Tools of the Writing Trade

Software to Make Writing, Editing, and Publishing Easier

The links in this post are to tools that I personally use. They are not affiliate links and I do not benefit if you click or sign up!

Have you seen images of The Watsons, an abandoned manuscript of Jane Austen’s, during the editing process? Fragile-looking pages with handwritten text, insertions and replacement paragraphs attached with straight pins. Can you even imagine? I certainly can’t.

Writing is hard enough: Putting your thoughts on paper. Trying to make it clear, accessible, interesting to your reader. Overcoming writer’s block, imposter syndrome, and any number of other mental hurdles.

close up of black computer keyboard

Luckily, the mechanics of writing in the digital age are only getting easier and easier. Here are some of my favorite tools for writing, editing, and publishing content.

Organization

There’s no shortage of project management systems out there, and the very best way to choose the right one for you is just to give them a try. If you already know what features you’re looking for, that can help you narrow your focus. But everyone works a little differently, and you can’t go wrong with giving your shortlist choices a quick trial to see how it goes.

I like Trello because I can easily use it for personal and household to-do lists, as well as for client work and business administration tasks. It’s also useful for collaborating, whether that’s building a grocery list with my spouse, planning a trip with my sister, or drawing up an outline for a client project.

Inspiration

Ideas for our writing can come from all manner of places, of course, and we don’t always have a choice in the matter. But even if you’re working on an assignment for an employer or for a client, it helps to be able to supplement those topics with additional inspiration.

A great place to start is to find out what people are already searching for online. If you’re writing about laundry best practices and you learn that lots of people are going to search engines to compare soaps vs. detergents or to get information about water temperatures, that’s added value you can include to meet that need. Answer the Public is a fantastic way to do just that and find out what people are asking about.

Focus

The ease of managing so many aspects of our lives online has its drawbacks. I frequently find myself losing things, opening videos or articles or pages to look at later—and inadvertently leaving them there for days (or even longer). My default browser of choice, Google Chrome, is already pretty good at keeping a history for me if I accidentally close a window with 29 tabs. (It’s happened. More than once.)

But Workona has changed my life because it allows you to create separate workspaces, meaning I can have 29 tabs open for one client—and then quickly switch to my own administrative workspace, where my email, calendar, and invoicing system is waiting for me. I don’t lose tabs, and I don’t have to have everything open at once.

Clarity

One of the surest ways to promote clarity is to pick a style guide and stick to it! This can help you both conform to standard language rules and ensure consistency in your writing. More “rules” than you probably realize are simply style preferences—whether that’s including a serial comma before “and” in lists, spelling out some numbers but not others, or capitalizing headings and subheadings.

There are plenty of style guides out there, and you can also create your own! AP (The Associated Press Stylebook) is most common in journalistic settings. MLA (Modern Language Association) is the standard for most academics. APA (American Psychological Association) is the go-to for many social sciences and business texts. I use The Chicago Manual of Style for most of my work, for instance. Even so, I will make exceptions for certain clients based on their audience needs.

Looking for additional help with your writing project? I offer editing, proofreading, and even ghostwriting services—and I’d love to talk to you about what you’re working on!

Reading Diary: February 2021

I guess I was really missing the outdoors during all the snow and frigid temperatures last month: four of my six reads had a definite focus on nature.

I certainly don’t regret any of them! They were great reads and primed the pump for already getting outside a lot more in March (70 degrees and sunny? I’ll take that!).

What are your favorite wilderness reads? I’d love to hear from you!

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard

Editing Your Own Work

Four Tricks to Publishing Error-free Copy

In an ideal world, everything you publish gets the benefit of an editor’s eyes—and even a bit of copyediting and then a round or two of proofreading. But if you’ve ever rushed to get a blog, email, or social post out there, you know that sometimes there simply isn’t time for all that thorough review.

But you can catch a surprising number of things when you give your own writing a second look! The trick is to do a little more than merely rereading what you’ve just typed up.

Here are my favorite four ways to edit my own work.

open laptop on a desk next to an open notebook and a ceramic mug

1. Read It Out Loud

This sometimes catches people off guard. Your readers aren’t likely to read a blog post or email newsletter aloud to themselves, after all—and unless you’re writing a script for audio or video content, neither are you.

Even so, reading your writing out loud can help clue you in to awkward phrasing, repetitive language, or errors that your eyes glossed over but your ears picked up right away.

You don’t need to make a big production out of it; sometimes just saying the words out loud as you type them can make a big difference. So can whispering them to yourself when you’re done with a first draft. Of course, if you are writing a script of some kind, taking it a step or two further and recording yourself reading it back can be extra helpful before you decide to call it finished.

2. Read It Backward

Just as our eyes have a tendency to gloss over suboptimal sentences, they also have a habit of fixing typos before we actually see them. If you’ve ever seen one of those “the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef” posts on social media, you know that your brain is exceptionally skilled in skipping mistakes and still grasping the meaning of misspelled words.

That is great news for being able to read or skim with ease, but it makes proofreading especially difficult—particularly when it’s your own work. You already know what you’re trying to say, so errors aren’t likely to trip you up.

Starting at the end and working backward makes it much easier to spot mistakes. That’s because you’re working against the flow of your writing, giving your mind enough of a pause to see what’s actually on the page—instead of what you’re already expecting to see.

3. Read It Formatted

You might draft your writing in a plain old Word document or Google Doc (or maybe you’re super old school and handwrite it). So try reviewing your writing once it’s formatted! Don’t spend your time editing in that draft file. Instead, get those words into the social media platform, web editor, or other publisher you’ll be using and review your writing in ready-to-publish format.

Like reading it aloud, editing this way can help you go beyond misspellings, typos, and missing words and find issues that aren’t strictly errors. That’s typically when you should be doing your proofreading anyway. That way, you can catch spacing concerns, bad line breaks, broken links, and problems with photos, captions, or other design elements.

4. Read It After a Pause

This is the best tactic I use for my own writing. Rereading something right after you’ve written it isn’t likely to help you see gaps, mistakes, or other issues. If you’re short on time already, letting a piece of writing sit for a day or two (or even longer) before you come back to it may not be possible.

But take advantage of any time you have available. Stepping away overnight or for a few hours—or even just for 10 minutes to take a body break or to think about something completely different—can make all the difference in being able to read it with fresh eyes.

It’s true that it sometimes feels like we do our best proofreading after we’ve hit send. That’s why I still like to reread what I’ve written right after I click publish or post. In most cases, I can quickly edit that caption or blog before too many people have seen it. And even if it’s irrevocably out there—like with email—at least I’m aware of it and can decide whether I need to send a correction or just steel myself to catch some grief over that typo.

Pro tip: This one can be especially useful when paired with one of the first three suggestions! Force yourself to walk away for a bit and then come back to read it backward, out loud, or as formatted copy.

Bonus: Hire a Proofreader

I help my clients hit send or publish with confidence!

I’d love to talk to you about reviewing your marketing emails, sales newsletters, blog posts, white papers, press releases—whatever you’re sending out into the world to connect with your audience and attract customers. Tell me what you’re writing!

Reading Diary: January 2021

Sitting, Reading, Wintering

January came and went quickly, but the days felt slow.

I’m still healing from a sprained ankle. The weather has been bitterly cold. My emotions have been all over the place after the sweet-but-strange little Christmas my immediate family had, feeling glued to the national news in the worst possible way, and the strange new beginnings that 2021 and my 34th birthday offered.

But it did make for a month of wonderful reading, especially Wintering by Katherine May, which I would like to gift to just about everyone in my life.

So here’s to leaning into the slowness and into winter.

Rules for Visiting by Jessica Francis Kane

A Warning by Anonymous

5 Tricks for Dealing with Writer’s Block

Strategies for Overcoming the Blank Page

No matter how prolific a writer you are, writer’s block is an inevitability we all face from time to time. If you’re like me, you find yourself sitting at your computer, fingers poised over the keyboard, and . . . nothing.

Vintage typewriter with blank page. Photo by Daniel McCullough on Unsplash.

Maybe you don’t know how to start. Or you get stuck and can’t get going again. Or a few words trickle out, but it’s just not quite what you had in mind.

Whatever block you’re facing, I’ve found that these five tricks help me and my writing find our way again almost every single time.

1. Walking Away—or Just Walking

Taking a walk is my go-to solution for writer’s block because it’s the one that works the best the most often. Sometimes I’ve got too many different things floating around in my head—multiple client projects, maybe, or a long list of miscellaneous to-dos to tackle—and my thoughts can’t settle on the writing at hand.

Getting away from my desk helps because I can actually do the thing I’m thinking about (move the laundry, check the mailbox). And sometimes taking my mind off forcing the writing helps me return to the keyboard with fresh eyes and fresh ideas.

Still, I try not to give in to the temptation to walk away too quickly. If I notice that I’m struggling, I’ll make a note of the time. If 15 minutes or more pass and I haven’t managed to get anything down that I feel good about, that’s when I’ll call it quits for a bit.

For a bonus tip, take a page out of Ernest Hemingway’s book and stop in the middle of a sentence when you take a break. It often helps you pick up the momentum a little easier when you come back to your work.

2. Clearing Out the Cobwebs

On Mad Men, Don Draper goes to the movies because he says it “clears out the cobwebs.” He goes to the theater in the middle of the afternoon instead of staying stuck at his desk (was he ever stuck at his desk?).

Like taking a walk, allowing yourself to get lost in a book, movie, or piece of music does wonders for getting your conscious mind off your writing. It can also let your subconscious get to work instead. But, unlike going for a stroll, choosing an immersive creative experience has the added bonus of stoking your creative fires. Inspiration can come from the unlikeliest sources—and visiting other worlds through fiction or excellent filmmaking is often just the ticket.

If you’re not sold, take a lesson from Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way, and think of it as an artist’s date. Julia says we all need, from time to time, to refill our creative wells—lest it dry up. So once a week, prioritize taking your inner artist on a date. She calls it “assigned play” and says it doesn’t need to be “artistic,” just something festive or whimsical or out of the ordinary.

Go outside, browse an interesting shop, make a vision board, build a playlist, take a drive. Come back inspired.

3. Starting at the End

A blank page can feel straight-up threatening, and the pressure of needing to start off with a solid beginning can quickly overwhelm. That’s why I often like to start at the end. Whether it’s writing the end-of-page call-to-action for marketing copy or the witty close to an essay—even the final line in an email I’ve been putting off—sometimes it’s just easier to work backward.

If I’m writing digitally (and I almost always am) I’ll often insert several returns or even a whole page break to visually remind myself that I’m merely skipping ahead a little bit and will come back later to fill it in. You’d be surprised how much of a difference this little mental trick can make!

Working this way can also be a nice reminder that writing is almost never a linear process. It’s okay to skip around and put it together like a puzzle as all the pieces come together. There’s no need to force yourself to write anything in the order it will be read, a common hang-up when fighting writer’s block.

4. Streaming Your Consciousness

Let’s take another cue from Julia Cameron with her beloved morning pages process, the practice of writing three pages (long-hand) first thing in the morning. The idea is, like going to the movies or taking a drive, to clear out the cobwebs of your mind. With stream-of-consciousness writing, you build up the habit of writing without editing or censoring along the way.

That’s the same trick you use if you’ve ever found yourself writing your way in to a piece. Often what we really want to say is buried under all the everyday stuff that clutters up our minds, those to-do lists and reminders and conversations with friends or colleagues. It’s once we get through all that junk that we can arrive at the good stuff.

Try it! Just start writing as though you’re narrating your thoughts. “Narrating your thoughts? Or should it be ‘narrating your mind’? Is that something I can Google? I CANNOT forget to buy dishwasher detergent. Maybe this is the year I actually write a book. I should go ahead and sign up for that painting workshop.” See?

You may have to scrap the first 10% (or even the first 90%) of your efforts before you find the words worth saving. But they’ll be there.

5. Changing Your Environment

Sometimes it’s simply a matter of where you’re sitting (or standing or laying down). Changing my environment is most helpful when I’m dealing with one of two situations. First, I might have been sitting in the same spot for way too long and I feel restless about the setting. Or the scenery around me may be much too distracting (whether because I’ve chosen to sit in the living room and Law & Order reruns are playing on a loop or because I’m somewhere new and I feel overly stimulated by the novelty around me.)

Simply turning the position of my chair and laptop 90 degrees can feel refreshing. So can adjusting ambient sounds—whether that’s turning off something distracting or putting on some white noise to fill the silence.

There have been times when I feel like I need to completely overhaul my surroundings or state of mind to feel like I can get into the flow, but most of the time it’s making a small tweak that reignites the process.


Were any of these strategies familiar to you? Do you have another helpful hint for getting through your writer’s block? I’d love to hear from you!

Reading Diary: December 2020

Annual Goal Met!

Well, whatever else there is to be said for 2020—an absolute beast of a year, if there ever were one—I did manage to complete my annual reading challenge by reading 120 books!

I’m wrapping up the Harry Potter series, reading about how to set healthy boundaries with technology, and reminding myself to enjoy the world around me even in dark and difficult times.

Capitalism: A Ghost Story by Arundhati Roy

Ladybird, Collected by Meg Heriford

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris

Nothing Like I Imagined by Mindy Kaling

Garments Against Women by Anne Boyer

What are you reading (or looking forward to reading) in 2021? I’d love to hear from you!

Reading Diary: October 2020

Reading and Rereading

Do you like to reread books? I don’t find myself rereading often—my to-be-read pile is very high with new-to-me titles—but I do enjoy occasionally revisiting a favorite.

Last month I started the Harry Potter series again from the beginning. My feelings about J.K. Rowling aside, it’s always nice to get back to Hogwarts!

I also had the chance to read a classic for the first time, enjoy plenty of remarkable essays, and discuss a courtroom thriller.

What are you reading these days?

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

Sometimes it’s just nice to revisit old favorites, and picking up this series from the beginning made for a nice distraction from current events!

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

See above!

1984 by George Orwell

I somehow managed to miss reading this one until this year. I certainly understand why it’s a classic, but not exactly a comforting read in a year like this one.

Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong

A gorgeous collection of essays about what happens “when American optimism contradicts your own reality.” Recommended reading for everyone!

Without a Doubt by Marcia Clark

This month’s book club pick was the story of the O.J. Simpson trial, beginning to end from the lead prosecutor’s perspective.

No Time to Spare: Thinking About What Matters by Ursula K. Le Guin

This was a lovely read, made even more so since I got to read it in a single sitting while on a pre-election-week camping trip!

What are you reading (or looking forward to reading) this month? I’d love to know!

Reading Diary: September 2020

30 books in 30 days (ish)

Last year was the first time I attempted the #30BooksIn30Days challenge and I made it to 22; this time I got to 26!

Books that had been on my nightstand for longer than I care to admit, brand-new books straight from the publisher, books that I’d been eagerly awaiting from the library. Rereads, audio books, book club selections. Fiction, nonfiction, how-tos, and even a screenplay.

I always enjoy a reading challenge and I’m delighted with the way this one went. And, of course, there’s always next year to get to 30!

Hope you’re surviving—or, better yet, thriving—and staying healthy!

Untamed by Glennon Doyle

 

#VeryFat #VeryBrave: The Fat Girl’s Guide to Being #Brave and Not a Dejected, Melancholy, Down-in-the-Dumps Weeping Fat Girl in a Bikini by Nicole Byer

 

The Phantom Prince: My Life with Ted Bundy by Elizabeth Kendall

 

Death Rings a Bell by Will Buntin

 

Radical Kindness: The Life-Changing Power of Giving and Receiving by Angela C. Santomero

 

Bad Kansas: Stories by Becky Mandelbaum

 

Scary Stories for Young Foxes by Christian McKay Heidicker

 

The Illustrated Crystallary: Guidance and Rituals from 36 Magical Gems & Minerals by Maia Toll

 

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson

 

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

 

How to Write a Sentence: And How to Read One by Stanley Fish

 

The Undying by Anne Boyer

 

The Last Dance: The Skywalks Disaster and a City Changed by Kevin Murphy

 

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

 

Burn It Down: Women Writing about Anger by Lilly Dancyger

 

Table for 9: Supreme Court Food Traditions and Recipes by Clare Cushman

 

Martin Luther: A Life by Marty Martin

 

OMG WTF Does the Constitution Actually Say? A Non-Boring Guide to How Our Democracy Is Supposed to Work? by Ben Sheehan

 

An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

 

Feminism for the 99%: A Manifesto by Cinzia Arruzza

 

Awkword Moments: A Lively Guide to the 100 Terms Smart People Should Know by Ross Petras

 

The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9–5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss

 

The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil by George Saunders

 

How to Connect by Thich Nhat Hanh

 

The Inner Coast: Essays by Donovan Hohn

 

Glaciers by Alexis M. Smith

 

What are you reading and loving this fall? Let me know!

Reading Diary: August 2020

Data and privilege and reexamining life

Another month, another round of book reviews! I finished ten books in August and am getting caught up with my 2020 reading goal (120 books).

I read lots of really great books this month—and admit that I’m also getting better about abandoning books I’m not really into using the 50-page rule (don’t give up on a book until you’re at least 50 pages in . . . until you’re 50 years old, and then you can lower that number by a page a year).

August brought lots of data-heavy titles and some heavy big life stuff (acknowledging privilege, breaking away from overwork, saying yes more, reexamining this country’s beginnings), but this year seems like a good time to dig into those things.

Hope you’re surviving—or, better yet, thriving—and staying healthy!

Humble Pi: When Math Goes Wrong in the Real World by Matt Parker

book cover for humble pi by matt parker

This was such an interesting and delightful read about the subjectivity and trickiness of math on a large scale. I admit I didn’t really grasp all the logic—“I’m an English major; you do the math!”—but I loved it anyway.

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

book cover for such a fun age by kiley reid

This book was worth the hype! Flawed protagonists, complex themes like gender and race and privilege, a surprising plot, exceptional writing.

Pretty. Damned. Fast. by Will Buntin

book cover for pretty damned fast by will buntin

I highly recommend having a friend who’s a screenwriter! Loved this one—a story of hot rodders and ghosts and going home to face your past. It’s a perfect read for late summer.

Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language by Gretchen McCulloch

book cover for because internet by gretchen mcculloch

I started this pre-COVID and then lost the thread while I watched the world start to fall apart, but I came back to it in August and zoomed through it. A really fascinating exploration of language and how it’s changed rapidly over the last couple of decades in an internet world.

Dear Church: A Love Letter from a Black Preacher to the Whitest Denomination in the US by Lenny Duncan

book cover for dear church by lenny duncan

My church recently held a white privilege discussion group that was guided by this book. It was a much-needed perspective on American Christianity, and the ELCA church in particular, and an important read for white congregations.

Do Nothing: How to Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing, and Underliving by Celeste Headlee

book cover for do nothing by celeste headlee

I love reading books that encourage a break from our hyperconnected worlds—this year especially. A much-needed reminder that work is not the end-all be-all when it comes to how we measure self-worth, happiness, and even success.

Yes Man by Danny Wallace

book cover for yes man by danny wallace

What if you said yes to every question or suggestion presented to you? This was a fun read about turning your routines on their head, leaning into a personal experiment, and staying open to new and unexpected opportunities.

Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez

book cover for invisible women by caroline criado perez

This book shook. me. up. It was no surprise, of course, to learn that there are data gaps when it comes to women. But it was stunning to read about the breadth and depth of those gaps; women have been willfully ignored (or carelessly forgotten) when it comes to anything from seatbelt design and pharmaceutical studies to city planning and how we expect people to work.

I strongly recommend this read to anyone who is convinced women have achieved equality with men and to anyone working in planning and leadership roles.

You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington by Alexis Coe

book cover for you never forget your first by alexis coe

I’ve never read a Washington biography because a 700-page love letter to a founding father has never really piqued my interest. But I loved this short and conversational look at his life—and the myths that we’ve accepted about the first president.

Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson

book cover for nothing to see here by kevin wilson

A unique and surprising story about friendship and resentment and parenting and visibility. A friend recommended this and I’m so glad she did!

What summer reads have you loved? What are you looking forward to this fall?

Back-to-School Vibes

Even when you’re no longer a student

It’s been over a decade since the last time I was a full-time student, but this time of year still gives me the warm fuzzy feelings of back-to-school excitement. New school (or office) supplies, fresh notebooks, a renewed sense of routine . . . okay, maybe that last one is a long shot this year.

Still, even in the midst of a global pandemic and ongoing anxiety about time, September feels like a great time to hit the reset button on the year. Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll be taking stock of 2020 so far, preparing to make the most of the last quarter, and starting to look ahead to 2021.

Gathering the Supplies

I may not need any #2 pencils or a new set of watercolors, but I did do some online supplies shopping to restock my go-to pens, the 2-by-1 sticky notes I use to mark my favorite lines in books, and even a disco ball (because why the fuck not).

I’ve also been following a recommendation from my favorite feng shui consultant and cleaning my desk each week: When I shut down for the weekend, I pull everything off, wipe it down with lavender-scented cleaning spray, and then put everything (or rather, everything I want to keep) back with intention.

stack of new packages on desk: a disco ball, post-it notes, and sharpie markers

Setting a Curriculum

Like day planners and cookie recipes, when it comes to goal-setting programs I have no brand loyalty and I’m keen on trying them all. I’ve written SMART goals and intuition-led intentions, and I’ve focused on quarterly objectives and on “the one thing” each day.

But this year, I’m really digging the Chalkboard Method. My summer “chalkboard”—it’s actually poster board because chalk gives me the creeps—is part to-do list, part goal tracking, and part manifestation tool. And it’s been working out marvelously, helping me stay on track with everything from networking to paying off a credit card and to seek out dreamy new clients.

Getting Good Grades

Two years ago, my business bestie and I started a new tradition of getting together around this time of year for a couple Get-Shit-Done Days. We hang out in Denver, where we drink coffee and eat cupcakes and admire the mountains and set our laptops up to tackle the big picture things we’ve putting off.

Like everything else this year, our 2020 business retreat is going to look a little different—but we’ll still make the time to dig in and care for ourselves and our businesses and each other. And it’ll make all the difference in preparing for Q4 and beyond!

Are you a grownup who still gets excited for back-to-school season?

What are you doing to take advantage of the rest of this year?

Tell me about it!