7 free tools that will improve your writing skills

Writing can be a chore. And that's not even half the story. Once you're done, there's a whole different world of pain awaiting you. A world consisting of proofreading, rephrasing, sitting on a draft for weeks and finally, more editing. Most of us can't even flesh out a full draft on our first go. Even before the very first line has been written, we start tapping the backspace key of 'crtl z' our way out of whatever woreful drivel we'd just concocted.

But once we've overcome the existential crisis of coming up with the perfect opening line, it gets better. For a while. Anyone who deals with a considerable amount of writing wants to get better, whether that means making less grammatical mistakes or refinining your style. While making visible imporvement can take anywhere between months and years, the good news is that there are plenty of online resources to expedite the process. And even if you're not in the writing business, it doesn't hurt to be able to post Facebook statuses in flawless English. Say goodbye to your writing woes with these 7 free online tools.

Calmly Writer

Calmly Writer was "designed to help you focus on writing". Available on any browser, it is a simple and clean text editor with a distraction-free user interface. Best thing is you don't need to sign up. A hundred percent devoid of any screen clutter, you won't be getting distracted any time soon with this handy app. Calmy also features a focus mode which highlights only the paragraph you are working on. Complete with text formatting and compatible with keyboard shortcuts, this is a chic and smooth writing experience that's worth a try.

Hemingway

It's hard to put Hemingway into one single category. This app is a game changer for those of us who struggle with long, complex sentences. Copy paste your writing into the white space provided and it will highlight long-winded sentences in yellow and dense sentences in red. With a whole range of editing options like hints for shorter words and a readability meter, Hemingway is smart, user-friendly and the go-to tool for any writer.

Cliche Finder

This app requires no explanation. Paste your text in the box and watch Cliche Finder work its magic in seconds. Any phrases that are overused to the point of being annoying are highlighted in red so that you can reword, rewrite  and test again for improved quality. Cliche Finder is simple and easy to use, but it falls short of perfection in that it doesn't provide alternatives for your ungainly hackneyed banter.

OneLook Reverse Dictionary

Have a word in mind but can't quite remember it? Let OneLook's Reverse Dictionary do your work for you. Describe a concept and get back a list of words and phrases related to that concept – plus better alternatives. Paired with Cliche Finder, Reverse Dictionary is your one-way ticket to literary stardom.

Blog Topic Generator by HubSpot

HubSpot's Blog Topic Generator is an intelligent title generator for your articles. You get three fields to fill in with terms (preferably nouns) that you'd like to write about and voilà, you get five perfectly worded titles that sound just like something out of Buzzfeed. The app comes with a disclaimer that the algorithm isn't perfect, but I'd like to disagree. Blog Topic Generator is a gem that will help you come up with ideas for articles more than you can imagine.

Writepls

Search for writing advice on Google and you'll regret ever having done so. Writepls makes things easier for you. It gives you seven categories to pick from: general, fiction, non-fiction, e-mails, online courses, growth hacking and books. Each category contains a collection of the best writing advice out there and related information and sends it straight to your inbox.

Grammarly

Last but not least, the top dog of web writing apps. Grammarly is like Word's AutoCorrect except it's for the internet. A Chrome plug-in, Grammarly will catch embarrassing grammatical mistakes and silly typos before your emails and Facebook posts go live. It goes a step further with its contextual spell-checker that will save you from mixing up commonly confused words. Never write another sentence with a missing preposition or a misused punctuation mark with this clever must-have app.

Writer is Sub-Editor of the career publication of The Daily Star. She is also a junior at the Institute of Business Administration, University of Dhaka