No matter how pressing the deadline is, it can be hard to find inspiration to finally sit down and write that college paper. Sometimes, you need to work through the ‘writer’s block’ or battle against the distractions. Needless to say, focusing on writing can be a tough job.
However, you could also rely on some tools that will put you in the right mood for writing. Whether you are a literature student or a science major with a term paper due for the next day, these tips can help you find some motivation to start typing.
1. Books
If you want to write something compelling and convincing, the best tools that you can use are books. And no, we are not talking about the reading you do when you research the topic.
Instead, try to read for the pleasure of it. Be it fiction, or nonfiction related to your academic field, start grasping it without worrying about taking notes or inferences. The more you read, the more comfortable you will get with the whole concept of writing.
2. Academic Writing Platforms
Even the most powerful tool in your arsenal needs to be sharpened every now and then. In other words, you might need to get help from others from time to time to ensure that you excel in your work.
Suppose there is a particular topic that you find hard to write; there is nothing wrong with getting guidance from experts in your field. Academic platforms such as WritePaper.com can connect you with professional writers in many areas. Once you choose one, you can work with them to receive a writing sample to use as a reference.
3. The Most Dangerous Writing App
If reading books does not work, you might want to scare yourself into writing. After all, if there is a deadline that you have to meet in an hour or two, you will have to resort to creative ways. And The Most Dangerous Writing App is a perfect tool for that.
In simple terms, this app lets you set a session during which you will have to type continuously. If you stop typing for a while, all the progress will be lost. Yes, it includes your work from previous work sessions as well.
The aim is to get you to write, so once you have got the words down, you can think about editing and refining them later. This will help to maximize your writing potential and get your first draft completed as quickly as possible. Moreover, if you are not sure what to write about, the app will even generate random prompts to get you started.
4. Cliché Finder
Do you feel that your writing inspiration comes only in the form of cliches? Well, the cliche finder can help you with that.
As you can imagine, this nifty tool can locate all the cliche sentences in your writing so that you can replace them.
5. Grammarly
If you haven’t heard about Grammarly yet, then you have lost on a simple tool that could have made all your writing tasks much easier. This writing tool points out the spelling mistakes and grammatical errors in your writing. Not only that, it can help you restructure the sentences to suit your goals and the tone you want to adopt.
Grammarly is available as a browser extension, website, or mobile app that you can integrate into your keyboard. Meaning no matter where you are doing your writing or whether you are simply sending an email, this tool will help you clear the errors out of your writing.
With Grammarly, you no longer have to wonder whether the email you sent to your professor was grammatically correct or not. On top of that, you can also use this tool to check your paper for plagiarism. Overall, perhaps, the best writing app you can find out there.
6. Draft
Let’s say that you are seeking inspiration to write a research paper or a dissertation. Now, this can be tricky because you need to commit yourself to the job for a longer time, which can easily turn out to be a hassle.
Maybe Draft can help you with that. This online tool works a lot like Google Docs but has improved on it. For instance, if you collaborate with someone, the edits they make will not alter the entire document, and instead, it will be saved as different versions. Moreover, you will also gain access to audio and video transcription tools and even create presentations for classes.
7. Scrivener
Scrivener was designed with professional writers in mind who wanted to organize their drafts and work without distractions. But there is no reason why you can’t use the tool to get your inspirations organized for your thesis or another lengthy writing assignment. You can download the application to your computer or iPad to use it.
Scrivener is also great to keep your research side by side and refer to it while writing. Needless to say, this can be a powerful tool for students working on dissertations. You can also format your entire paper and compile everything into a single document, ready for printing, sharing, or publishing.
8. Pocket
Inspiration can strike at odd times, and you might not have a pen and paper ready at all times. Instead, Pocket might be a handy tool to save all the ideas that you come across and to set them aside to read on later.
You can categorize articles with tags and even highlight any key passages to keep track of them. And if you do not have time to read, Pocket also comes with a useful audio playback option. You can also access your Pocket from any device so that you will have your inspiration ready from anywhere and at any time.
9. The Marginalian
This website is a treasure trove of articles that can inspire you for your paper. Formerly known as Brain Pickings, this platform is quite popular among writers. It features an array of articles and imagery across a variety of niches ranging from design to psychology.
Even more interesting is the fact that the website is run single-handedly by its owner, who takes a monumental effort to curate collections of works. How the website is presented, and its work can inspire anyone to write, especially those in the creative field,
10. Scribophile
Sometimes you need a positive community that can support you when writing, regardless of if it is just your college thesis or your attempt at a novel. Scribophile is an online platform that offers you a bevy of writing resources, including guides, tips, and more.
You can also publish your work and get input from others, join a forum and be a part of the community. It is also possible to find beta readers or critique others’ works. In effect, Scribophile is all about offering support for others who are interested in writing.
Takeaway
Inspiration can come in any shape and size. However, these tools can help you gain access to a variety of resources. While some of them can help you find new ideas, others can help you improve your writing, organize your thoughts, and stay focused.
Nina Smith