The universe of software for writers is constantly expanding. I’ve looked into a few of the no-cost options.
NaturalReader reads your document aloud to you. It’s a great way to find the little things a spell checker misses, like when you typed “if” but meant “it.” The speed can be adjusted. I like that it reads slowly enough that I can notice when a sentence ought to be farther up in the paragraph, or a section belongs in another part of the book. It’s easy to pause it while I make changes. They offer both free and paid versions.
I tried out the free version of AutoCrit editing software. It has a good reputation among writers online. I copied and pasted a short story into their site and clicked the big red button “Analyze My Text For Free.” It created a detailed graph showing the lengths of paragraphs in the story and suggested some of mine might be too long, thus slowing the pace. Another graph showed the lengths of the sentences, three of which were more than thirty words long.
The next chart was “filler words.” Out of 2,000 words, fifteen of them were “that.” Half of those I removed after determining they weren’t needed. I also removed three occurrences of “just,” and one unnecessary “even.”
AutoCrit is more sophisticated than a spelling checker, and it seems to me to be very useful. The full (paid) version does more than the free one.
Grammarly has some advantages over the spelling checker built in to MS Word. For one thing, it pops up its suggestions automatically, and all I have to do is click the one I want, as opposed to having to initiate Word’s review process. Like spell check, Grammarly is also sometimes incorrect, so it isn’t safe to automatically accept all of its suggestions. Sometimes you may need to Google to be sure. This also has both free and paid versions.
Which brings us to Google Docs. It’s easy to copy and paste your document into Google Docs o run their checker on it. While Google Docs word processing software isn’t necessarily better than Word overall, it does have an advantage in its spelling checker. Instead of the writer having to go to Google and search on something, Google Docs does it automatically. This is great for questions of historical or geographical fact, proper names, anything you would confirm by Googling.
Speaking of facts, YouTube is great for seeing actions firsthand. If your character is about to drain a water heater, YouTube has videos showing exactly what’s involved. Just for fun, I searched YouTube for “how to fly a small plane.” I now know enough about pre-flight checks to write a detailed scene.
Another thing YouTube can do is show you in detail exactly how to use the various features of whatever word processing software you use. If you wonder how to work with the styles feature in Word 2007, you can search for that on YouTube. You might have to try several to find one that is clear and easy to follow.
The expanding universe of editing tools for writers makes things easier. So far, no one has invented an editing software that can work without supervision. The writer must always use discretion and make the final judgment.
Ronnie
Thank you for the great ideas and suggestions.
Sidney
The problem with automated spelling and grammar checkers and editing software is that they OFTEN give bad advice. So the user has to know how to spell, has to know grammar and punctuation and usage, and has to know when to take the “advice” of the robot editor — and when not to. But many writers, looking for shortcuts, swallow bot “advice” whole.
There is no substitute for the thinking, educated human brain.
Also, I wouldn’t suggest using Google to decide whether or not the bots’ suggestions are valid. There’s a lot of bad advice out there — oddly, the worst advice often comes from writers, especially in discussion groups on Facebook and blog posts and memes. Instead, buy a good book on grammar, punctuation, and usage and use that as a reference. Then you’ll know for sure if the advice is valid and it will help you to be consistent in mechanics — and consistent is a good thing for a writer who wants to be thought of as a professional to aspire to.
Marie Brack
What I meant by using Google was for things like Is there really a Delaware Grill in Kenmore NY, or what is William Thackary’s middle name. Questions of fact, not grammar.
Sidney
But that’s not what you wrote. You wrote: “Like spell check, Grammarly is also sometimes incorrect, so it isn’t safe to automatically accept all of its suggestions. Sometimes you may need to Google to be sure.” The second sentence, which is in the same paragraph, clearly refers to the one before it.
Marie Epply
I’m hoping the app for reading aloud is useful for poetry as well. Thanks for the update. – Marie (Maine)
Marie Brack
The reading voice is a tad mechanical, so a poem may not sound poetic, but it will detect any mistyped words that sound different aloud. It won’t detect things like reed/read, but that’s why I follow along visually as I listen.
Marie Brack
What I meant by using Google was for things like Is there really a Delaware Grill in Kenmore NY, or what is William Thackary’s middle name. Questions of fact, not grammar.