Commas on vacation.
Essential Software for Authors:
The Intersection of Writing and Technology Part 3
Picture this: You’re a writer, armed with nothing but a keyboard and a head full of brilliant ideas. You sit down to craft your literary masterpiece, and as your words flow like a river of inspiration, you suddenly realize that your grammar has gone rogue. Commas are on vacation, apostrophes are having an identity crisis, and sentence structure is partying like it’s the Wild West. Enter the grammar tool, your trusty sidekick in the quest for linguistic order. It’s like having a grammar-savvy guardian angel who swoops in to rescue your sentences from the clutches of chaos. With a grammar tool by your side, you can focus on weaving the tapestry of your story, safe in the knowledge that your prose will emerge polished and pristine. So, dear writer, let the grammar tool be your literary lighthouse, guiding you through the treacherous waters of grammatical uncertainty, and together, you shall conquer the realm of words with flair and finesse! finesse!
If you haven’t guessed this essential software is a grammar tool. My grammar, punctuation and writing styles can get really messy. But which one out there is the best?
Essentially, there is a mini-war going on about Grammarly and ProWritingAid. While they are similar, they are not the same. I used Grammarly during my feat de accompli of getting my Ph.D. It was offered free by my college, and I don’t think I’d have finished without it. The standard version (non-premium) offers basic grammar, spelling, and style error aids, along with writing suggestions, and plagiarism detection. The premium Grammarly offers advanced features, such as a vocabulary enhancement tool, genre-specific writing styles, and a writing tone detector. It’s a good solid tool for the first line of defense against the rebellious writing syndrome of To Comma, or Not to Comma.
However, on the flip side, ProWritingAid is better for an author. This tool has advanced in many ways to allow a specific genre writer to customize their writing and styles. Here is verbiage straight off the site for PWA
“ProWritingAid is the essential editing tool for writers. More than just a grammar checker, ProWritingAid helps writers identify a range of style issues to help them strengthen their writing. Users can generate over 20 different writing reports including repetitiveness, pacing, sentence length and variation, readability, overused words, redundancies, transitions, and more. Edit faster and get published sooner. Self-edit like a pro with ProWritingAid.”
It is a whopper of an editing tool, adapting to various types of genres, it’s like a fairy tale tool all extraordinary and magical. After using both, I could tell PWA was the tool for me, and I purchased a lifetime premium license of PWA for only $399. That might make you gasp and seem like a ton of expense, but there are ways to spread that out via Paypal or credit other methods. I consider it a necessary investment in myself and my writing career.
ProWritingAid
Your trusty sidekick
Why would you want to use ProWritingAid, you ask?
- It improves your writing style: the tool analyzes your writing for style, grammar, and syntax issues. It can help you identify and fix repetitive words and phrases, passive voice, and sentence structure problems. This can help you improve the flow and readability of your novel.
- The software catches typos and spelling errors: there is a built-in spelling and grammar checker that can help you catch typos and spelling errors that you might have missed while writing.
- PWA checks for consistency: helping you maintain consistency throughout your novel, ensuring that your characters’ names and attributes, locations, and events are consistent and accurate.
- The identify pacing and plot issues are incredible: there is the ability to help you analyze your novel’s pacing, identify any slow or dull sections, and suggest ways to improve the flow of your story.
- I’ve mentioned this but truly pay attention. PWA increases your productivity: Using it can help you edit your novel more quickly and efficiently, leaving you more time for other tasks such as writing new material.
If you want to improve your writing and streamline the editing process, look no further. PWA can help you catch errors, improve your style, and ultimately make your novel a more polished and engaging read.
JLNichauthor: A Misfit Scribe of SFF Wonders
In the vast cosmos of storytelling, science fiction, and fantasy I strive to become a cosmic weaver, conjuring realms where imagination knows no bounds. To conclude this blog journey from distant galaxies to enchanted forests, with my pen forging paths to uncharted territories, inviting readers to embark on journeys beyond the mundane. Share my SFF passion through my social media links and once or twice I might share the secret writing potion (spoiler: it’s coffee/tea, black like the void in space that seeps into your mind and swirls down into the creamy mists of sugared delight, plus a dash of starlight and a kiss from a puppy) and a burst of inspiration.
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JLNich, Science Fiction Fantasy Author
