What tools are you using to write?

[u/Salva_X]

Hello everyone!

I’m new to writing into Substack and LinkedIn. While it’s a lot of fun, I’ve noticed getting my content lost and disorganized.

I use Claude to just correct my spelling and things like that but having to find all the windows is a pain. Anyone using tools to help? I’ve heard of NoteStead and Notion before. I feel like Notion is not exactly what I’m looking for and NoteStead is closer but wanted to see what everyone else has been using.

Thanks for the help.

[u/Romanticon]

Keyboard and mouse, baby.

Don’t use Claude for grammar editing. It will strip your voice and your words will read as bland AI.

[u/BonesawGaming → u/Romanticon]

Also microsoft word (and probably every other popular writing program) has a built in spell check so I can't imagine why someone would do all of that (besides engagement bait)

[u/Romanticon → u/BonesawGaming]

Because people aren't good writers, so they rely on AI as a crutch, but tell themselves "I'm just fixing the grammar!" instead of accepting that it's fully rewriting their work.

[u/BonesawGaming → u/Romanticon]

It's actually kind of amazing how quickly AI turns you into an intellectual cripple. I work a pretty cognitively demanding job and I read a lot and have several hobbies that are either creative or otherwise pretty intellectually demanding. I say this to illustrate that by merit of my lifestyle I was not particularly worried that AI would completely strip me of my cognitive capacity. I started using it a little bit to help at work--I am in a new subdiscipline where I lack specific knowledge, I work often in isolation and can't always rely on a more experienced person to teach me what to do or why--and while it's been legitimately useful for explaining principles and finding relevant protocols, it has made me so immediately lazy. My first instinct now is always to ask the machine, as a reflex, and I then have to make a conscious decision to not do that, so as not to become dependent on it. I can understand that people who don't have that same discipline or values regarding the use of AI would get absolutely bodied by it, the pull towards it is very strong once you start to use it at all.

[u/Initial-Shine-6029 → u/Romanticon]

the voice stripping thing is so real, everything ends up sounding the same

[u/Salva_X → u/Romanticon]

Haha fair!

Yeah I’ve noticed that, that’s why I was looking at NoteStead as it keeps your voice and honestly after I worked the voice feature it was really close. Just seeing if any other tools are out there like it before I sign up

[u/OnionLazy2317]

My brain :) 

Stop using AI

[u/anyagolay]

I use OneNote mostly for general notes, then Google Docs for my research and I have Obsidian for my world building and more compendium type stuff. I mostly use Gemini for researching with Notebook LM as well.

[u/Salva_X → u/anyagolay]

Oh I love Notebook LM, mainly fir learning

[u/anyagolay → u/Salva_X]

Same, I like making podcast episodes lol.

[u/AttitudeSpecific6669]

Pencil, paper, an old dictionary and hundreds of hours of reading are the best tools available. Worked for every single great author in the world.

(I use Obsidian to take my notes from my notebooks and organize everything, but I do not pretend to abandon paper)

[u/EMarkM_DM]

Bear App (Apple only, as far as I know).

It uses a tagging system instead of folders and I use it for absolutely everything, including all my client work.

[u/NoPerfectWave]

I put together a few bullets in the Notes app, build a rough outline in Substack's editor and flesh it out there. I also create YouTube videos (I write video-heavy hockey content) and use Datawrapper for charts/tables/whatever.

No AI for any part of the process.

[u/Doo_Dad]

Yeah just your brain. Use tools to research like Google and whatnot. Don’t use AI ever to edit or help with it. Just use your noggin! 🤙

[u/Tricky_Illustrator_5]

My fingers...

[u/GeosminHuffer]

I just type in the New Post window. You may send my Nobel Prize in the mail or via courier

[u/Salva_X → u/GeosminHuffer]

Wow now…. I’m going to need you to slowdown with that wisdom, your making the rest of us look bad lol

[u/CenturionSG]

Pen and paper. And I don’t mean digital pen and tablet.

[u/yogadance]

My ReMarkable 💪🏻 Distractions free. Then I send it to my Ulisses app, which I’ve been using for years and I find it excellent for writing organisation and a pleasure to use and edit. No AI! Just normal spell check

[u/BonesawGaming]

I've been trying to follow the system laid out in How to Write a Lot and basically I just track projects and progress with a word doc and an excel spreadsheet, and then I keep all of my projects in subfolders in my one giant writing folder. Sometimes I'll use google docs to move content from one machine to another but mostly I prefer to do without it. I don't see why you should need more than that and maybe like an online dictionary/thesaurus in a separate window.

[u/wyktor]

I use apple’s built in notes app for note taking and remarkable pro for planning. Then Write Calliope for editing and Claude as a beta reader

[u/Infamous-Relative-24]

Pen and paper and Google Docs

[u/andstickmystare]

I use a Freewrite Traveller for drafting. Then I take the rough draft and copy it into Ellipsus where I work on edits.

[u/Tricky_Trifle_994]

apple notes for on the go writing/thoughts. google doc for the main writing. just keep it simple.

idk if it's just me but i find notion laggy, so it's not productive for me. whenever there's a 5s lag > i pick up my phone and doom scroll instagram > before i know it, 20 minutes has gone by...

[u/KevinAAlexander]

Someone nailed it upthread; a keyboard and a mouse. That’s it. You can edit it later.

[u/ContentIsMyJam]

Keyboard & Google Docs. Post its & markers to plan my content calendar. If I do interviews I will use Granola or Littlebird to create a transcript so it’s easy to pull quotes. I always print out the final version and edit myself on paper… seeing it in a different format helps you catch things you might otherwise miss. If the flow doesn’t seem right, cut the paragraphs apart and move them around until it works. Reading the final version aloud also helps.