In my years of being a writer, I have learned a few trade secrets that are not only made me become a more efficient writer but a better one as well. While it's true that there's no better way to perfect a craft than to practice it, the modern times that we live in today has given us many opportunities to make learning and perfecting a new skill faster. For aspiring writers, here are a few of my suggestions for online tools to help you become a better writer.

1.      Video Essays

Back in my student days, I have always found it hard to start writing an assigned paper even when the topic is already given. I place the blame on me being a visual learner. I just find it harder to absorb information in the traditional plain text format. But once I discovered video essays, all that has changed. Such videos can be found in any number of video platforms but mostly YouTube. Creators condense certain topics in a concise way using diagrams, graphics, and animation to help better share the information. From history to literature, you name the topic and there's bound to be an avid creator who can explain it better than your professor.

2.      Topic Suggestion

Then there is the Topic Suggestion tool that can assist you in formulating a topic using a set of keywords. You might be an expert when it comes to essay writing, but many find finding a topic difficult, what with the sheer possibilities available. I admit, even with online paper help I occasionally suffer from writer's block in which case thinking of anything creative is just so out of reach. It could last days or even weeks. Topic Suggestion might not be the solution but it can help me break the spell and energize my brain enough to get out of the funk.

3.      Strategies for Essay Writing

During my exploration of the web looking to better hone my writing skills, I came across Harvard College Writing Center's page about essay writing. Over the years, I find myself returning to it in times of much-needed essay writing guidance. It offers numerous links about writing fundamentals, including outlining the key points needed in crafting a paper. From outlining to closing arguments, the page has it all and it has helped me in a number of literary binds in the past.

4.      Grammarly

Turning to something more familiar; Grammarly has been a godsend since I discovered it all those years back. Even the most professional writers can miss a few grammar mistakes here and there, especially when they're in the zone and the words just flow naturally out of their minds and into their fingers. Grammarly helps me catch those mistakes and even offers suggestions to make my work more readable.

5.      Word Counter

It's very rare that I've come across an essay assignment or a writing task that doesn't indicate a word limit. Along with perfect grammar and spelling, word count is considered to be mandatory for any writing task. While word processors like Word have a decent counter, I find that third-party word counter more accurate and helpful. I usually turn to wordcounter.net for such a tool. Not only will it show me the number of words I've typed, but it also integrates Grammarly so I can correct mistakes on the tool itself. It also offers an evaluation of my work, such as the reading level as well as its readability.

So those are a few of the online tools that I use in my daily writing work. I'm sure there are more out there but I find the ones mentioned above to fit nicely with my workflow.