Every writer has a secret set of tools that he or she loves – tools that enhance the writing, make it easier to comply with clients’ wishes, and allow for the perfect word when writer’s block sets in. Most writers have to learn the hard way. You don’t. If you’re not using these tools right now, start by getting yourself acquainted with the welcome page.
Research Services
A good research company can save you hundreds, if not thousands, of hours in a year. Writers rely on research to do their job. Many amateur writers “wing it,” and they either remain amateurs or get spit out of the bottom of the industry and end up in cheap writing mills. You don’t want that to happen to you, so you should consider companies like Ivory Research.
Companies like this will do a lot of the heavy lifting. Then, your job will be to simply organise your thoughts and write the best piece possible.
Copyscape
When you’ve created a masterpiece, the last thing you want is for someone to rip you off. Unfortunately, there are a lot of struggling writers out there who will do just that. They have no shame, and they’re not afraid to steal your intellectual property. Copyscape is your virtual knight in shining armour, with a pen, and a shield. OK, there’s no shield, but this service does have teeth.
Copyscape ensures that your writing is not too similar to others’ pieces on the web. It also protects you from copyright theft by allowing you to search for plagiarism on the web. Its sister service, Copysentry, actively scans the Internet, and helps you find copies of your work that have been stolen so that you can take action against the webmaster.
Thesaurus.com
When you can’t find the right word for your sentence, thesaurus.com is there to help you. It’s an online thesaurus and works just like its traditional paper counterpart. So, once you land on the homepage, you enter a word into the search box. Search, and then the thesaurus pulls up synonyms, antonyms, and gives you a brief synopsis on how to use the word you searched for. It also gives you words related to your search term.
Dictionary.com
Like thesaurus.com, dictionary.com is an online dictionary that works just like its paper counterpart. You enter a search word, and it pulls up its definition. This is handy if you need to think about what a word really means – especially if it’s something a little obscure.
Wordcounter
When a client requires a specific minimum word count, wordcounter.com has your back. Just copy and paste the test into the text box and click “go.” You can also adjust some settings like excluding small words like “the,” “it,” and “a.” You can also use only root words in your search. Finally, if you use LibreOffice, Microsoft Word or Apple’s Pages, you skip the website and just use the built-in word count feature in these programs. They’re very capable and reliable too.
Jenny Wescott is an online tutor and dissertation researcher. She enjoys finding innovative ways to improve her writing tasks and she enjoys sharing her ideas online.
