How to use Inkstand

Your first piece, step by step

1. 1Open a blank page

   Tap Start writing. A fresh page opens, ready for you. On a computer you'll see your list of pieces on the left. On a phone, the page fills the screen.

   Want another blank page later? Tap + New document in your list of pieces.

   WriteRevise

   Title

   Start writing…

   Saved on this deviceWords: 0

2. 2Give it a name and start typing

   Tap Title and type a name, like "Letter to Amma" or "My first story". Then tap the space below and write.

   Look at the bottom of the page: Saved on this device. That means it's kept. There's nothing else to do. Even if you close the page, it'll be there next time.

   Letter to Amma

   The mangoes arrived on Tuesday. We ate three before dinner.

    Saved on this device Words: 11

3. 3Dress up your text (if you like)

   The row of buttons above the page changes how text looks. Select some words first, then tap a button.

   B makes words bold, I slants them, U underlines, and S crosses out. H1 and H2 turn a line into a heading. The curved arrows undo and redo your last change.

   BIUS H1H2¶

4. 4Finished? Tap Revise

   When the whole draft is down, tap Revise at the top. Your page stays exactly as it was. Revise only adds colours and notes on top, and changes none of your words.

   To go back to writing, tap Write or Back to writing.

   WriteRevise

   The mangoes arrived on Tuesday. We ate three before dinner.

5. 5Write your main point

   The first box in Revise is called Central argument. It asks what your piece is really saying. Answer in 30 words or fewer, as if telling a friend.

   For a letter, it might be: "I miss you, and I'm coming home in May." If it's hard to say in one line, that's a sign to tidy up the draft.

6. 6Read the colours

   Each sentence now has a colour that shows how long it is:

   • 1 to 3 words
   • 4 to 7
   • 8 to 14
   • 15 to 24
   • 25 or more

   No colour is good or bad. What matters is the mix. A long stretch of one colour usually reads flat, and a chain of purple can tire readers out. The Rhythm chart shows each sentence as a bar, so you can see the pattern at a glance.

7. 7Look at the notes

   Notes appear under Notes, and the words they're about get a wavy underline in your text. On a phone, tap the Notes: 14 button at the bottom to see them.

   Tap a note to jump to those words. Tap Why? to read a short explanation. Then decide: change it, or leave it if you meant it.

   We had a very nice time at the beach.

   • "very nice" is vague. What exactly was good?Why?

   Notes: 14

8. 8Save a copy to share

   Tap the three dots at the top. Under Export, pick how you'd like your copy:

   Word document opens in Microsoft Word, Google Docs and most other writing apps. Web page opens in any browser. Plain text is just the words, without bold or headings.

   Your phone or computer then saves the file, usually in your Downloads folder, or asks where to put it.

   Export

   • Word document (.docx)
   • Web page (.html)
   • Plain text (.txt)
   • Open file

Every button, explained

Buttons with only a picture on them can be puzzling. Here's what each one does.

• New documentStarts a fresh, blank piece.
• DocumentsOn a phone, goes back to the list of everything you've written.
• Write
  WriteThe plain writing page. No notes, no colours.
• Revise
  ReviseShows colours, your main point, the rhythm chart and notes.
• FocusFades everything except the paragraph you're writing. Tablets and computers only.
• Version historyEarlier copies of this piece. Pick one to bring it back.
• MoreSave a copy (Export), open a file, Settings, and Delete.
• Undo and redoTake back your last change, or put it back again.
• QuoteSets a paragraph apart, for words someone else said.
• Bullet list and numbered listTurns lines into a list with dots or numbers.
• NotesOn a phone in Revise, opens the list of notes.
• Craft guideShort lessons on writing well, linked from each note's Why? button.
• Practice sheetSmall warm-up exercises for when you want to practise.
• ExportSaves a copy as a Word document, web page or plain text.
• Open fileBrings a Word document, web page or text file into Inkstand.
• SettingsLanguage, light or dark colours, the page's font and text size.
• DeleteRemoves this piece. Inkstand asks you to confirm first.

Words you might see

Draft

A first try at a piece of writing. It's meant to be rough.

Revise

To read your draft again and improve it.

Central argument

The one main thing your piece is trying to say.

Rhythm

How your writing sounds as it's read: the pattern of short and long sentences.

Cliché

A phrase used so often it no longer means much, like "at the end of the day".

Show, don't tell

Instead of "she was nervous", describe what nervous looked like: "she checked her phone four times".

Export

Save a copy of your piece as a file you can send or open somewhere else.

Version

A saved snapshot of your piece at one moment. You can go back to any of them.

Offline

With no internet. Inkstand works offline after your first visit.

Home screen

The screen of app icons on your phone or tablet. You can put Inkstand there too.

Handy extras

If something goes wrong

My writing has disappeared!

Your writing is kept in one browser on one device. If you've opened Inkstand in a different browser (say, Firefox instead of Chrome), or on another phone, it won't be there. Go back to the one you used before. If the browser's history and site data were cleared, the writing is deleted, which is why it's worth exporting copies of anything important.

The text is too small, or too big.

Open Settings and use A− and A+ under Text size.

The screen is too bright at night.

In Settings, set Theme to Dark, or try Paper for a softer, warmer page.

The notes don't understand my language.

Sentence colours and punctuation notes work in all ten languages. Notes about word choice only read English for now.

I can't find the Focus button on my phone.

Focus is only on tablets and computers, where there's room for it. Phones show one part of the page at a time anyway.

A note is wrong.

Notes are only suggestions, so feel free to ignore it. If it's plainly wrong, I'd love to hear about it: report it here.