markdown Notes
For any writer who is looking for a gorgeous and fast app to make writing easy.
Bear – beautiful writing app for notes and prose (Free) by Shiny Frog is a gorgeous new app for writers and note-takers. If you are looking for a replacement for Evernote or Apple Notes, then Bear is definitely one that you should take a look at, though it may not be for everyone. It’s perfect for everything from quick notes, to code snippets, to in-depth essays. A focus mode helps you concentrate, and advanced Markdown and other markup options are an online writer’s best friend. Full in-line image support brings your writing to life, and keep yourself on task by adding todos to individual notes.
Why we love it
Bear is beautiful, easy to use with powerful features, and has incredibly seamless syncing with CloudKit. If that, as well as themes and advanced export options, are important to you, then it’s worth looking into a subscription for continued updates.
Automate the heck out of writing and editing text
Editorial
For those who frequently make similar edits to text that can be sped up by workflows.
If you write and edit text on a regular basis, some tasks can seem repetitive. Insert a link here in this format, or pull information from a specific place and insert it. Copy all your text and open a particular app. For tasks like these and more, workflows in Editorial can make the process much faster and more enjoyable.
Much like Automator workflows on the Mac, workflows in Editorial can be made using the graphical editor where users input steps, along with “If” statements and “Repeat” loops. From there, you can activate workflows in the menu or toolbar. If this is too complicated, you can also find other workflows online shared by other users.
Advanced users can make more complicated workflows that work outside of the confines of the graphical editor based on Python scripts.
Why we love it
For when certain tasks involved with text editing become repetitive and mundane – and these will depend on your workflow – Editorial can allow you to virtually skip over those steps to keep your work habits efficient and interesting.
If you need a simple but powerful and efficient text editor, this is it
1Writer – Markdown Text Editor
For anyone who needs a text editor that is streamlined, powerful, and efficient.
With 1Writer, users are greeted with a simple and clean interface that looks streamlined and easy-to-use. Users can pull in text files from their iCloud account or even just link specific Dropbox folders for full access to their existing files. When you write, 1Writer will do live-previews for Markdown formatting, including inserting images. There is a full keyboard extension that has useful shortcuts for Markdown formatting and other things like special characters. 1Writer even has a built-in web browser so you can do research without having to leave the app, which is even better on the iPad. Once you’re done writing, there are many export options available to you if needed, so you can make sure that what you worked on gets published or seen properly. And on top of that, 1Writer allows full customization of the theme and fonts, so you can tweak it to your liking.
Why we love it
1Writer is a powerful text editor but it still retains a simplistic look and feel. We are impressed with the customizable aesthetics and love the functionality that it still manages to pack in the app.
More Than Just Plain Text
Sometimes plain text just won’t do. These are some of the best word processor apps on the market to help you get all of the formatting right.
Collaborate on rich-text documents
Google Docs: Sync, Edit, Share
For groups wanting to work together on projects in real time.
When constructing a document for any reason – especially school projects – doing so with a group of people can often be a hassle. Thankfully, Google Docs and other web apps within the Google Drive suite can take some of the pain out of hearing the words “group essay.” For those who have used desktop word processors such as Microsoft Word, Google Docs’ interface will be familiar as you use it to create and edit documents. However, the real magic comes in when you share your documents with other Google users and can watch them edit with you online. See who’s typing and where, suggest edits, and view extensive revision history so you can know exactly who to blame for removing an entire paragraph. On iOS in particular, you can take this functionality on the go – and even offline – with the Google Docs iOS app.
Why we love it
The collaboration abilities in Google Docs are unmatched by similar services. And since you probably already have an account, your work is already in there. Odds are you’re already using the web version to manage documents and spreadsheets, so making the jump to mobile means you don’t even have a tough transition to make.
Microsoft Word for iOS is one third of the Office suite of applications for Apple’s iOS devices
Microsoft Word
For scribblers who want to get some Windows in their iOS.
Microsoft Word is a staple for any office environment and is just one-third of the complete Office suite of applications from Microsoft that are available on iOS. Word on iOS is a powerful application that lets users view and read documents in a rich, revamped interface. However, if you want to create or edit documents, you will need an Office 365 subscription. You can try it free during the 30-day trial, however, so you can see if it’s a good fit for your mobile office.
Why we love it
It’s Word on your iOS device, which means it’s familiar to those that are already used to using that program for their documents. It also lets people transfer documents between their tablet and computer if they use a PC for work.
Get your flow going
Flowstate
For writers with strict time goals who don’t mind a little risk
Dedicated writers know that they have to spend at least a little time every day honing their craft, and Flowstate has a system to make that happen. You just pick a session of 5, 15, or 30 minutes, and then all you have to do is fill that time with writing. It comes with a catch, however: If you stop typing for more than 5 seconds, it will delete everything. The point is to turn off your analytical brain and tap into your impulsive, instinctual mind to keep your creative taps flowing. It’s devious and cruel, but nobody ever said art was easy.
Why we love it
The best productivity apps keep you working, and the threat of wasted time is about as serious as it gets in this hectic world. Maybe Flowstate’s methods are a little extreme, but sometimes that’s what it takes. We also like the time element, which ensures that our writing time meshes well with the rest of our schedules.
Hot Off the Presses
Now that you’ve written your work, it’s time to share it with the world. These apps help you get your writing published instantly on the internet.
Voice your opinion and let others know what you think, too
Medium
For anyone who wants to publish their own content on a serious platform and react to others.
Medium is a blogging platform that is tightly integrated with Twitter. With Medium, users are able to read blog posts that have been written by others and react to what they read. Recent updates have made it possible for you to write your own Medium posts directly within the app, and it has the option of saving drafts to the server when you just can’t quite finish it right then and there. Publish directly through the Medium app and make your voice be heard.
Why we love it
Most of us already have a Twitter account, so Medium is an easily accessible blogging platform. It’s super easy to read and write content wherever you are.
Make your voice heard on a popular social blogging network
Tumblr – Fandom, Art, Chaos
For those who want to publish their thoughts but also engage with other content.
Tumblr is a popular blogging platform but it’s easy to see why. It’s super simple to publish your own content, whether that is a post you’ve written, a powerful quote, an image or video, interesting link — anything can be shared on Tumblr. Many people use Tumblr as their blogging platform and can publish short or lengthy posts, where it can be “reblogged” among other Tumblr users, gaining exposure and traction among a large community. Even though some may see Tumblr as a platform for teens, it’s still a great way to push your own original written content so that other eyes can see.
Why we love it
Tumblr is simple and super easy to use. You can post your own written content, images, media, links, and much more. The possibilities are endless with Tumblr.
A classic blogging platform for your words
WordPress – Website Builder
For anyone looking for a traditional blogging platform to publish their own content.
WordPress is a staple among many bloggers and writers. With the WordPress app, you can get a free account or even set up your own custom WordPress domain. Once you have that, just log in with your credentials in the WordPress app and you’ll have full access to your blog, including published posts and drafts. You can publish content directly with the app, and even browse the published posts from other members of the community if you are bored or want some inspiration. It’s a classic platform that many associate with “blogging” already, so it’s worth a try.
Why we love it
WordPress is a staple that is used among many independent publishers and even companies. It’s easily accessible and makes it easy to peruse content and publish your own stuff.
Time to Self-Reflect
Now that you’ve written your opinions and emotions and published it for the world to read, it’s time to sit down and reflect on your personal experiences.
One of the most robust journaling experiences out there
Day One Journal: Private Diary
For those who want to capture their lives as they live them
Easily the best new feature is a unified editor that makes it easier to write and compose a journal entry. Previously, there was both an edit mode and read mode for the Markdown text.
A new content editor menu also allows users to add text formatting without knowing specific Markdown shortcuts.
Premium subscribers can also take advantage of two other features, Dark Mode and audio recording.
While you can utilize Dark Mode full time, an optional auto-toggle setting will switch the app to the dark side at sunset.
Audio recording is available in two different modes. The 1-minute transcription will dictate your speech to text. There is also a 30-minute mode that just records audio.
Day One Journal is designed for the iPhone and all iPad models. It can be downloaded now on the App Store for for free.
The Premium version is available with an in-app purchase of $2.99 per month or $24.99 yearly.
Why we love it
Daily Tracker+ can track absolutely anything
Daily Tracker Journal & Diary
For anyone who would like to have an all inclusive app that tracks everything
If you want to consolidate your journal app, day planner and tracker to one, you’ve found the perfect app. Daily Tracker + lets you take notes, make all types of lists, log journal entries and so much more. It can track almost anything; from your workouts to expenses to blood glucose. It literally does it all. While it has the basic functions of your every day journal or tracker, it gives you the option to customize each category the way you want. If the long list of built in templates aren’t enough, you can quickly create your own. This app takes customization seriously. The best part is you never have to worry about losing the data and categories you create. Daily Tracker + makes it quick and easy to set up automatic sync to your favorite server.
Why we love it
Customization. Customization. Customization. There aren’t too many journal apps out there that allows you to customize an app as much as this one does. Its a powerful app that allows you to track so many different aspects of your life in a clean and well organized manner.