If you’re reading this blog, then you’re probably someone who fits in the “Emerging Writer” label. You’ve invested some time and energy into your craft, but you’re not doing it yet professionally. You find spare time outside of work or school to get your pages done and keep plugging away towards your ultimate goal of getting paid to write.
If this describes you then you also know what a struggle that is. You have to manage your time, track your projects, and stay motivated to get across those finish lines. That’s where this article comes into play – to point you towards the apps that will make your writing life. a little easier.
What follows are 5 incredibly useful apps (which for some reason mostly start with the letter “T”) that can help you get your script done. And most importantly – you can use them all for free.
Trello
Trello uses cards to indicate individual tasks and lists to group them together. You can arrange your to-do-items by different stages or by project – whatever works best for you. Color-coding labels and assignable due dates further allow you to organize tasks however best makes sense. Great to use if if you like planning by project.
Todoist
An alternative to Trello, Todoist similarly lets you track your tasks with labels and due dates. But while Trello organizes the tasks based on projects, Todoist focuses on deadlines. Each day it shows you what tasks you have left to do, ordered by priority. You can set recurring tasks, like write 3 pages each day, as well as long term deadlines. A karma system adds a gaming aspect that rewards you with points for completing your tasks each day and tracks how many days you’ve hit your goals, a bonus for those who need some incentive.
Toggl
Rather than managing your tasks, Toggl exists to manage your time. Once you set up an account, you can run a timer as you work or take a break to see how you spend your precious hours in the day. Useful both in the moment by holding yourself accountable to spending x amount of time on a project and after the fact by assessing how you use (or waste) your time.
Google Sheets
We’re out of the Ts! Google Sheets, while not as grab-and-go as the above options, is flexible enough to meet any needs. You could use it to track the contests you enter and which scripts you submit. Or you could maintain a list of different projects and what percent each is complete. And whenever the Screenwriters Network hosts ZD30 we always share this page counter that lets you know if you’re on track to hit your deadline.
All of this does take some familiarity with excel formulas, so be prepared. But if you put the time in you’ll find a potent tool for project management in Google Sheets.
World Anvil
Our final tool covers some different territory than the other options here. World Anvil, used by gamers and artists as well as writers, lets you build a wiki for your project. Set up pages for each character, location, prop and story beat and then link them together to easily track connections. Great for corralling your thoughts as you first start a project and assemble the pieces, magpie-style.
Now Get Writing! (And Project Managing!)
While all of these are useful, at the end of the day the most important thing is that you get writing. Hopefully one or more of these will help you set goals, manage tasks, and organize your process so you can do just that. And if you have your own tool not on this list, we’d love to hear from you, either in the comments or by submitting an article!