These days, technology remains at your fingertips when it comes to being able to have writing resources. Not only can you use an online dictionary or thesaurus, but you can brainstorm ideas by reading through current events and forum posts, or play word games to get the creative juices flowing. But technology doesn’t have to stop there. Do you have an iPhone or an iPad? You can even use those smart devices to your advantage and make your writing life that much easier (and perhaps more portable) by using the apps as writing tools.
Built-in Apps to Use
These include the free applications that are already on your device when you purchase it.
- Calendar You probably already use it, but its value is worth mentioning! Not only will the calendar keep you organized right now to the time and place for your appointments, but if you are a task-oriented person, you can map out time for you to write each day/week/month.
- Photos An easy way to have a camera with you (moreso with an iPhone, since it can fit in your pocket, but of course you can still use the iPad if you have one with a built-in camera).
- Clock Set a timer or alarm to do your marathon writing sessions, or set the stop-watch to keep track of how long you write when you’re long-winded.
- Calculator Let’s face it: not everyone can do math in their heads. And you don’t have to if you don’t want to. Use it to calculate your hourly pay, or total the hours you wrote, etc.
- Notes This app is great because you can write memos to yourself in list fashion or in paragraphs. One tip that helps – make your first sentence be the title of your note (perhaps with the date) for easier access when skimming through your list.
- Voice Memos If you have an iPhone with this feature, you don’t have to worry about typing on the go – open the app and press “record” and you have a very handy and easy-to-use voice recorder. Later you can transcribe your thoughts and never miss an opportunity to take down your thoughts just because you lack pen/paper or an Internet connection.
- Youtube Had to mention this one, since without it you wouldn’t have video how-to’s, or a way for you to branch out in you writing by creating short video clips you can share with the world to showcase your movie skills. Even better, add clips to your writing and you add more weight to your content!
Free Apps to Download
Not all apps cost you anything to download, and not everything that’s for a fee is worth the money. Fortunately, by looking through reviews, skimming the list of apps by user rating stars, and watching for sales (since some apps start out as paying and then may become free), you can find some indispensible gems. Here are mine:
- Facebook Used as an easy networking and marketing tool, you can promote your business, articles, and events by posting them on Facebook. And since you’re probably on the go with your iPhone or iPad, this mobile app makes logging in easier and faster while loading the site.
- Pinterest A highly addictive site should you choose to browse through it when taking a writing break, it can also be useful when scouring ideas for how-to articles you want to write or sharing your ideas with others.
- Words With Friends and Scramble These are two games I can’t go without! By playing them on a regular basis with my contacts, it stimulates vocabulary and makes for interesting discussions. So forget playing pc games when you can have easy word games to feed your brain without needing a flash player or other plug-in.
- Ruler Though not larger than the screen of your device, having a ruler can be useful if you need a quick measurement on something while on the go. Changes easily from centimeters to inches.
- DocsToGo If you like using Microsoft Office, then you’ll probably love using this app. Create, share, and manage docs, spreadsheets, and jpegs just as you would with the MS office suite. The best part is, you can save the files to your home computer or upload files from your home computer to the smart device.
- AppShopper No matter how many apps you have, this one is bound to be most important, and for good reason. AppShopper is where you can keep track of sales on all apps you may want to buy (writing or non), and know when prices go up. Because of it, I hardly ever use the App Store anymore.
With so many applications available at your fingertips, you can’t help but enhance your writing quality and make the most out of each writing experience.
Natasha Kohlhoff Polak (Freelance Writer)
Content and Creative Writing Services
