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Editing your story using Word and Google

Kippy189 ๐Ÿšซ

I recently started using the tools that come with Word to help me with spelling, punctuation and grammar and they help a great deal. To use these tools, find the Editor feature in the toolbar. On my PC is is the very last item on the right. I work my way through every option, fixing some things and leaving purposeful misspellings and maybe ignoring the occasional punctuation recommendation.

After doing that, I copy my story into a phony email in my Google mail account because Google often finds things wrong that Word didn't.

Finally, I reread my story at least once, usually twice and find additional errors or little make tweeks to make the story better.

Kip

Crumbly Writer ๐Ÿšซ

@Kippy189

Finally, I reread my story at least once, usually twice and find additional errors or little make tweeks to make the story better.

It always helps to use multiple spellcheckers (I often relied on some I accessed via my old website via plug-ins), as each picks up different thinks. However, you need to keep a skeptical view of their 'suggestions', as often they'll either be flat out wrong, or won't fit the circumstances.

Another use I've found for Google is to use Google's lookup feature, where the search engine attempts to guess what word you're trying to spell. I can't spell my way out of a paper bag, and when young, I found dictionaries useless, because if you can't spell the first part of a word, there's no hope of ever finding the word in the dictionary to figure out how to spell it, but now I use the Google lookup feature frequently both while I'm writing my first draft, and again whenever I revise my stories.

Finally, having the story read aloud to you helps, especially in improving the story's pacing, but also in determining what's mere bloat (unnecessary words and phrases), plus you'll pick up the homonyms you'd ordinarily never notice. There are multiple apps online that'll read your story outlaid to you. Word performs this task too, though I've never been fond of their reader, preferring the default Mac 'read aloud' tool.

Eddie Davidson ๐Ÿšซ
Updated:

@Kippy189

I invested in grammarly and I love it.

However, Grammarly is *VERY* slow for me and takes a long time between corrections. It is however better than anything else out there I have found.

Yes, it cost money but yes, it saves time and frustration trying to find someone to help me edit the story by hand. Especially, since most of my grammar mistakes are repeated over and over.

Replies:   Keet
Keet ๐Ÿšซ

@Eddie Davidson

Especially, since most of my grammar mistakes are repeated over and over.

You should use auto-correct for those.

richardshagrin ๐Ÿšซ

@Keet

auto-correct

If your automobile needs to be fixed, should you use auto correct?

Eddie Davidson ๐Ÿšซ

@Keet

Grammarly just made a mass update function but it doesn't catch everything.

One example is complex sentences with a conjunction

"You can do this and do that"

grammarly wants to put a comma after "this" But I have to pick each instance of that and then grammarly checks the entire document from top to bottom and so each one of those mistakes cost me about 30 seconds.

Unfortunately there is no big red button to just accept all corrections. I would much rather do that and then go back through it and take out the few mistakes that it made.

The alternative is for me to just type it correctly the first time, But I constantly make the mistake over and over

If anyone else has a better tool, I would love to hear it. I'm willing to subscribe.

Replies:   Grey Wolf
Grey Wolf ๐Ÿšซ

@Eddie Davidson

I've been much happier with ProWritingAid than Grammarly, but it does sometimes overdo the commas, and there's no mass-update function.

Switch Blayde ๐Ÿšซ

@Grey Wolf

and there's no mass-update function.

I would never trust a mass update.

awnlee jawking ๐Ÿšซ

@Switch Blayde

I would never trust a mass update.

You prefer it in the original Latin ;-)

AJ

Dominions Son ๐Ÿšซ

@Switch Blayde

I would never trust a mass update.

Clearly you've never needed to loose weight.

Grey Wolf ๐Ÿšซ

@Switch Blayde

Nor would I, but it was mentioned in what I was replying to. I want to look at every change.

Crumbly Writer ๐Ÿšซ

@Grey Wolf

I've been much happier with ProWritingAid than Grammarly, but it does sometimes overdo the commas, and there's no mass-update function.

That was always my issue with Grammarly, it's abundant false-negatives, without anyway of deactivating their most annoying features.

But, M$ Word's relatively recent upgrade to their grammar checker catches most of my more obvious goofs. I also use AutoCrit, which is a monster, with detailed reports about all sorts of often overlooked details (adverb overuse, repeated words and phrases, cliches and generic descriptions). Unfortunately, it always adds multiple days to my final chapter revisions, even though I've figured out which reports aren't worth the time, and know it's many 'gotchas'.

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