Whether you are tentatively planning your first ever blog post or are a best-selling novelist working on your latest blockbuster, there are plenty of apps out there designed for writers. But as writers are sometimes known for their procrastination techniques, and choosing the right app could be the excuse for putting off work on your Great American Novel for several days, we thought it would be helpful to provide a few pointers.
The App Store is the best place to discover and download apps you’ll love on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Go to the App Store on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch to browse apps. When you find an app that you want, follow these steps: Tap the app. To buy an app, tap the price on the right side of the screen, then tap Buy. To get a free app, tap Get on the right side of the screen, then tap Install. If asked, enter your password.
All of the apps featured are available for both Mac and iOS, as I feel it’s important that you can work on the move as well as at a desk. In my comments, though, I’m focusing on the Mac versions as that’s the platform on which most people are likely to do the bulk of their writing.
The obvious starting point, of course, is the app Apple gives you for free: Pages. In fact, some might question why you would ever need anything else, so let’s start with this before considering some of the alternatives …
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In our latest look at the best apps to arrive in the last week, we're highlighting a great way to speed up your Internet connection, three educational apps perfect for kids, and more. Trade in your smartphone for credit. With Apple GiveBack, you can trade in your eligible smartphone and get up to $500 toward a new iPhone. ** It’s good for you and the planet. See how it works. This is a top selling app for iPhone that allows you to control your Mac or PC through a WiFi connection or on 3G. You can manage your desktop applications directly from your iPhone, and it comes with a full retina support display on iPhone 4 models and higher.
Pages
Pages is a deceptively powerful app on both platforms with a superbly-designed user-interface. That’s because the app is intended to look simple and non-intimidating to new users, while offering plenty of features under the hood for power users. It achieves this by keeping the bells and whistles tucked away out of sight until you need them.
For example, create a new blank document and you’ll see a pretty clean view (below). By default, none of the formatting or page setup features are shown, just a single row of buttons with largely intuitive functions.
But as soon as you want to apply formatting, for example, clicking the Format button opens up a column offering everything from bold and italics through line-spacing, justification, indents, bullets, links, columns and borders – through to more advanced features like widow & orphan control (ensuring that a single word or line from a paragraph doesn’t end up on a new page). If you want to add tables, illustrations or photos, you can.
Pages uses iCloud by default, so you can create a document on your Mac, continue writing it on your iPad and add the finishing touches on your iPhone. That functionality is baked right in, so you don’t need to do anything special to take advantage of it.
If you’re writing for publication, you can export your manuscript to Word to send it to agents and publishers, or choose ePub to turn it into an iBook. Pages doesn’t, though, support other ebook formats like Kindle’s .mobi – which is one of several reasons I recommend using a more sophisticated app for a novel. But if you’re writing shorter pieces, and want to get to work straight away, Pages is a solid choice.
iA Writer
If you’re one of those people who seems to spend more time choosing your typeface and tweaking app settings than you do actually writing, iA Writer may be your saviour. The app has a super-minimalist UI designed to give a typewriter-style feel.
While you are actually typing, everything else disappears from the screen. No toolbar, no status bar, not even the header strip with close, minimize and maximize buttons. All you see is your virtual sheet of paper and your words.
If you want an even more typewriter-like feel, you can select typewriter mode, in which the text you’re typing stays centred on the virtual page and previous text scrolls upwards. This mode has an additional feature designed specifically for those writers who can’t resist going back to rewrite the paragraph they’ve just finished: text grays out as it scrolls up and away. I know some writers for whom this would be a godsend!
The minimalism of iA Writer continues under the hood: the file format is plain text, and the default location to save files is on iCloud. There are no decisions to make unless you specifically want to store the file elsewhere.
If you love the approach but can’t bring yourself to part with basic formatting, like italics, iA Writer supports Markdown. This allows codes to be used to indicate things like **bold** and *italics* while retaining a plain text format. If you’re not comfortable with Markdown, you do have the option of using the usual CMD-B and CMD-I keyboard shortcuts, and you can also select formatting from a status bar that appears when you mouseover the bottom of the page. (The top bar, too, appears only when you mouseover it.) However, the plain text format means that your Markdown codes will be visible.
The status bar additionally holds a wordcount, that you can change to characters, sentences or read-time.
https://barnew588.weebly.com/blog/time-out-app-for-mac. Markdown supports HTML-style structures, so you also have the option of using things like multi-level headers, bullet-points and so on – with sensible keyboard shortcuts for each – but these are all tucked away out of sight.
By default, you see only the document on which you’re working, but you can show a sidebar with other documents if you need to switch back and forth between them – for example, between different chapters of a novel. But really iA Writer is all about that single-page view, with no distractions in sight.
In my view, if you aren’t writing things with complex structures or which require lots of formatting, and you are easily distracted, then iA Writer is the perfect writing app. It’s you, the words and very little else.
iA Writer costs $3.99 on iOS and $9.99 on Mac.
Ulysses
If you like the core idea of iA Writer but are working on more complex documents or are someone who likes to see an overview of their work – such as a series of novels – then Ulysses is well worth a look. This is essentially a more sophisticated version of iA Writer with asignificantly steeper price: $24.99 on iOS and $44.99 on Mac.
Like iA Writer, it is essentially based on plain text with Markdown – though it actually uses a proprietary file format – and offers many of the same features. It has typewriter mode, for example, but in a more configurable form. For example, you can decide whether or not you want the previous text to gray-out. If you do want this, you can choose between having the current line, sentence or paragraph highlighted. And so on.
That proprietary file format isn’t a big deal, by the way, as Ulysses allows you to export your work to HTML, docx (for compatibility with Word and Pages), PDF and ePub.
Ulysses offers three different views when writing. In the screenshot at the top, I have all three panes showing: Library, Sheets and Editor. You can see under iCloud, I have two different books listed, and I’m editing book 1, 2184. Pane 2 shows two chapters of that book, while pane shows the chapter I’m working on. But switching panes on or off is as simple as CMD-1, -2 or -3. This makes it really easy to jump between different chapters or sections while still retaining a clean, uncluttered view while actually writing.
The app can do pretty much everything iA Writer can do, so I won’t repeat features here, but it offers a lot more configurability. Whether this is a good or bad thing, of course, depends on your viewpoint!
For example, Ulysses supports multiple versions of Markdown, so if you have a preferred one, you can either select it from the choices offered – or even configure your own. If you choose one of the standard Markdown versions, you can customize it. For example, a hash mark (#) is the standard way to indicate heading level 1, but if you want to use a different character instead, you can.
You can also use various different themes and templates. King of thieves app for mac.
Ulysses automatically creates versioned backups of your work: hourly for the last 12 hours, daily for the last seven days and weekly for the past six months. This could be a life-saver if you do something silly like delete a chapter of your novel after deciding against it, then realizing that it would be the perfect event to happen later in the story.
If you are writing for a WordPress or Medium blog, Ulysses can be configured to allow direct publishing in either or both.
You can set wordcount goals and be notified when you hit them – something I find really useful when working on a novel and setting myself a goal of 2000 words per writing session. You can also tag text with keywords, enabling you to search for them later, as well as attaching notes or images.
In short, Ulysses is the app you want if you like the ‘text with markup’ philosophy of iA Writer but are working on more complex documents or want greater customization options.
Ulysses costs $24.99 on iOS and $44.99 on Mac.
Scrivener
I’ve saved my favorite writing app for last! I’ve written two technothriller novels (11/9 and The Billion Dollar Heist), a rom-com (not yet available in ebook form), a travel guide and – most recently – the first two books in an SF novella series, 2184 (which will be free next week) and Replicate. All of these were written in Scrivener, and it’s no exaggeration to say that I wouldn’t even consider writing a novel in anything else.
Iphone App For Mac
I’ve written full reviews of both the Mac app and the iOS one, so I’ll simply summarise the key benefits here.
To me, Scrivener is the app that does it all. Want an iA Writer-like distraction-free interface? Scrivener can do that. I have my Composition Mode set to white paper on a black background.
But the beauty of Scrivener is it can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. Here are all the available preferences for this mode.
As you can see, you can set foreground color, background color, left & right margins, choose the type of scrolling (normal, typewriter, with or without fading) and more. https://barnew588.weebly.com/blog/tapes-app-for-mac-can-you-download.
The configurability of Scrivener is unmatched by anything else I’ve ever seen. I consider myself a power user of the app, but I doubt that even I have ever delved into more than about 10% of the available settings.
One of the things I love about Scrivener is that it’s as useful for planning and editing as it is for writing. For example, when planning a novel, the app offers a corkboard view. You can write notes on virtual index cards, rearrange the cards, stack them, unstack them and so on until you have a plan.
By default, the corkboard looks like one, with a texture background and lined cards. I’m not a fan of either, but Scrivener’s famed configurability comes to the rescue and with a few clicks I have plain white cards on a plain grey background.
Once you’re ready to begin writing, those corkboard cards can be viewed as binder entries:
Again, I’ve changed the default appearance. I use color-coding to indicate the status of each chapter: green for written, orange for in progress, yellow for planned but not written, white for not planned and red for a problem I need to resolve or research I need to conduct. Once I’ve completed the first draft, I set everything back to yellow and then use the colors to indicate editing status.
You can also assign keywords to do things like bring up all the chapters in which a particular character is present, or which takes place at a particular location.
My technothrillers have multiple viewpoints, and I switch rapidly back-and-forth between them. Each time I switch viewpoint, I need to be able to see exactly where I left things. Scrivener makes it simple to do so, either clicking back and forth in the binder, or placing two chapters or sections side-by-side. Or one above the other. Or one free-floating. Again, customization options for the win.
Like Ulysses, Scrivener allows me to set wordcount targets – and it will by now come as no surprise to learn that these can be as simple or as complex as you like. Want a wordcount target for your current session? Go ahead. Want to complete your novel by 26th of April, writing on Wednesday evenings and Sunday afternoons? Give Scrivener your target wordcount and it will automatically calculate targets for each writing session, adjusting them as required.
Need to refer to reference materials while you’re writing? You can have free-floating documents off to the side as you right. Same with graphics, be it a blueprint or a photo you’ve downloaded as inspiration for a character.
Researching things on the web? You can save offline copies of webpages and have them to hand as you write.
Oh, and don’t look for a Save button in Scrivener. The app does allow you to do a CMD-S just to make you feel happy, but by default it automatically saves your work each time you pause in your typing, and it also automatically creates versioned backups.
Once your manuscript is finally complete, Scrivener can output to just about every file format imaginable – including ebooks. Again, you can choose between the simplicity of output templates, or an insane degree of configurable options.
Check out the full reviews of Mac and iOS versions for more. But if you are feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the apps available to you and just want a single recommendation, mine would be: buy Scrivener.
Scrivener costs $19.99 on iOS and $45 on Mac.
If you have your own favorite writing apps, do share them in the comments.
This post was created by the Contributor in partnership with Still looking for a new iPhone, iPad, MacBook or Apple Watch? Apple has officially confirmed its Cyber Monday 2018 sales. There’s a lot to say about these deals, both good and bad, but there are certainly some solid discounts and you’re buying straight from the source. Best free apps for mac. That said, for big iPhone XS and iPhone XR discounts you’re going to need Walmart’s Cyber Monday sale.
My Cyber Monday 2018 store guides are already live for Amazon, for Best Buy, for Target and for Walmart. Thanks go to my holiday season sales partner, BestBlackFriday.com, for helping me collate all of these sales.
Cyber Monday Apple iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR sales have massive savings
AppleHere’s the bad news. According to the Apple Store Cyber Monday 2018 ad, Apple will only be offering gift cards on regularly priced products and many of the latest models are excluded. This means no iPhone XS, XS Max or XR and no Apple Watch Series 4 (which is not included in any holiday season sales). On the plus side, there are some significant discounts on iPad and MacBook ranges and buying directly from Apple is always reassuring.
Apple’s Cyber Monday Deals
My tip is to avoid Apple’s iPhone deals. These are older models and Walmart has much bigger discounts, while it will also offer coupons of up to $300 on the latest models. What does fall in Apple’s favour is its iPhones are unlocked, so if that is very important to you these deals could work.
iPhones
- iPhone 8 Plus + $50 gift card starting at $699 - See Ad Scan Deal
- iPhone 8 + $50 gift card starting at $599 - See Ad Scan Deal
- iPhone 7 Plus + $50 gift card starting at $599 - See Ad Scan Deal
- iPhone 7 + $50 gift card starting at $449 - See Ad Scan Deal
iPads
The standout deal here is the $100 discount on the 2018 iPad. This is the workhorse of the iPad range and it’s an excellent tablet suitable for the whole family. It’s also a much better deal than the iPad Mini 4, which is now three years old and features ageing specifications.
Apple Iphone Apps
- 10.5-inch iPad Pro + gift card of up to $100 for $649 - See Ad Scan Deal
- iPad + gift card of up to $100 for $329 - See Ad Scan Deal
- iPad Mini 4 + gift card of up to $100 for $399 - See Ad Scan Deal
Apple's Cyber Monday 2018 MacBook Pro sale is solid
AppleMacBooks
Perhaps Apple’s best Cyber Monday deals. These are solid discounts on very popular models and make the entry-level MacBook Pro, MacBook and MacBook Air very appealing. Do note, Apple has recently updated these models, so be sure to check which specification Apple sells on the day.
- MacBook Pro + gift card of up to $200 for $1,299 - See Ad Scan Deal
- MacBook + gift card of up to $200 for $1,299 - See Ad Scan Deal
- MacBook Air + gift card of up to $200 for $999 - See Ad Scan Deal
- iMac + gift of up to $200 for $1,099 - See Ad Scan Deal
- iMac Pro + gift of up to $200 for $4,999 - See Ad Scan Deal
Apple Watch
Yes, its a shame the heavily redesigned Apple Watch Series 4 is not included in these sales but the Series 3 remains a very solid device, especially when you walk away with a $50 gift card in your pocket. But be warned: I do expect Cyber Monday deals from Target and from B&H to beat this.
- Apple Watch Series 3 (GPS) + $50 gift card starting at $279 - See Ad Scan Deal
- Apple Watch Series 3 (GPS + Cellular) + $50 gift card starting at $379 - See Ad Scan Deal
Other Apple Electronics
Apple TV deals are been in very short supply this holiday sales season so, while small, these discounts are worth taking if you’re in the market for this device. The HomePod discount is fine, but it was discounted by up to $100 during Black Friday and may return for Cyber Monday as well.
- HomePod + $50 gift card for $349 - See Ad Scan Deal
- Apple TV 4K + $25 gift card for $179 - See Ad Scan Deal
- Apple TV + $25 gift card for $149 - See Ad Scan Deal
Beats
Black Friday saw some isolated Beats deals, but nothing across the product range to compare with this selection. Those deals had slightly bigger discounts but for the PowerBeats3 range, in particular, these gift cards equate to 25% of the asking price which is a good deal.
- Beats Studio3 Wireless Over-Ear Headphones - The Beats Skyline Collection + $50 gift card for $349.95 - See Ad Scan Deal
- Beats Solo3 Wireless On-Ear Headphones + $50 gift card for $299.95 - See Ad Scan Deal
- Beats Solo3 Wireless On-Ear Headphones - Beats Pop Collection + $50 gift card for $299.95 - See Ad Scan Deal
- Beats Solo3 Wireless Over-Ear Headphones + $50 gift card for $299.95 - See Ad Scan Deal
- Powerbeats3 Wireless Earphones - Beats Pop Collection + $50 gift card for $199.95 - See Ad Scan Deal
- Powerbeats3 Wireless Earphones + $50 gift card for $199.95 - See Ad Scan Deal
While Apple gets a lot of criticism for not being more generous with its Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, the truth is there are some very solid deals here. That said if you want to chase the maximum discounts available my advice would be to monitor the sales of Apple partners and you find my Cyber Monday guides here for Amazon, for Best Buy, for Target, for Walmart and new Apple retailer Amazon.
If you’d like to track my daily Black Friday 2018 guides, leaks and recommendations, hit the Follow button on my author page or follow me using any of the social media links below.
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