The Best Free Online Resources For Writers
When facing an issue with your writing, it can be difficult to find an effective solution without having to use some sort of resource—and unfortunately, many resources for writers can end up costing you.
If you fit into the “starving artist” category, or just don’t have the money to spend on an app or monthly subscription, then I have good news!
We’ve rounded up some of the best free online resources for writers… From browser extensions to amazing communities with tons of information, these free online resources are the perfect tools for writers on a budget.
These amazing free writing resources fall into four categories: grammar/editing, research, publishing, and communities.
Whether you’re having trouble with grammar, want to write about a topic you are completely unfamiliar with, or if you have no idea where to start with getting published, then there’s something here for you!
Grammar/Editing
These grammar and editing resources are perfect for looking over your work. Some have browser extension and desktop options, and some allow you to input your writing directly into their website for review.
Although the majority of Grammarly’s resources require a subscription, they do have a free option that offers spell check and some structural suggestions as well. It has been an absolute lifesaver for me with my writing, and the free version is more than worth it!
Plus, it’s a browser extension, so it’s super easy to download and have with you wherever you may find yourself writing.
The Hemingway Editor is easy to use and best for assessing the clarity and readability of your text. All you have to do is paste your writing into the website and you’ll get a set of suggestions on how to improve readability and grammar.
It’s amazing and absolutely free, but it does include a downloadable version for $20 if you do decide to splurge.
Slick Write is a great tool for analyzing your sentence structure and vocabulary. It offers free information that many grammar and editing resources ask you to pay for.
This is a perfect tool for getting to know your writing style in more detail, which is a great way to improve as a writer.
Research
These free online research resources are perfect for when you come across a topic you know nothing about. There’s always Wikipedia, but I still recommend checking out these options as well. Some have additional tools and some contain way more information than a Wikipedia article does.
Writing about a holiday you’re unfamiliar with? A country you’ve never visited? Infoplease is a website that contains information on a great variety of topics. It’s a good website to bookmark for when you’re writing and come across anything you’re unsure about.
What makes Infoplease even better is the variety of tools it offers… From spellcheck to dictionary and thesaurus options, this resource is the perfect tool for writers.
Google Scholar will allow you to research anything and find plenty of reliable sources.
Depending on what you are researching, some results may require purchase (such as books) but many, such as PDFs, do not.
Whether you’re researching medieval history or economics, this resource is great for writers who want to really go in-depth with whatever they may be writing about. It’s free to sign up, and you get access to millions of papers!
The resources listed above could be a bit of a rabbithole – or literally thousands of rabbitholes! – so use with caution.
Publishing
It’s not fun sitting with a finished piece of writing in front of you and having no idea where to start with the publishing process. If you’re familiar with that feeling, then you’re in luck—these free online resources for writers are the perfect place to begin your publishing journey.
There’s information about whether or not you should start with self-publishing or traditional publishing, how to find the right publisher for you, and even some great lists of publishers who are accepting manuscripts!
This one’s for all my Canadian writers out there. While this technically qualifies as a writing community, it has a significant focus on the publishing aspect of writing, including a list of literary agents and the types of writing they accept.
There are quite a few resources that require payment, but the free information they do have provides more than enough information to get started with publishing your work. If you’re not Canadian, don’t worry! This is still a great starting point for finding good writing resources.
Here’s another writing community that has a great collection of publishing resources. From a comprehensive list of book publishers in multiple countries to a list of literary agents also in various countries,
Reedsy is a phenomenal resource for writers. The best part? These lists (and other tools) are completely free to access!
Kindle Direct Publishing is perfect for writers who are ready to be published and want to take the self-publishing route. It doesn’t cost any additional money once you’ve got your book ready to go.
All you need is an Amazon account and you’re good to go. This is a great free resource if you’re ready to put your work out into the world.
Communities
Writing communities are some of the best free resources for writers. Not only do they provide a great deal of information about how to optimize your writing life, but they are excellent platforms for providing resources just like the ones listed here.
Writers in communities tend to share ideas and resources that have worked for them, so you’ll probably learn more the longer you’re engaged.
Some communities do include a paid membership, so for the sake of this blog post, I’m considering “communities” to be platforms with a significant amount of informative resources for writers and either a Facebook page or group where you can engage with them and other writers.
Writer’s Digest is a phenomenal community that has plenty of free articles and downloads for writers. From learning more about fiction to learning more about poetry, this resource has so much to offer!
I personally recommend the Be Inspired section of the website. It has great prompts and tools to get you motivated! The Facebook page is also updated regularly with announcements on writing resources.
This community is one of six communities by selfpublishing.com and contains amazing educational guides and blog posts for writers. It has some great free resources like e-books and articles and there’s a Facebook group you can join as well, to interact with other writers.
This community contains hundreds of posts that discuss multiple aspects of writing and are all written by successful and experienced writers. It’s a great platform to learn about writing in general and get information about publishing, specific genres, and more!
They also have an awesome prompts section on their site if you’re in need of some inspiration, and their Facebook page has regular updates.
We hope these resources are helpful for you at the different stages of your writing journey!
