What Are the Best Writing Tools?
vocal.media – Monday August 25, 2025
Looking to write smarter, faster, and better? Whether you are a student, professional writer, content creator, or blogger, the right writing tools can make all the difference.
With so many online tools for writers available, it can be overwhelming to choose the best ones. This guide highlights the top free writing software, from brainstorming ideas to writing a perfect copy.
1. Brainstorming & Idea Generation Tools
Before a single word is written, ideas must be captured and shaped. These tools help with creativity and organization.
Evernote is like a digital notebook. You can create notes, add checklists, save web pages, attach images, or even record audio reminders. Writers often use it to collect story ideas, blog inspirations, or references they stumble upon during the day.
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Best Features: Syncs across devices, allows tagging for organization, integrates with apps like Google Drive.
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Why It’s Useful: Writers don’t always sit at a desk. If you think of a story idea while commuting, you can note it down and revisit later.
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Best For: Journalists, bloggers, and students.
Indie Presses Provide a Haven for Midlist Authors
publishersweekly.com – Sunday August 24, 2025
Independent literary publishing has a proud tradition of nurturing authors who’ve subsequently moved on to success at larger houses. Take Percival Everett, for instance, who published his fiction with Graywolf Press for decades before bringing his prize-winning breakout hit, James, to Doubleday.
But there’s a reverse trend that’s building steam: authors are moving away from corporate publishing to independent. While some are being turned away by the conglomerates that once published them, others say they are switching because they prefer the care and attention that indie presses provide.
Savvy authors and agents, Europa Editions publisher Michael Reynolds says, have long known that smaller publishers typically only put out books they feel strongly about, with the entire staff invested in their success, rather than books “being championed by one lone, intrepid, but increasingly powerless editor at an anonymous corporate imprint.” Europa, which published Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels in the U.S., is one of many independent publishers who have welcomed the growing group of major house midlisters—and, in some case, marquee names—seeking asylum at smaller presses.
Prominent Kids’ Authors Build a Low-Residency MFA Program
publishersweekly.com – Friday August 22, 2025
Three high-profile authors have put their heads and their networks together to dream up a university program tailor-made for children’s and YA creators. Martha Brockenbrough, A.S. King, and David Macinnis Gill are launching a low-residency Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Young Readers, headquartered at the University of San Francisco. The first cohort will begin their studies in June 2026, and the application portal is open.
In addition to the three co-founders, inaugural faculty include Tracey Baptiste, Ann Dávila Cardinal, Erin Entrada Kelly, An Na, and Dashka Slater, with additional faculty coming on board in the future. Students and faculty will meet in person each June and January on the University of San Francisco campus. The rest of the time, students will work from home to complete coursework in craft and criticism. Once their two years of courses are complete, they’ll finish their degrees with a fifth residency where they present their work and co-lead a workshop with a faculty member.
“Our agenda will be to make room for all sorts and shapes of stories,” program director Brockenbrough told PW. “I have had so many exciting conversations with people about building something truly epic, and we’re raising scholarship funds to ensure students have every possibility to attend.” The program will actively recruit students from marginalized communities and will nurture inclusive stories, and the co-founders will fundraise with industry partners to reduce students’ financial burdens and defray the $48,000 program cost. Literary agent Barry Goldblatt was the first to step up as a sponsor, pledging $10,000.
New Literary Agent Listing: Kat Aitken
firstwriter.com – Friday August 22, 2025
Represents writers of literary fiction, thought-provoking non-fiction and some poetry, with a focus on fresh perspectives and bold voices. She is always hungry for emotionally intelligent storytelling, taut prose and anything subversive and astute.
New Publisher Listing: Saraband
firstwriter.com – Thursday August 21, 2025
Award-winning independent publisher. Currently unable to accept fiction submissions. For non-fiction submissions, please email your book description, table of contents and a sample chapter together with a brief CV relevant to your writing.
New Magazine Listing: Shoegaze Literary
firstwriter.com – Wednesday August 20, 2025
A digital capsule project that publishes poetry and fiction.
The magazine borrows its name and aesthetics from the eponymous musical genre where artists often perform looking down at their effect pedals.
We aim to support and uplift emerging writers through our digital venue by curating a third space for dreamy, distorted alternate realities.
We publish two times a year. Each issue centers around a theme, and we provide a curated "digital plaza" of inspiration for writers. While we do not pay our authors, we also do not charge a reading fee, and engage in heavy marketing, such as launch parties, readings, unique instagram posts, and community building events.
We are extremely active on email and social and always love to hear from and engage with writers.
18th Annual WriterCon at The Skirvin – Labor Day Weekend
freepressokc.com – Wednesday August 20, 2025
The 18th Annual WriterCon is set to inspire and empower writers of all genres from August 29th to September 1st, 2025, at the newly renovated, historic Skirvin Hotel in Oklahoma City. Keynote addresses will be given by New York Times best-selling author, Laurie L. Dove, and Nova McBee, whose book, Calculated, is being made into a major motion picture.
Hosted by renowned Oklahoma author, William Bernhardt, with over 60 books to his name, including next year’s release, The Superman Wars. This year’s conference will be the largest yet with a lineup of over 60 speakers, including bestselling authors, literary agents, editors, and publishers, leading a variety of keynotes, breakout sessions, and workshops.
WriterCon has become a hallmark event for Oklahoma and the writing community, bringing together seasoned professionals and aspiring writers alike. This year, over 200 attendees from around the country and even New Zealand are expected to gather for four days of education, inspiration, and networking.
Secrets of Publishing: A Conversation with Literary Agents, Editors, and Authors
pen.org – Wednesday August 20, 2025
P&T Knitwear, in conjunction with PEN America, is pleased to welcome back award-winning author Susan Shapiro for a panel discussion of insider tips and tricks for navigating the publishing world! Shapiro will be joined in conversation by author-editor Miya Lee (New York Times Modern Love), author and literary agent Alia Hannah Habib, editors Paul Whitlach (Penguin Random House) and Rachel Kahan (Harper Collins), vice-president and publisher of Legacy Lit Krishan Trotman, and author-and-teacher Rob Cameron.
This hybrid event will be held in-person with limited amphitheater-style seating, and will be available live over Zoom for the members of PEN America.
The cost of a $5 general admission ticket for both in-person and online can be applied towards your purchase of any book or product in P&T’s café the night of an event or through online purchase.
New Literary Agent Listing: Jessica Saint Jean
firstwriter.com – Tuesday August 19, 2025
I'm a literary agent specializing in visual storytellers. I primarily represent illustrators and author-illustrators, along with a select number of writers, who work across all illustrated formats and genres in children's publishing – from board books and picture books to middle grade and graphic novels.
Author Rie Qudan: Why I used ChatGPT to write my prize-winning novel
theguardian.com – Monday August 18, 2025
“I don’t feel particularly unhappy about my work being used to train AI,” says Japanese novelist Rie Qudan. “Even if it is copied, I feel confident there’s a part of me that will remain, which nobody can copy.”
The 34-year old author is talking to me via Zoom from her home near Tokyo, ahead of the publication of the English-language translation of her fourth novel, Sympathy Tower Tokyo. The book attracted controversy in Japan when it won a prestigious prize, despite being partly written by ChatGPT.
The author speaks conversational English, but her translator, Jesse Kirkwood, is also on the line, interpreting questions and answers when needed. At the heart of Sympathy Tower Tokyo is a Japanese architect, Sara Machina, who has been commissioned to build a new tower to house convicted criminals. It will be a representation of what one character – not without irony – calls “the extraordinary broadmindedness of the Japanese people”, in that the tower will house offenders in compassionate comfort.
In the novel, Sara, herself a victim of violent crime, wonders if this sympathetic approach to criminals is appropriate. Does this sympathy reflect Japanese society in reality?
“It’s definitely prevalent,” says Qudan. One of the triggers for writing the novel, she adds, was the assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe in July 2022. “The person who shot him became the centre of a lot of attention in Japan – and his background elicited a lot of sympathy from people. He had grown up in a heavily religious household, and been deprived of freedom. That idea had been in my head for a long time, and when I came to write the novel, it came out again as part of the process.”
The question of public attitudes towards criminals runs through the story, in serious and satirical ways. Potential residents of the tower must take a “Sympathy Test” to determine if they are deserving of compassion (“Have your parents ever acted violently towards you? – Yes / No / Don’t know”) … and the ultimate decision will be made by AI.
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