Why Evernote is Great for Writers

Photo credit: Johan Larsson on Flickr

We live in a world inundated with technology. Laptops, desktops, tablets, e-readers, iPods and smartphones have become a part of our daily lives, and as these various devices become more accessible and economical, the trend will only continue.

Chances are you probably have at least two of the devices I've mentioned above, which brings up an interesting situation for writers who like to use these devices to write on the go—how to sync your work across devices.

There are many different methods and applications—both easy and cumbersome, free and paid—to help people synchronize their work or share documents across their devices, or from a public computer to a personal one. My method of choice, as you could probably guess from the title, is Evernote.

For those of you who don't know, Evernote is a note-taking application with free storage up to 60 MB a month for computers, tablets and smartphones, and it's quickly become one of my favorite note-taking apps.

I know I don't normally talk about technological things here, but with NaNoWriMo less than a month away, I'm willing to bet many of you are preparing for the big event with brainstorming or plotting or whatever it is you like to do in anticipation of a new WIP—and Evernote is a fantastic tool for recording and organizing those preparations. And for the record, I'm not being paid to write about Evernote —I'm just sharing this tool with you guys because I enjoy using it.

So why is Evernote so great for writers? One word: synchronization.

Most writers are not just writers, and even when individuals do write for a living, there are still life things that pull them away from the computer, and thus, from their writing. People often suggest that a writer should always carry a small notebook around so that they can record ideas and inspiration that hits them while they're away from home, and it occurred to me recently that you don't necessarily need to carry around a physical notebook as long as you have a smartphone, tablet, or some other portable device that you carry with you throughout the day.

You see, Evernote can act as that notebook—it's a virtual storage bin accessible anywhere as long as you have a portable device, and even if you don't, the website version is still accessible on any computer with an internet connection, public or otherwise.

So maybe you get up early to get some brainstorming in before you leave for work or school or whatever engagement you have for the day, but you don't finish as much as you would have liked. If you write your brainstorming in Evernote, you can access it later and write more while you're away from the computer. The beauty of it is when you return home, the note will synchronize automatically, so your updates are there to continue off of at home.

It's a wonderful thing, and it's helped me tremendously with completing blog posts, organizing notes and keeping track of various ideas for WIPs and otherwise, all accessible to me away from my computer.

It's simple, it's easy, and I can't recommend it enough to writers. If you haven't already, I hope that you check it out.

What tools and applications do you use for writing tasks, on the go and otherwise? Any recommendations?