Top-Rated Writing Aids Set to Boost Your Writing Skills in 2025
In the realm of literature, having the right tools can significantly enhance an author's writing process. Here's a roundup of some of the best writing tools, as recommended by the founders and CEOs themselves, covering all stages from planning to publishing.
Planning and Writing Faster
Novelcrafter
Ideal for both fiction and creative nonfiction, Novelcrafter is a versatile tool that helps store research and adaptable inputs like characters or locations. Priced around $14/month, it supports long-form writing and creative projects with a user-friendly interface.
Scrivener
Scrivener is favored for complex manuscript management, offering features for organizing research, character arcs, and plots. While it has a learning curve, it compiles manuscripts into many formats.
Atticus
Atticus is the founder’s preferred all-in-one writing, formatting, organizing, and tracking tool that supports serious book projects without subscription fees—just a one-time payment with lifetime updates.
Google Docs
Google Docs excels for collaboration and shorter projects but lacks advanced organization needed for large books. However, its real-time editing and accessibility make it a popular choice.
Sudowrite
Sudowrite is recognized for ease of use in creative writing with AI assistance to speed up writing.
Editing
Grammarly
Grammarly (free and paid) is a standard for grammar and style editing to improve manuscript quality.
Sudowrite
Some platforms like Sudowrite also incorporate editing AI features tailored for fiction writers.
Publishing
Spines
Spines is a modern all-in-one publishing platform designed by its founder/CEO to streamline the transition from writing to publishing without technical hassles. It offers manuscript upload, copyright certification, AI-powered editing and formatting, professional cover design, illustration, and marketing tools.
Summarizing from the founders and CEOs of these tools, here's a quick comparison:
| Stage | Tool | Founder/CEO Recommended Use | Notable Features | Pricing | |--------------|-------------|-----------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------| | Planning & Writing | Novelcrafter | For longform fiction and creative nonfiction | Research storage, character/location mapping | $14/month | | Planning & Writing | Scrivener | Complex projects with multiple arcs and research | Manuscript organization, multi-format compilation | One-time purchase (varies)| | Planning & Writing | Atticus | Serious authors needing all-in-one writing & formatting | Writing, organizing, tracking, no subscription | One-time payment | | Planning & Writing | Google Docs | Collaborative writing and short projects | Real-time editing, accessibility | Free | | Writing & Editing | Sudowrite | Writing faster with AI assistance | Ease of use, creative writer focus | Subscription-based | | Editing | Grammarly | Grammar and style editing | Free and paid versions | Free / Subscription | | Publishing | Spines | Modern, all-in-one self-publishing platform | Copyright, formatting, cover design, marketing tools | Starts ~$1,198 or $1,098/mo |
This selection reflects tools recommended by their creators or CEOs for authors aiming to improve their writing process efficiently from planning through to self-publishing.
Additional Tools for Organisation and Idea Management
Notion
Notion is a versatile tool for writers, serving as a note-taking app, database, and digital playground, used to build book bibles, editorial calendars, content archives, and more.
Trello
Trello uses a "board and card" system for organizing ideas, making it easy to see where ideas are and what's next, especially for managing blog posts, content pipelines, and client work.
These tools can help writers streamline their workflow, making the process of planning, writing, editing, and publishing a smoother and more efficient experience.
In the realm of technology, tools like Notion and Trello are excellent for automating organization and idea management within education-and-self-development, personal-growth, and productivity, ensuring a streamlined workflow for writers.
For a comprehensive self-publishing experience, the modern platform Spines incorporates publishing, copyright certification, AI-powered editing and formatting, professional cover design, illustration, and marketing tools, making it a preferred choice among authors for productivity and personal-growth.
