Writing is like painting or creating music, you need to be in that right frame of mind and hold on to that creative streak that every artist aches for. Writing in earlier days, when there was no internet, no smart-phones, no productivity apps, no spell check, no Google and even no computer was a different world altogether. An era when a writer would simply pick up his/her notepad, a pen, find a suitable place and start writing.

But today, it is a different ball game! Let's be honest, how many us have the confidence to submit a document or an article without using spell check? Or how many us can manage to write 1000 words without any help from Google?

I am not saying there is any harm in making use of technology to improve oneself, rather I very much advocate skimming the very best of technology to improve your writing. We are not living in an age when you have ample time and luxury to write at a slow pace, we are living in a time when you have to update your blog or website instantly, and make sure that you write continuously...irrespective of your frame of mind. And that is why I would like to share some amazingly effective Chrome extensions that will prove out to be a blessing for anyone who writes:

Pillarbox

Let me begin by saying that I am using Pillarbox for writing this post. Before this, I used to prefer writing in Open Office, because of its clean and simple interface that allowed me to concentrate on my writing. But then I found Pillarbox, a great extension that lets me write without any distraction and it dawned on me that the lesser the tools you use...the better you write. Editing and formatting comes in the next stage.

Features:

• It has typewriter scrolling and I love it. My text is always in the center of the screen.

• You can use this extension offline as well. 

• Live word count. You can set up word count goal as well.

• Clean...absolutely clean display, and of course customization.

• You can set up a timer. 

• You can use any font installed in your computer. 

• Spell check. 

• If you know CSS, then you add custom styles

• It auto-saves your document every 10 seconds. 

Note: You may have a hard time figuring out how to change settings for this extension. You will not find it when you are working on the editor, instead, you will have to open a new tab then right click on Pillarbox's icon and choose 'options.'

Install PillarBox


ScribeFire

This is one the most popular add-ons for Firefox and is finally available for Chrome as well. If you are a blogger or if you are involved in a lot of online writing, then you will love this extension; specially if you write on various platforms. ScribeFire lets you bring all your multiple accounts on various blog sites at one place, allowing you to post on all your blogs at once.

Features:

• You can use single interface in your browser to write your posts for several blogging platforms. 

• You can post blogs to WordPress, Blogger, TypePad, Windows Live Spaces, Tumblr, Posterous, Xanga, LiveJournal etc.

• You can do almost everything that your blogging platforms let you do, for example, you can schedule your posts, edit and update existing posts, delete posts, upload images or use HTML. 

Note: There is a downside to this extension: it does not let you add tags to your posts, and I have come to realize that the best use of this application is for instant and short blog posts.

Install ScribeFire


Chrome Notepad

Every writer knows how important it is to scribble notes, you know things like article ideas, new angles, interesting phrases, new words and what not. Although I am still a little old school in this department and prefer to keep a tiny scribbling pad in my pocket, but found many writers to be making the most out of this simple and very useful app.

Features:

This extension is so simple and plain that there are hardly any features other than being amazingly useful; like I said before, some times less is more. Once you install Chrome Notepad, you will see a tiny icon appear on the top right of your browser, next to address bar; it also has the functionality of syncing your notes to all your computers.

As soon as you add this tool you will see a notepad icon next to your browser's address bar, simply click on that icon and start typing. There is nothing fancy about this app, and that is the beauty of it.























Install Chrome Notepad


Google Dictionary

If you are a writer and do not refer to dictionary daily then sorry to bring it to you...you are a horrible writer. Sometimes even when you have a vague idea about what a word means, it is sensible to check out what it exactly means. A dictionary is a writer's best friend and Google dictionary is the best extension for finding meaning of any word within no time.

Features:

• Once you install Google Chrome, you will not have to copy paste a word to check out its meaning, simply double-click on the word and a tiny pop-up will display the meaning. 

• If you wish to learn more about a particular word, click on 'More' option within that tiny pop-up and Google will show you all you need to know about that word. 

• The extension can also be accessed from a little icon on top right of your browser, clicking on which opens a bar where you can enter the word you are looking for. It will display the meaning within that bar without opening a new tab.