Writing Apps You Should Be Using by Alexandra Lindenmuth

​You’ve probably heard of and played apps such as Candy Crush and Pokemon Go. You probably use Facebook and Twitter to obsessively check your social media accounts. And, I guess, you probably use your phone to call and text. Well my fellow writers, take a break from crushing candy because I’m going to tell you that your smartphones and tablets can go beyond simple entertainment and communication. They can become a tool to improve your writing. Below, I have listed writing apps that I believe every writer should have on their smartphone or tablet:

Writing Exercises

• Practice writing in a variety of ways with the prompts available from this app. If you click on the app it gives you the following prompt categories: Random First Line, Random Subject, Random Character, and Random Plot. Click on one of these buttons and start writing!

Writing Prompts

• Want a simple, no frills, app for your writing prompts? Writing Prompts is the app you want to download then. You open the app and you get a prompt. The only other buttons present are the back and next button in case you don’t like the prompt you’re given. That’s it!

Character Planner

• Character Planner allows you to jot down character details easily. Open the app, add a character, and then write in details about their appearance, life, attitude, past, story, relations, and customs. You’ll know your character better than you know your friends! You can try Story Planner too!

Character Generator

• Love this app! Character Generator creates characters based on one of the following: appearance, personality, history, and family & career. It’s a wonderful app if you feel like your characters are stale or you just want to generate an entirely new character.

Plot Generator

• Plot Generator creates plots based on a variety of genres such as Action/ Thriller, Scifi/Space, Murder Scene, etc. You click on a genre and the app generates a scenario that includes the location, complications, emotions, and details. Soon you’ll be plotting with the best of them! You can also try Story Plot Planner.

Name Generator

• I will be the first to admit that I suck at naming my characters! I love that this app generates random names that I would have never thought of. Choose a name origin, whether your character is male or female, and vola! A name! Simple and easy.  

JotterPad

• I, personally, am not a huge fan of typing up my stories on my phone. Usually, I take my journal everywhere I go so I can quickly jot down ideas. Of course, there are times when it’s impossible to take my journal so I use JotterPad. It’s a simple writing app that’s all about writing with no distractions.

If you download one, a few, or all of the apps mentioned above, I promise your writing will improve! You can’t beat a good deal like that! With that in mind, there’s really no reason why you shouldn’t try at least a couple.