Writing is a time consuming creative process to begin with, so why waste more of that time with formatting, planning, etc. Here are five free writing tools which many writers find invaluable.

1. Grammarly – Grammar Checker

Grammarly is the best all-around grammar and format checker there is. It checks over 250 different points about your grammar, including style, spelling, punctuation, grammar, and sentence structure. It even has plagiarism detection!

They have a free Chrome extension that gives you feedback real-time, but you can also pay to use their web-interface and use their full functionality including over 400 grammar checks.

To learn more about the benefits of Grammarly, read our Grammarly review here.

2. Trello – Planning Made Simple

Trello is an awesome tool for managing both your writing and your team’s. It allows you to easily create categories (I normally use classic Kanban style “To Do,” “Doing,” “Done”), create tasks in each of those categories, then assign or color code those tasks. Moving the task cards is as simple as clicking on one and dragging.

Trello is 100% free unless you want some advanced features such as integrations with external apps, larger file attachments, etc. Give it a try!

3. Google Docs

You probably already use Google Docs and Sheets, but they are definitely worth mentioning. Google Docs has almost the exact same features as Microsoft Word, is cloud based, and can be edited real-time by anyone on your team. Google Docs makes requesting feedback on your work super simple. Instead of emailing a Word doc back and forth, just share the link with your proofreader and they immediately have access to comment on your work.

If you aren’t already using Google Docs, give it a shot. You may end up ditching your old word processing software.

4. Evernote – Notetaking. Anywhere.

Evernote is the best cloud-hosted note-taking app there is. You can store most forms of media within it including images, documents, notes, annotations. Everything is synced instantly so you can go from working on your computer to mobile device depending on the setting you’re in. They allow basic organization features including 2-level stacked notebooks (category and sub-category) as well as tags. Their search features are also cutting edge, making it super easy to find anything you’re looking for.

Evernote is free unless you need advanced annotation features or intend to upload more than 60Mb of content every month.

5. Unstuck App – Never Get Stuck Again

Everyone gets writer’s block at sometime or another. Usually, it’s at the worst possible time. The Unstuck App seeks to remedy this by providing a toolkit and set of prompting questions that seek to get your creative juices flowing.