as others have said: it's a tool, not a magic bullet. it's very good at helping you spot your main issues, catching silly small mistakes, and maybe suggesting a simpler way to say something. always engage with it critically. if you don't care for its suggestions, then delete it. don't let grammatical correctness dictate your voice or style, just let it keep your writing clear.
"Finish your work, accomplish what you set your hand to, and the people will call you a natural."
-Lao Tzu
It does occasionally give a very bad suggestion that makes the sentence ungrammatical. When I am certain it is a certain threshold or quality I stop using it or relying on it. It's the option I have since my brothers always have their hands full and are busy. They are the ones that know english, and they do not have disabilities.
I would follow as in believe in the words of good moral leaders. Rather than the beliefs of oneself.
The most difficult thing for a writer to comprehend is to experience silence, so speak up. (quoted from a member)
I use the free version of Grammarly too. It's good for what it is. However proof reading and self editing is ALWAYS a must. You will miss words and so does Grammarly you need other programs and a very thorough read-through (more than one usually) to catch all those mistakes. I've heard that Grammarly is great for catching run-ons which is a problem I have, if you have a paid plan, which I don't. Something else to keep in mind with creative writing is character style. Most people do not speak in a grammatically correct way. You will find not 12 year old that says "I must go to the store with mom." Which is ...well, it's correct like I stated. It would be more like "I have to go to the store with my mom." etc... so that's also something to keep in mind when using it. Who is your character? What is their age? Are they going to speak standard English, American, British etc..? I use Grammarly, my own brain and other built-ins like spell check. Even doing that though I spend around 8 hours a week editing. My question is is premium Grammarly (paid for) really worth it?
Yes but get a discount. Because it doesn't imho catch all the typos or fragments. It will leave some mistakes undetected for the free version. You need catch the vast majority or leave it near publishable. Which Grammarly can do. I am a non-native language learner supposedly and also have some dyslexia.Originally Posted by E.Fox87
I would follow as in believe in the words of good moral leaders. Rather than the beliefs of oneself.
The most difficult thing for a writer to comprehend is to experience silence, so speak up. (quoted from a member)
I finally downloaded the free version of Grammarly, and I ran a check on a sample of about 20,000 words.
It picked up the wrong use of commas, extra spaces, Canadian spelling, hyphenated words, a few missing prepositions or pronouns, caps, and no caps. I didn't have many typos or spelling errors because I had already proofed it with MS word.
It only picked up six phrases that it said were too long, four I rejected, for example:
Two I accepted:"Gramma cocked her head in a funny manner." Grammarly suggested, "Gramma funnily cocked her head." That sounds weird to me.It picked up four redundancies, which I also rejected, for example:"It was her attempt at..." Grammarly suggested, "She attempted..." Ok, that's an improvement I guess.
And it didn't like that I use the word "own", for example:"There was a large bouquet of flowers on the table." Grammarly suggested, "There was a large bouquet on the table." I adjusted it to, "There was a large bouquet of flowers in a crystal vase on the table." I'm looking for a strong visual here.
"She liked her own choice." Grammarly suggested, "She liked her choice." Which is quite different.
So my questions are:
Is it worthwhile to invest in the premium version?
Will it give me more information for example using the passive voice or run-on sentences?
Has anyone bought the premium version and what extra features do you find useful?
Sometimes in the waves of change we find our new direction...
- unknown
I used it years ago and finally uninstalled it altogether. Computer software isn't any good at creative writing. It might be better for the technical writing you do.
To use one of your examples: "It was her attempt at":
You know how I feel about about looking closely at copulas (linking verbs), but that doesn't mean they're always wrong to use. I'd like to see the end of the sentence. If it is something like, "It was her attempt at climbing the ladder which scared us to death." .... That has a completely different feel from "She attempted to climb the ladder and almost fell off, which scared us to death".
The first works in a general reminiscence--or as a scene introduction--while the latter works if you're doing a blow by blow of a set of activities.
Software can't make that decision for you. However, it could warn some people with weak grammar off of unfortunate mistakes. I think the more writers learn about strong sentences and how to set moods in scenes, the less useful something like Grammarly is. Eventually, you get to the point where Grammerly (or a cousin) is pointing out 300 things to look at, and all you find that needs to change is one "who" to "whom". LOL
I am dyslexic so my writing tends to be a little 'clunky'. I would be tempted to buy the premium version providing I could take it for a test drive first. (In this sentence Grammarly suggests 'provides' instead of providing). So now methinks neither is correct and I should use alternative phrasing such as 'on the proviso'.
I would be tempted to buy the premium version on the proviso I could take it for a test drive first.
When I am unsure of a purchasing decision I apply 'want v need'.
Punctuation is my biggest weakness that Grammarly picks up. There are more suggestions in the premium version since it doesn't have as many features as the free version. I didn't like the redundancy suggestions sometimes. If I am missing an article according to the software it supplies it (most popular mistake).
It only lists my top 3.
1. Missing article Learn More 16 alerts
2. Redundant indefinite article Learn More 10 alerts
3. Missing comma after introductory phrase
I don't like when it tells me to rephrase sentences, but that is because I must read out loud my work more than once (lately I read a story's paragraph 3 times). So if I change too much the diction might be wrong. It says from time to time my writing is monotonous for repeating pronouns. I tend to ignore mistakes that have to do with rephrasing. As I have dyslexia as well this becomes a problem. I want to hear to make sure everything is right.
It does not detect tense shifts. It hasn't picked up fragments lately in my writing when there were some present.
It doesn't check for style. Not unless you go for the business version which is more expensive. I do like when it detects long sentences.
It doesn't list all the features or rules you want to check for grammar one by one. It simply corrects the whole document one supposed mistake one after the other.
It won't detect passive voice but will flag a long sentence. It doesn't check the grammar on this website.
I sometimes do accept the redundancies. Obviously spelling is also a weakness of mine.
If anyone wants I can analyze a writing sample.
Last edited by Theglasshouse; March 2nd, 2021 at 10:09 AM.
I would follow as in believe in the words of good moral leaders. Rather than the beliefs of oneself.
The most difficult thing for a writer to comprehend is to experience silence, so speak up. (quoted from a member)
I have been meaning to come back to this to seek your advice, sorry for the delay. The original sentence was:
“It was her attempt at changing the conversation because she was getting impatient with Chenlie’s dry sense of humor when she was trying to be serious.”
Grammarly suggestion:
“She attempted to change the conversation because she was getting impatient with Chenlie’s dry sense of humor when she was trying to be serious.”
I kind of like the first one better, but I don’t know why. What do you think?
Sometimes in the waves of change we find our new direction...
- unknown
If that's current action, I like the action verb in there, but I'd like the character's name instead of the pronoun. It would still be better to see more of the context around it. You might also consider breaking that sentence up, since there are three distinct thoughts in there. It also might make a difference whether this sentence comes before or after the dialogue which changes the subject. Definitely use active before, passive not so bad after the dialogue.
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