Forum: Editors/Reviewers Hangout

Sorry for be long winded, my question is: Is a grammar program good enough if I decided to post my story?

Even with decent grammar and vocabulary and using Grammarly, my editor and proofreaders still find errors because some things are difficult for algorithms to catch.

That said, it's likely sufficient, though having a proofreader would be a good addition.

Is a grammar program good enough

Grammar programs aren't always correct. You have to analyze what the grammar program is suggesting and make the final determination. But it's good to be told what to look at. Sometimes the program is correct.

I would put the effort into learning punctuation, especially the punctuation for dialogue. When I find it difficult to read a story it's usually because of bad punctuation.

jefftrip16, I think you are too negative about yourself. Your message is of the same quality as most stories posted here (and much better than some) so whatever you used to write the message will be adequate. By that I mean, if you can write a good story, this quality of grammar will not cause any readers to give up on it or even to think worse of it.

I do see half a dozen spots where I would recommend different punctuation, or maybe a different choice of word. Grammar-checking software would probably catch many of the same spots, but would also flag things that you don't need to change. If you want to use it, and are careful about checking its suggestions, you might end up with something more polished. A good proofreader will also catch many of the same issues, but is less likely to try to change "blow job" to "blow away." Proofreaders and editors also catch story-level problems that software generally cannot catch.

Returning to my main point: If you write a story the way you wrote your message, then the spelling, punctuation, and grammar will not be a problem.

I feel your pain Jefftrip, as I was also a 'slow' learner at school. I was fourteen before I could fully recite (but badly) the alphabet. Up till that point I used those plastic letter and number stencils that everyone seemed to have in those days, to know what letters went where.

I'm also a two finger typist, however, I circumvented that somewhat by buying a tablet, stylus (which was terribly slow, so I changed to an electronic one...) and a handwriting-to-text program.

Grammarly is very good, especially the premium version, but you can't rely on it 100%. It's primarily a business tool and behaves accordingly. Although you can tweak it to your style, it does require a lot of effort.

I've found that the best way to use it is as a visual cue for parts of the text I need to examine. Sometimes, the Grammarly suggested fix is suitable; other times, it isn't. As with everything related to writing, it's a matter of judgment. There are no quick and easy fixes.

The same goes for using ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude or Grok to help with proofreading/editing. They are tools, not quick fixes, and they are only as good as the effort the person using them is willing to invest in making them work for them.