8 Apps That Help With Writing on Your Mac
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Creative writing mainly involves two parts: preparing to write—which often sets the tone for how well your writing project turns out—and actually writing.
From finding the perfect space to declutter your thoughts to a tool that helps transcribe your audio materials and software that helps tidy your blog post draft before publishing, here are some apps that help with writing on your Mac.
1. Freeform
Every writing project often begins with an idea—perhaps two or more ideas. Occasionally, they can be all over the place. And you might often find yourself looking for a place to make sense of these ideas that aren’t quite whole yet. That’s when you canuse Apple’s Freeform app creatively.
If you’re working with a team on a new pitch, story, or report, you may begin brainstorming with the free collaborative tool. However, to take advantage of the built-in Freeform app, you and your team members must have an iPhone, iPad, or Mac running iOS/iPadOS 16.2, macOS Ventura 13.1, or later.
With access to Freeform, you get a whiteboard space on which you can scribble ideas as they come, insert sticky notes and pictures, and pretty much lay down every clumsy thought you have on to the surface while you and your teammates work together to refine them into a coherent, tangible thing.
Freeform is not available on the Mac App Store. It comes preinstalled on Macs running macOS Ventura 13.1 and later.
2. MindNode
MindNode is a dedicated macOS app that gives you unlimited canvas space for serious, visually appealing mind mapping. While you may use the Notes app for a basic outline, MindNode gives you a broad overview of the interconnected ideas, tasks, and details of your writing project. It’s also a valuable tool for planning your writing schedule for the month or year.
You can connect nodes of ideas into branches. And as they get complex, you can collapse some branches to focus on others. You can also move things around quite easily—detach and re-attach nodes in a relatively efficient and organized manner.
Download:MindNode($2.49/month, free version available)
3. Freedom
To sit at your desk and successfully fill the blank pages on your Mac with meaningful words requires focus. While you canuse Focus modes on your Mac to minimize distractions, many of us soon find ourselves indulging in other online activities completely unrelated to the writing task at hand.
It could be something harmless as checking your inbox for a new email. Or something more addictive and time-consuming like scrolling down Instagram or Twitter. Freedom is an app that blocks all distractions, whether it’s another app or a website.
Without access to the sites and apps that often take up most of your time and attention, you can be more productive. Freedom also works across all your devices. So, you can’t block Instagram on your Mac and then pick up your phone to check what’s new on your feed. That way, you have all the time and attention to focus on your writing task.
Download:Freedom($3.33/month, free trial available)
4. Hookmark
Often, while writing, you may need to reference some material or application outside of thewriting app on your Mac. And that often means jumping back and forth between windows, tabs, and applications. And that’s when an app like Hookmark comes in handy,
Hookmark is a macOS app designed to help you easily and efficiently access any material you have—be it a webpage, a different app, or a document.
So, instead of minimizing the word processor you’re working on, to open Spotlight, Finder, or a new tab on your browser to find the app, folder, or email, all of which may take some time and possibly distract you, inputting a simple Hookmark shortcut leads directly to these resources, saving you time and possibly making your research quicker.
Download:Hookmark($29.99 per year, free trial available)
When researching a particular project, you may find some interesting online resources useful for another writing project. If you don’t have the time to read it immediately, it may get lost among the random sites in your browser’s bookmarks bar.
Pocket is a handy resource that allows you to store that article for later. And whenever you’re ready, you can read it on your Mac and across your other devices, even when you’re offline.
Download:Pocket($4.99/month, free version available)
6. Otter.ai
Meetings and interviews may be a huge part of your writing process. Perhaps, a meeting with your editor or an interview with a source. With this useful AI-powered web application, you needn’t spend extra hours transcribing video and audio files into text.
It becomes a companion that sits in on these meetings with you, takes notes, and generates summaries for you. Ultimately, it frees up more time for you to spend writing.
And if you’re unable to join an online meeting, give it access to your calendar, and it will automatically join the meeting and organize key summaries for you to look at once you’re less busy.
You don’t have to bother much about who says what; the software clearly marks out each speaker and what they’ve said in the transcript.
Download:Otter.ai($8.33/month, free version)
7. Grammarly
While most word processors have in-built grammar and spell-checking tools, you may need a more efficient proofreader to help you avoid costly errors in your final draft. Grammarly, once installed on your Mac or perhaps enabled as an extension in your browser, monitors your writing and offers useful suggestions to help improve your style and tone.
And with the rise of generative AI, many companies, including Grammarly, are integrating artificial intelligence into their products. The GrammarlyGo feature offers you some extra help with your writing. However convenient this may be, you should knowthe pros and cons of AI writing tools.
Download:Grammarly($12/month, free version)
8. Visual Studio Code
Visual Studio Code may be popular among programmers, but it’s an efficient text editor you should consider adding to your arsenal as a writer. When it comes to web writing, you may need to get technical to avoid formatting errors.
Before publishing a piece to your blog or website, especially when you’ve copied the text from a different writing app like Google Docs, you need to ensure that the draft is clean and void of any strange formatting tags that might mess with the final outlook.
Download:Visual Studio Code(free)
The Best Writing Companions for Your Mac
Writing may be arduous, but it could be a lot easier with these apps installed on your Mac. The software you choose to work with can make writing even more delightful and help you save time.
So, before your next writing session, why not try out an app that helps block out distractions or proofreads your work as you go? You’ll be sure to find one that improves your productivity.
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