8 Writing Tools Every Writer Should Know About

As a writer, you may be working harder than you need to if you are not using the available tools for your job. The old adage “there’s no need to reinvent the wheel” certainly applies to this situation. Have no fear, we’re here to help with eight writing tools that all writers should consider adding to their toolboxes.

1 LiveScribe Pen

Do you get writing inspiration from your daily life? You may jot notes on paper, but how often do you lose or forget about them? Your problem has a solution. The LiveScribe 3 smartpen uses Bluetooth technology to send your drawings and notes to your mobile device. The LiveScribe notebooks use a special pattern on its paper to accurately record your pen strokes, but you can also print single sheets for free with a laser printer. If you prefer to dictate notes, the pen also captures audio with a built-in microphone.

2 Computer Glasses

Everybody who uses a computer extensively is susceptible to eyestrain, but writers are especially at risk because of their frequent reading habits. According to the American Optometric Association, you may be at risk for symptoms such as blurry vision, light sensitivity, and burning or itchy eyes if you spend as little as two hours in front of a computer monitor. They also caution that the eyeglasses or contact lenses you normally use may not be adequate for heavy computer use. Ask your doctor about special lenses, coatings, and tints.

3 Ergonomic desks and chairs

The ideal placement of a computer screen is about four to five inches below eye level and at least twenty inches from your face. Standing desks promote productivity, but a good chair can also contribute to efficiency. Choose a chair that is comfortable and provides back and arm support. Staples, an office furniture distributor, explains that ergonomic chairs should be fitted to the body dimensions of the user, thereby reducing “strain and muscle tension.”

4 Grammarly

Of course, we couldn’t list our favorite writing tools without mentioning Grammarly! The app does more than identify grammar and spelling mistakes; it provides deep explanations of grammar rules and suggested corrections. You can install Grammarly as an extension for Chrome, Safari, or Firefox web browsers for free, or check longer pieces of writing in Grammarly’s online text editor. Grammarly Premium, a paid service, checks for a wider variety of errors, detects plagiarism, and offers style and vocabulary enhancements.

5 Foldable Keyboards

Did you know you can type using your smartphone or tablet? Most writers would balk because of the impracticality of typing a long document on a tiny touchscreen. However, a foldable keyboard can enable you to get work done on the go. Bluetooth keyboards have been around for a while, but some people found them bulky and unmanageable because they were almost as big as a tablet. New foldable keyboards offer convenience in a small package. For example, the Microsoft Universal Foldable Keyboard is just under twelve inches open, but it collapses down to under six inches when closed. Don’t throw out your laptop, though, because portable keyboards aren’t intended for extended use.

6 Contently

Contently hosts a wealth of resources for freelance writers, such as tips, job openings, and online portfolio hosting. For instance, the article “5 Red Flags to Look for in a Contract” explains the legal terms that might boggle a freelancer into a bad agreement. Contently also offers writing jobs on its website. Even if you don’t see a job that suits you today, you can create a free online portfolio to showcase your work to potential clients. The Contently algorithm will automatically search your portfolio and forward it if you match the skills required for a writing project.

7 Twords

Twords describes itself as “the web app that nudges you to write.” The app operates based on three principles—awareness, accountability, and consistency. Twords makes you aware of your writing habits by tracking how much you write each day and month. “Accountability buddies” notify you when you miss several days of writing. If you get writer’s block, you can consult a library of prompts, set a timer to challenge yourself to write for a specific amount of time, or read an article about the habits of successful authors.

8 Evernote

Evernote is a software program that syncs digital items across all your devices. For example, suppose you are at the office and you want to consult a website that you viewed on your desktop last night at home. Or you are at the gym and you want to access a photograph or an email, but all you have is your smartphone. You can set up Evernote to monitor certain folders on your computers. Anything that you add to the folder is accessible from all your tech gadgets. You can even search your notes if you don’t remember where you saved something.

What’s your go-to writing tool? Let us know in the comments section of this post.

Breath vs. Breathe

• Breathe is a verb we use for the process of inhaling and exhaling.
• Breath is a noun that refers to a full cycle of breathing. It can also refer to the air that is inhaled or exhaled.
• Both words can be used in several different ways and are part of many phrases and idioms.

You know when it gets really cold outside, and you exhale and see the steam coming out of your mouth? Is it your breath that you’re seeing or is it your breathe? Do we need to breath so we can live, or do we need to breathe? Clearly there’s a difference between breath and breathe, a difference that extends beyond that extra “e” that appears at the end of one of them. Breath vs. breathe is a dilemma you shouldn’t be having, so let’s settle it once and for all.

How Do You Spell Breath or Breathe?

The difference between breath and breathe is a matter of word class: one of the two is a noun and the other is a verb. It’s also easy to see the connection between them, with the noun being the product of the action we describe with the verb. But with a difference of only one letter between them, breath and breathe still get mixed up when people are not clear about which one is the noun and which one is the verb.

The shorter one, breath, is the noun, and the longer one, breathe is the verb. Both have multiple meanings and uses, and are a common component of many idioms.

How to Use Breath, the Noun

The literal meaning of the noun breath is tied to the exchange of gasses we commonly refer to as breathing. In that sense, breath can refer to the process of breathing in general or the ability to breathe. You can also use breath to refer to a full cycle of breathing. For example, when you’re doing yoga, you might need to hold a pose for five breaths. Breath can also be used when we speak about the air we breath in and out during the process of breathing.

If you’d like to move away from the literal meaning of the word, you can also use breath when you’re talking about a small amount of something, usually wind. Also, breath is commonly used to signify a pause or rest, as in the phrases “take a breath” or “catch breath.”

How to Use Breathe, the Verb

Breathing is a process by which we take air into our lungs, get oxygen from it, and expel carbon dioxide back into our surroundings. At least, that’s one of the ways the verb “breathe” can be used as an intransitive verb. You can also use it to say that something allows free passage or circulation of air. That’s why you might hear someone mention an article of clothing that “breathes.” But wine can also be allowed to breathe, so the verb can also mean that something is exposed to air. Figuratively, you can also use breathe to say that something is alive.

As a transitive verb, “breathe” can be used to say that we use something in breathing – we breathe air, but we don’t breathe water. If you add “in” or “out,” breathe can be synonymous with “inhale” or “exhale.” But you can also say that you breathe life into a party, or that you breathe an air of mystery, so in these senses, you can use breathe as you would “impart” or “have.”

Breath and Breathe in Idioms

Breath and breathe appear in a number of idioms. When you say you need room to breathe, you’re saying you need freedom or more space to do something. When someone is breathing down your neck, either you’re under scrutiny or someone is chasing you and it seems they are catching up to you. When you say you can breathe easily now, you could be saying that you’re feeling relieved.

To take one’s breath away is to surprise them. When someone says that you shouldn’t hold your breath, it usually means you shouldn’t hope. A breath of fresh air is someone or something that challenges staleness. You can say something under your breath, which means to say it quietly, or do something in the same breath as something else, which means to do it simultaneously.

Examples of Breath and Breathe

“I realized as I watched him fight for breath, that his life was as important to him as mine is to me.” —The Huffington Post

“Press your shoulder blades down and keep your head and neck relaxed. Hold this for 5-10 breaths.” —The Daily Mail

“Many people find observing their breath flowing in and out is a good way to stay mindful.” —BBC

“Hardly a breath of wind: the silence that emphasizes a city’s fate.” —The Independent

“Canada wildfire: Firefighters catch a breath as rain helps in oil sands fire battle.” —ABC

“Children with sickle cell disease may breathe easier when they’re given hydroxyurea…” —WebMD

“Designers sweat the details to let athletic clothes breathe.” —The Washington Post

“Allowing a wine to ‘breathe’ is simply a process of exposing it to air for a period of time before serving.” —Total Wine

“Steve has a real feeling for red wine; he lives and breathes red wine.” —The Australian

“More than 80 percent of people living in urban areas that monitor air pollution breathe air that exceeds WHO air quality limits, according to the report, which was released Thursday.” —ThinkProgress

“Committee member Rebecca Pow, the Conservative MP for Taunton Deane, appeared taken aback by the idea that people could be breathing in plastics.” —The Independent

“All that hustling to breathe life into Main Street may have been the easy part.” —The Orange County Register

“The Memorial Day parade in Hamburg breathes an air of mystery.” —Livingston Daily

Which is your favorite rule?

What Language Do the Minions Speak?

The Minions have their own movie now, but before 2015, they starred alongside the lovable villain Gru in the Despicable Me movie series. Like all top actors, the Minions deliver many quotes that fans love to repeat. However, the quotes you hear from Minion fans are likely to be things like “Ngaaahaaa! Patalaki patalaku Big Boss!” What does that mean? What language do the Minions speak?

To answer that, you have to turn to the creator of the language. Minionese is not a real world language. Directors Pierre Coffin and Kyle Balda say that they borrowed cool vocabulary from existing world languages and combined them with funny sounds and gibberish to create Minionese.

Minion Words

Anyone who knows Minions knows that there’s one word they love to say—banana! Some fans even call their language “banana language.” When Minions say banana, they are usually talking about the fruit. However, there are plenty of other food words in their vocabulary. They sing a song that features banana and potato. They also reportedly say poulet tiki masala; poulet means chicken in French and tikka masala is the name of an Indian dish. They count to three in Korean and say thank you in intentionally mispronounced English. You can find fan-created Minion word sites on the Internet if you want to learn more.

How to Speak Minion

Speaking like a Minion isn’t just a matter of making nonsensical sounds with foreign words thrown in here and there. Minions talk a lot like babies. Think of it—banana is reminiscent of baby babble—ba-na-na. They use a lot of Bs and Ps, some of the first sounds that babies master. And they talk in cute little voices that lilt upwards.

Will you see the next Minion film or rewatch one of the old ones? If you do, keep an ear open for the languages you know how to speak. You might hear a phrase you recognize. Report what you think the phrases mean below!

Future Perfect

The future perfect is a verb tense used for actions that will be completed before some other point in the future.

The parade will have ended by the time Chester gets out of bed. At eight o’clock I will have left.

Key words: Verb, past participle, tense, preposition

The future perfect tense is for talking about an action that will be completed between now and some point in the future. Imagine that your friend Linda asks you to take care of her cat for a few days while she goes on a trip. She wants you to come over today at noon so she can show you where to find the cat food and how to mash it up in the bowl just right so that Fluffy will deign to eat it. But you’re busy this afternoon, so you ask Linda if you can come at eight o’clock tonight instead.

“No, that won’t work! At eight o’clock I will have left already,” she says.

What does the future perfect tell us here? It tells us that Linda is going to leave for her trip some time after right now, but before a certain point in the future (eight o’clock tonight). She probably shouldn’t have waited until the last minute to find a cat sitter.

The Future Perfect Formula

The formula for the future perfect tense is pretty simple: will have + [past participle]. It doesn’t matter if the subject of your sentence is singular or plural. The formula doesn’t change.

When to Use the Future Perfect Tense

Sometimes, you can use the future perfect tense and the simple future tense interchangeably. In these two sentences, there is no real difference in meaning because the word before makes the sequence of events clear:

Linda will leave before you get there. Linda will have left before you get there.

But without prepositions such as before or by the time that make the sequence of events clear, you need to use the future perfect to show what happened first.

At eight o’clock Linda will leave. (This means that Linda will wait until 8 o’clock to leave.) At eight o’clock Linda will have left. (This means Linda will leave before 8 o’clock.)

When Not to Use the Future Perfect Tense

The future perfect tense is only for actions that will be complete before a specified point in the future. In other words, the action you’re talking about must have a deadline. If you don’t mention a deadline, use the simple future tense instead of the future perfect tense.

Linda will leave.

Linda will have left.

The deadline can be very specific (eight o’clock) or it can be vague (next week). It can even depend on when something else happens (after the parade ends). It just has to be some time in the future.

How to make the Future Perfect Negative

Making a negative future perfect construction is easy! Just insert not between will and have.

We will not have eaten breakfast before we get to the airport tomorrow morning. They will not have finished decorating the float before the parade.

You can also use the contraction won’t in the place of will not. They won’t have finished decorating the float before the parade.

How to Ask a Question

The formula for asking a question in the future perfect tense is will + [subject] + have + [past participle]:

Will you have eaten lunch already when we arrive? Will they have finished decorating the float before the parade?

Prepositional Phrases that Often Go With the Future Perfect

By this time next week, Linda will have left for her trip. Three days from now, we will have finished our project. At midnight, the party will have ended. Will you have eaten already? Chester will not have arrived by the time the parade is over. When I travel to France, I will have been to ten countries. My sister will have cleaned the bathroom before the party. As soon as someone buys this chair, I will have sold all the furniture I wanted to get rid of.

Common Regular Verbs in the Future Perfect Tense

Common Irregular Verbs in the Future Perfect Tense

*Be careful when using the verb “to be” in the future perfect tense. The construction is easy to confuse with the future perfect continuous tense.

**The past participle of “to get” is gotten in American English. In British English, the past participle is got.

Five Books that Will Make You a Better Communicator

How do you feel when you can’t communicate your ideas or emotions? If you find it frustrating, why not make a study of communication skills? Learning to communicate is like learning to swim. You progress from breathing exercises in a few feet of water to practicing laps in deeper water. Before you know it, you’re ready for the diving board. Let’s review some books, starting with some simple fixes based on personal experiences. Next, we’ll consider some books written by accomplished researchers in the field. With a bit of practice, you’ll be speaking and writing better in no time.

How to Talk to Anyone: 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships by Leil Lowndes

Most small things are less intimidating than their full-sized versions. For example, you might not be as scared of a baby tiger as you would be of its mom. Likewise, the niney-two tips featured in this how-to guide are “little” achievable goals. The author explains: “I found concrete building blocks to the elusive qualities that lead to . . . success. Then, I broke them down into easily digestible news-you-can-use techniques.” She organized the tricks into nine chapters, which include personal anecdotes, making it a quick and interesting read. Even if you don’t need every single trick, you’re sure to find something applicable. For example, the thirtieth trick, “How to Avoid Sounding Like a Jerk,” has universal appeal. This book isn’t too serious. Read it if you want to dip your toes into the waters of better speech.

Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success at Work and in Life One Conversation at a Time by Susan Scott

According to Boss magazine, Susan Scott wasn’t prepared for the “strong opinions and egos” of some CEOs when she started coordinating think tanks. With no background in consulting to fall back on, her early encounters were a trial by fire. However, she learned to interact with powerful people and to motivate them to accomplish company goals. Fierce Conversations shares the principles of conversation that she credits for her success. Whether it’s a group of coworkers facing a disagreement or a married couple making a decision, anyone can use communication skills to enrich a relationship. Scott’s principles can be applied to any situation. For example, people often complain that they constantly repeat the same conversation. According to the fourth principle, the issue occurs because of two factors. First, the conversants haven’t identified the underlying issue. “The problem named is the problem solved. Identify and then confront the real obstacles in your path.” Second, avoiding the challenge leads to emotional fatigue which only weakens their ability to solve the problem in future conversations. “Burnout doesn’t occur because we’re solving problems; it occurs because we’ve been trying to solve the same problem over and over.” What is the real issue underlying one of your recurring discussions with a coworker or friend?

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

What’s this book doing on the list? No, it’s not a communication guide, but it does feature a character who can teach you a lot about interacting with others. The protagonist, Elizabeth Bennet, is the second-oldest daughter of a country gentleman. She tackles many sticky issues of her day—social standing, women’s education, and morality, to name a few. When she butts heads with her mother about if and when to marry, she needs to rely on her wit and charm. Her relationship with another character, Fitzwilliam Darcy, also provides fertile topics for analysis. Despite a series of misunderstandings and miscommuniqués, she finds herself attracted and repelled by the handsome Darcy. Don’t read this novel as a voyeur. Imagine that you are either the proud Darcy or the stubborn Elizabeth. Swim right into the pages of the story, and you will find yourself analyzing your present-day interactions. Do you have all the facts before you speak? Do your words reveal your true feelings?

Foreign to Familiar: A Guide to Understanding Hot- And Cold-Climate Cultures by Sarah A. Lanier

How does your culture affect the way you communicate and perceive others? This question takes us firmly out of the shallow end! The author moved from the United States to the Middle East at a young age and later worked with an international organization. She observed that the climate of a country seems to have an effect on its norms for behavior and social relations. For instance, cold climates tend towards direct communication. In other words, you might receive a simple yes or no to a question. On the other hand, warm cultures value being friendly as much as answering the question. As a form of politeness, they may indicate that the answer is yes even though it’s really no! Many travelers use the book, but anyone who lives or works with different cultures may appreciate its well-researched insight.

100 Ways to Improve Your Writing by Gary Provost

Writing well is just as important as speaking well. This book, published in the 1980s, is a classic guide to effective writing. Principles of good writing never go out of style. Gary Provost, a prolific writer of twenty-four books in various genres, is famous for bringing out the musicality of written language with the following quote: “This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It’s like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety. Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music.” Would you like your writing to be as appealing as a pleasant tune? Dive into this oldie-but-goodie!

Don’t throw your hands up in frustration if you can’t convey your thoughts and emotions as precisely as you would like. Instead, make a study of written and verbal communication. Like a young child learning to swim, you will soon gain confidence and skill as you practice the skills suggested by these communication experts.

The Battle of the Brands (INFOGRAPHIC)

In these social-media driven times, a company’s image depends increasingly on its words. From blog posts, tweets, and Facebook status updates, to good ol’ fashioned billboards, a brand’s ability to deliver error-free copy is key. While only a handful of people might notice a minor grammatical blunder in a corporate LinkedIn page, major errors undermine the brand’s credibility. After all, if a company can’t even spell correctly, why would consumers trust them to deliver a quality product?

The Grammarly team decided to take a look at some of the top brand battles of all-time; we looked at recent LinkedIn posts from each company on the list, reviewing an average of nearly 400 words per company. After scouring the posts for errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation, clear winners emerged:

• Coke vs. Pepsi: Coke makes four times fewer writing mistakes on Linkedin than Pepsi.
• Facebook vs. Google: Not only does Google dominate the Internet, but it also makes nearly four times fewer writing mistakes than Facebook on Linkedin.
• Ford vs. GM: GM makes two-and-a-half times more writing errors than Ford.

Now, it’s unlikely that you’ll choose Coke over Pepsi because of its superior command of the English language; at the consumer level, brand loyalty is based on more than advertising or web presence. However, the care that a company takes with its communications is often indicative of its overall attention to detail. Investors and competitors may judge sloppy writing, especially in the more formal setting of LinkedIn, as a sign of carelessness in a company’s overall corporate culture.

Small business owners and entrepreneurs are often under even greater scrutiny from eagle-eyed proofreaders, who have posted countless examples of bad grammar on sites like Huffington Post, Buzzfeed, and Pleated-Jeans. The Internet has made it much easier to record, share, and immortalize these mistakes.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that all social media liaisons and corporate bloggers need to be English literature professors. A skilled proofreader, whether in-house or freelance, will catch most errors. An automated proofreader like Grammarly can also help clean up copy quickly, which is perfect for smaller pieces with quick turnaround, like Tweets or status updates.

Speaking of Twitter and Facebook, it’s important to note that not all platforms are judged equally. Off-the-cuff social media can—and should—be more conversational and informal than business documents or print advertising. No one expects a 140-character Tweet to use perfect grammar and spelling, but corporations who attempt to be “hip” by using text slang often fail to impress their intended audience. Check out this roundup of corporate “Twitter fails” for examples of social media gone horribly wrong.

The rules of acceptable grammar are always changing—does anyone really bat an eye anymore at Wendy’s “late nite drive-thru?”—and too much inflexible formality in writing leads to stilted copy. While some grammar rules shouldn’t be broken (here’s a list of 25 common grammar mistakes to avoid), knowing the intended audience and the conventions of a particular social media platform can go a long way to setting the tone for your writing. In general, younger consumers care less about grammar than their older counterparts, and sites like LinkedIn are more formal than Twitter or Facebook.