The App Store is teeming with great apps for helping you keep short notes on your iPhone or iPad, but it’s not just there for reminding you to pick up milk or to email someone. There are plenty of apps that allow you to write much longer pieces in a convenient format – whether it’s an essay or the start of the next Oscar winning blockbuster. Here are 10 great apps for writing long form pieces on the move.
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1. iA Writer ($4.99) - Available for the Mac, as well as iOS, iA Writer's greatest advantage is its ability to let you seamlessly switch between different devices. It offers a distraction free layout, meaning you can simply focus on your writing, rather than the formatting. You can opt to convert to .docx and back again, or you can export to HTML and PDF, ensuring iA Writer has plenty of flexibility.
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2. Ulysses Mobile ($19.99) - It's not cheap, but Ulysses Mobile brings some powerful features to the table. It offers a simple text editor layout alongside more complex features like setting writing goals, plus the options to add footnotes, comments, links, and code. It's uncluttered though, meaning you can adapt it to your needs. It'll easily sync up with its desktop equivalent too.
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3. Storyist ($14.99) - Ideal for those writing the next great novel or screenplay, Storyist makes it simple to put together your manuscript. With a series of templates for many different needs, you can tie it all in with an index card function, and comprehensive revision tools. Being able to quickly add things, as well as keep track of your research and notes, ensures this is a must have for the dedicated author.
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4. Story Planner for Writers ($3.99) - With a focus on making it easy to outline and plan your story, Story Planner provides a place for you to co-ordinate your notes and ideas, as well as start writing them down. You can easily link characters and locations to your scenes, piecing things together. With plenty of statistics to track along the way, you can even start deducing the path your story is beginning to take.
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5. Werdsmith (Free) - Werdsmith offers some great tools for writing in a distraction-free interface but its the app's focus on giving you writing goals, and encouraging you regularly, that makes it stand out. Devising a writing ritual for you, the app makes forming your story into a fun game, as well as a potentially very productive one too.
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6. Byword ($5.99) - Byword is primarily a Markdown client, meaning it's great for when you want to be able to export your content to multiple different formats. The app makes it just as easy to write a blog entry, as it is to write something much longer. iPad owners will particularly appreciate its multitasking and split screen support. It offers some extensive keyboard shortcuts too.
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7. 1Writer ($4.99) - 1Writer is another distraction-free Markdown client that offers some valuable extras. You can apply custom URL actions, as well as insert JavaScript to make your writing process easier. It's a useful addition for those that want to do more than just free write. Research tools are also built in.
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8. Editorial ($9.99) - Offering powerful automation tools, Editorial is best suited for those that want a replacement to desktop tools. The app offers the typical bunch of Markdown options, syntax highlighting, and syncing, but it's how it allows you to write Python scripts to further its automation capabilities that make it really powerful. You can also insert frequently used pieces of text by simply typing in abbreviations. For the more technically minded writer, it's immensely useful.
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9. Pages ($9.99) - Apple's Pages app is a jack of all trades. Its word processing capabilities mean it's just as comfortable dealing with letters and resumes, as it is with your next big story. Over 60 templates are available to choose from, and you can always sync content across your other devices. For a comfortable choice, this is perfect.
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10. Hanx Writer (Free) - Miss the old days of using a typewriter? Don't even remember those days? Created by Tom Hanks (yes, really), Hanx Writer is a fun recreation of the manual typewriter. It's simple to use and sounds thoroughly charming as you type. Best of all? It's still pretty useful, making it easy for you to write up your story and save it for future reference.