As a writer, I struggle with a variety of tasks. While my spelling is generally excellent there are words I misspell on a consistent basis (“their” is a prime target). Commas are an occasional challenge, colons and semi-colons are much larger issues. And the whole em-dash vs en-dash question makes my head hurt. A dash is a dash is a dash, isn’t it?
As I wrote with greater frequency and intentionality, I discovered there were other issues lurking as well. I’ve written before about my “crutch word” – just. Then there’s a passive voice issue that crops up as well. Add in sentences that are long and of intricate construction, and it’s clear I could use a little help.
A quick check to catch the obvious errors. Editors are great, but shouldn’t we give the copy to edit that doesn’t suffer from too many simple issues?
So I’ve turned to several apps to do the preliminary checking on my writing. As always, everyone has a different approach, so this may not work for you. It has worked very well for me.
Before I begin, I want to make one thing clear. None of these programs are correct 100% of the time. If you are writing dialogue in a colloquial style, they will tell you to correct all of it. That works against what you are trying to create, so in that case, the software is wrong. Even though it is technically correct. You are always the final arbiter of how to construct your writing. A story written to technical perfection but lacking your “voice” should never be the goal. These tools should support your writing, not control it.
First, spellcheck. All the word processing programs and web sites I’ve used have some kind of spell checking. Confusing them is easy, so I don’t rely too much on their expertise. It’s a first pass, catch the easy problems check.
The step up from those basic programs for me was Grammarly. I still use the free version, and it’s a great help in clearing out some issues. It helps with spelling and punctuation. For hyphen use, I have opted to default to its advice. My assumption is that it is usually correct, and it offers consistency in that aspect of my writing. Grammarly is great because it can also function as an extension on my favorite browser. That keeps a consistent style for my writing both on and off line. I like having the original copy lined up with the suggested changes, so I can see if it’s a needed change. It’s also easy for a quick cruise through the suggested changes.
Beyond that, I also use Hemingway. An app that is available for on and off line use, Hemingway helps me fight the passive voice monster. Its focus is on three issues-adverbs, passive voice and complexity. I’m not as “Death To Adverbs!” as Stephen King, but I understand that overuse of any word or category of words detracts from the quality of the writing. So it helps me focus on whether or not I need that word in that place. In the end, I make the decision. I do the same thing with passive voice. My dislike for PV is greater than it is for adverbs, so I make those changes more often. Again, it makes me consider the creative choices I’m making.
Hemingway does have one annoying blind-spot. It treats any word ending in “ly” as an adverb. So when I run this post through the program it will flag both “Grammarly” and “ly” as adverbs. It’s annoying. My assumption is that they chose a shortcut in the programming.
The last item is complexity, which Hemingway approaches from three angles. Phrases that have simpler alternatives, sentences that are hard to read, and sentences that are very hard to read. I use complex sentences with some regularity. It’s good to go back over them to make sure that they are telling the story in the best possible way. But I’m not against complexity just for the sake of simplicity. Which becomes the real problem with the “phrases” portion of the program. It often flags single words like portion, in the previous sentence, as having “simpler alternatives”. More often than not, that strikes me as “dumbing down” my writing. English has an enormous collection of words to be used. As always, it should be the right word at the right moment. I refuse to begin with an assumption that my readers are stupid.
Last but not least is the beast, Pro-Writing Aid. If the first couple programs clean the literary scum off the surface of the water, this is the deep dive tool for me. I will not attempt to list all the items that Pro-Writing Aid looks for when I have it scan my stuff. A single chapter can kick out up to 100 suggested changes. Working my way through one of these reports is serious editing time. There is a free version of the program online, but I got a subscription for the full version as a gift. I’ve been saving my pennies to cover this coming year’s subscription. It’s that good.
What’s fun is when two of the programs disagree. One will say that a comma is unnecessary in that location. I remove it and the next program tells me there’s a missing comma at the same location. That’s irritating, but it pushes me to take the time to make specific decisions about my writing.
There’s a long term upside to all this as well. There has been a dramatic decrease in my use of passive voice. I use adverbs with much greater care as well. Which means my writing is better than it’s ever been before.
And that’s fine with me.
Peace.
Stories Are My Life 
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