Hey there, fellow aspiring writers! Ready to kickstart your writing journey but feeling a bit overwhelmed? Don’t worry, I’ve got your back! Today, I’m diving into the world of free writing tools that are perfect for beginners. Whether you’re crafting your first short story, penning a novel, or just looking to jot down your thoughts, these tools will make your life a whole lot easier. So grab your favorite beverage, settle in, and let’s explore some awesome resources together!
Google Docs is the equivalent of the classic Microsoft’s Word but you can access your documents anywhere you have access to the internet, it also works offline. Google Docs is also great if you work with an editor or client who wants to make comments or make suggestions without disrupting your content. Personally, I used this together with scrivener to write my novels. I like being able to access my documents anywhere I happen to be when inspiration strikes, even on my phone. It also means I have a back-up of my files should one of these break/stop working. A standard licence is a one off payment of $95 AUD and not essential for beginners.
Grammarly is an AI-powered grammar checker and writing assistant that helps you find grammar errors and fix them right on the spot. It’s my go-to editing tool thanks to its ease-of-use and effectiveness.
Goblin tools, are a collection of small, simple, single-task tools, mostly designed to help neurodivergent people with tasks they find overwhelming or difficult. Tools include. – A Magic Todo list that automatically breaks down tasks into steps. If you’re wanting to do a task and you’re having trouble definiing what steps to take, this free tool will break it down for you! https://goblin.tools/
Books from your local Library. I know that for me a lot of the writing process is daydreaming and digging up that inspiration that will help me mentally craft the story I want to write. With this comes the need to read and let new influences into your bubble. Local librarys have everything a new writer could need, make use of this amazing resource regularly.
People watching is a fantastic free resource for building characters and coming up wth scenes. Most of us do this subconciously but make an effott to spent time in parks and cafes, make notes of your observations for later use.
Lastly I wanted to share this advice for new writers that has really helped me.
I think John Green said it best: “Every single day, I get emails from aspiring writers asking my advice about how to become a writer, and here is the only advice I can give: Don’t make stuff because you want to make money — it will never make you enough money. And don’t make stuff because you want to get famous — because you will never feel famous enough. Make gifts for people — and work hard on making those gifts in the hope that those people will notice and like the gifts.
Maybe they will notice how hard you worked, and maybe they won’t — and if they don’t notice, I know it’s frustrating. But, ultimately, that doesn’t change anything — because your responsibility is not to the people you’re making the gift for, but to the gift itself.”
Isabel Allende co-founded the feminist magazine Paula in 1967. On publishing her first book, the 1982 bestseller The House of the Spirits, she was celebrated as a new feminist voice in a male-dominated literary landscape. Dozens more books followed, including Daughter of Fortune, Inés of My Soul and City of the Beasts, which have been translated into more than 40 languages.
I start all my books on January eighth. Can you imagine January seventh? It’s hell. Every year on January seventh, I prepare my physical space. I clean up everything from my other books. I just leave my dictionaries, and my first editions, and the research materials for the new one. And then on January eighth I walk seventeen steps from the kitchen to the little pool house that is my office. It’s like a journey to another world. It’s winter, it’s raining usually. I go with my umbrella and the dog following me. From those seventeen steps on, I am in another world and I am another person. I go there scared. And excited. And disappointed — because I have a sort of idea that isn’t really an idea. The first two, three, four weeks are wasted. I just show up in front of the computer. Show up, show up, show up, and after a while the muse shows up, too. If she doesn’t show up invited, eventually she just shows up.
I have enjoyed her books and when I found these three pieces of advice she shared for aspiring writers I had to share!
1. “It’s worth the work to find the precise word that will create a feeling or describe a situation. Use a thesaurus, use your imagination, scratch your head until it comes to you, but find the right word.”
2. “When you feel the story is beginning to pick up rhythm—the characters are shaping up, you can see them, you can hear their voices, and they do things that you haven’t planned, things you couldn’t have imagined—then you know the book is somewhere, and you just have to find it, and bring it, word by word, into this world.”
3. “When you tell a story in the kitchen to a friend, it’s full of mistakes and repetitions. It’s good to avoid that in literature, but still, a story should feel like a conversation. It’s not a lecture.”
What free tools have you tried and loved?
Until next time!!
Cath
Catherine Croft 