Hello my darlings!
It has been a while. And as you might know, I have a new baby in my house… keeping me up at all hours of the night, and completely disinterested in watching his papa write books. It is needless to say that I basically live on my phone. Feeding takes a while and baby eats often… and there are only so many of the same four Forensic Files episodes one can sit through. That being said, I have discovered a few writing apps and I thought I would share them with you, in case you ever find yourself confined to your mobile device.
Mind you, I have an Android phone. Some of these may also be Apple compatible… I am not certain.
1. Writer
Writer is an app that boasts a ‘distraction free’ sort of writing environment. It does provide that. It is easy to keep organized, easy to write in … but that is about all it is good for. It is a glorified notepad app. There is no way to export your content, which bothers me, because I like to have my work saved in twelve places. But for quick note jotting…this app works well for me.
2. JotterPad (Writer)
JotterPad is currently my favorite Android app for writing. It has a lot of features that are incredibly useful. For instance, you can back up your documents to dropbox, and edit them offline. You can export and share your content, there is “night mode” for nighttime writing, and it keeps track of your word count. It takes a moment to figure out how to navigate, and you get many more features with the paid version…but the free version is all you need, in my opinion.
3. Word Counter
Word Counter keeps track of your wordcount in a very NaNoWriMo type way. You paste your text into the box and it gives you the wordcount…very simple. I only use it when I’ve been typing in Writer, which is not so often now that I have been using JotterPad. A good, simple app for its purpose.
4. WattPad
Technically not an app specifically for writing… but if you’re addicted to Wattpad like I am, this app is actually a very good way to keep track of your stats, stories, and update your profile on the go as well. And I suppose you could do your writing on there, especially if that is where you store the majority of your WIP’s anyway.
5. Pixlr
Ok, so again, not an app for writing. Pixlr is actually a photo editor, and it is my absolute favorite thing. There is a free web version and a free version for installation on your computer and I highly recommend all of it. Just all of it. I have actually successfully created a book cover using this program (which I shall do a reveal of very shortly, don’t fret) and it turned out pretty awesome. So again, highly recommended free editing program, especially if you don’t have much experience with things like Photoshop or Gimp.
I am sure I will discover more fun writer-centric apps on my journey through parenthood. This list will continue to be updated as bigger and better comes along. Until then!
C.N. Faust 