New technology is being developed every year. Some of them affect everyone’s lives, while others are meant for a narrow niche of specialists and workers. However, many modern technologies have affected and even transformed writing work. Today, writers of all kinds enjoy many fruits given to them by technology. Such progress made their job easier, more efficient, faster, and more effective. Let’s see how technology is enabling new ways of writing. Here are the top eight examples.
Greater research possibilities
In the past, libraries and, perhaps, some private collections were the only places to find reliable sources and valuable information. However, access to those places was somewhat limited by distance and time. People enjoyed very different access to information. These days everything has changed. Writers can be free to conduct their research at any time, from anywhere in the world, as long as they have an Internet connection. We have gotten so used to such a luxury that we forget about its real value to our society and the writing community.
Proofreading and editing tools
Editing and proofreading can take so much valuable time. It took writers days and weeks to reread all their works and discover errors, typos, and inconsistencies. Needless to say, writers have to be true scholars when it comes to grammar. Now, people can relax a little about their editing abilities. Lots of apps and tools online can help them do this job.
Such a change particularly helps students who struggle to find time for such a tedious job. Now they can just open Grammarly or SpeedyPaper writing services and order high-quality editing and proofreading work online.
Plagiarism checker
Another big change in the writing world has been a plagiarism check. Of course, the concept of plagiarism existed long before the newest technology. Yet, it wasn’t so easy to detect or prove. Now, a simple program can test an article against thousands of other copies to discover whether any ideas or sentences were borrowed or not.
Of course, such a change is particularly valuable in the education system. Teachers no longer have to worry about the originality of their students’ work. They simply send those papers for a check before even looking at the papers themselves.
Cloud technology
Cloud technology has offered a small but rather convenient change. Now, writers don’t have to worry about the safety of their unprinted works. The given technology allows for saving all sorts of files online without storing them on any hardware. So, you can lose your laptop or break a computer and still have all your stories preserved in the cloud. Plus, you can access them at any time from anywhere. The technology allows offline use, automatic saving, and synchronization with other devices.
Voice assistance
Now, writers have the ability to record their speech and turn it into text right away. Sure, in the past, writers often dictated their ideas out loud. Such forms of creative writing are rather common. It allows writers to express their thoughts and ideas without being held back by the typing process. Still, they would either use a recorder or a dictaphone and have to rewrite everything later or hire assistants to type their speech as they go.
These days, writers can simply dictate their thoughts to their devices. They immediately transform vocal recordings into text. Such programs can even set punctuation marks! Of course, technological progress has gone a long way. Often, such programs operate due to either Natural Language Processing (NLP) technology or Artificial Intelligence.
AI assistance
With the new AI-powered applications, like chat-GPT, open to the general public, people have started to wonder what it means to write. Well, so far, it seems that AI can only help writers and other representatives in the creative industry to work faster and more efficiently. For example, chat GPT can help writers generate new ideas, five prompts to test their skills, or even compose a perfectly nice outline for an essay or book. It can also complete research or provide all sorts of information in an instance. Hence, writers can save a lot of time on research.
AI programs can also generate ready texts, which will be plagiarism-free and accurate, with enough evidence and citations from reliable sources. Sure, some people fear that such technology may replace some types of writers (copywriters, content writers, advertisers). However, the chances of creating completely new jobs or writing genres based on AI technology are much higher.
Online publishing
In the past, writers would have to constantly edit editors and publishers, send their work copies, wait for an answer, etc. These days, each writer can become their own editor and publisher. Blogging, online magazines, and websites have opened up a whole new industry in the media world. Online journalism, creative writing, fanfiction, and other forms of digital publications have become the most popular media platforms.
Self-publication is also a common thing today. Writers don’t need to spend a fortune printing and advertising their books to bookstores. They can do e-books instead. Hence, they only need to create a book, put it on a selling platform, and advertise it online.
Writing courses online
These days everyone can be a writer. We’ve already covered so many writing tools, and publication possibilities are open for anyone willing to try. And people do! Many people choose to pursue their dreams of writing. However, writing is hard work that requires very precise and unique skills. That’s where online writing courses come into play.
These days, many aspiring writers choose to take lessons in composition, storytelling, editing, creative writing, etc. These courses are available online for small prices or even for free. Of course, it is a nice little change that encourages more people to try their skills and talents in writing.
Bottom line
Technological progress has completely transformed our lives over the past several decades. Even creative industries like writing have been majorly affected by it. As with all other fields, writing has only benefited from rapid tech development and the discoveries it has brought along the way. Now, writers can be more independent at every step of the way, from creating an idea to publishing their work and receiving their desired exposure.