What is Reddit's opinion of
ProWritingAid?
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100 reviews of this app found across Reddit:
Only advice I'd give is use occasionally, such as every 3rd chapter. I got bogged down in my first draft trying to cut all the repetitive phrases as I went along.
But a great program no less. Words, phrases, cliches, redundancy, grammar, pronoun overuse... Loads.
Edit: And don't let it dictate either. It's an editor not the author.
I liked it. I thought the opening for the first paragraph was a little heavy-handed, the ideas behind the first half of of it could be compressed (as well as removing one or two uses of "mock"), but perhaps that was the intent. If so, carry on. I would also suggest breaking these paragraphs apart, but that is more of a style/readability issue to me. Also, I would advise running your story through ProWritingAid and Grammarly because I saw a few grammar things that could be cleaned up.
Overall, I think it was an atmospheric story that kept me reading. Good job.
I agree with your initial reviewer that you have a “show don’t tell” issue. Your character descriptions in particular are very literal and info-dumpy. Could use more nuance.
You also use a lot of alternatives to “said” that feel forced. A good rule of thumb is to use said for about 60% of dialogue tags.
https://prowritingaid.com/Unusual-Dialogue-Tags
You also use names a bit excessively over pronouns. I’d mix it up more.
You also have a couple dialog tags with periods where there should be commas.
I think you start the story at the right point—very action-forward.
You also introduce a lot of characters very fast, though. I was a bit overwhelmed with information.
The coming out scene also seems very random and out of place.
To then go to the kingpin scene feels disjointed and confusing. Definitely threw me off. I’d stick with the main group for a while.
That said, I’m a little unsure about giving you this criticism after seeing your argument with the free reviewer. I’m not sure you’re really ready for criticism if you react so strongly to what you’ve received.
I think your premise is interesting and your dialogue is natural, but you’re never going to improve as a writer if you can’t learn from criticism and grow. I think the reviewer probably should have been more thorough, but I also agree with a lot of their critique.
When you asked for a review, were you really just interested in a positive review or were you open to the reader not liking the book?
ProWritingAid has a nice sale, with the lifetime license 50% off: https://prowritingaid.com/en/App/Purchase And if Grammarly is your proofreading tool of choice, it also has a 55% off deal on its annual plan.
And another one, not strictly Black Friday, but you may find it useful if you're a dictionary lover like I am: the OED annual subscription is only $90 until the end of March 2019 (more info here: https://public.oed.com/help/ --> How to subscribe to the OED).
For what its worth, affect and effect confuses me too. I use "affected" most of the time.
For the non-searchers and the interested: https://prowritingaid.com/grammar/1000196/Effected-vs-affected%E2%80%94what-is-the-difference
So, content aside, it's not exactly readable in its current state due to the formatting. Consider referencing dialogue rules and basic paragraph structuring, as well as punctuation.
https://prowritingaid.com/art/369/How-to-Write-Dialogue-in-a-Narrative-Paragraph.aspx
I think you make great points! Just want to let you know it’s save not safe. Just a consistent mixup I’ve seen in your (very good) discussion on here and wanted to let ya know!
https://prowritingaid.com/grammar/1000269/Save-vs-safe—what-is-the-difference good resource!
Nope, I’m correct. Perhaps you’re thinking of after
https://prowritingaid.com/grammar/1008093/Is-it-grammatically-correct-to-put-a-comma-before-and-
>If the word "and" is used to join two independent clauses, then there should be a comma before the "and" and never after it. You might want to include a comma after the "and", but this is never correct.
Either you got the rule confused, or you’re arguing for the sake of arguing cause you’re bored. Whichever, have a good one
I get the concept, and it makes sense that people who are improvising a movie would need a shared history. Scenes are probably going to be shot out of order, scenes will be shot without all the actors present, they'd need to have some kind of baseline so they don't contradict each other.
But this isn't something I've heard of in any improv context ever. This is probably something you'd find more information on in writing forums than improv forums. Like this, for example
There are more general storyboard you can find online by googling it. If you want a more specialised checklist I could make one for you for free, I got some free time. The checklist will depend on what kind of story you are writing, its length and content.
This is something I found online if you just want something to note your ideas out quickly. https://prowritingaid.com/art/453/How-to-Use-Trello-to-Storyboard-Your-Novel.aspx
Also, try a writing assistant like ProWritingAid to help with spelling and grammar. The plug-in is free, and you get limited use of the premium version for free as well. I couldn't live without it.
I use a combination of the free Grammarly (gotta paste chapter by chapter like people have recommended) and the paid version of ProwritingAid since they both catch different things. Also with the paid version of PWA you can load Word and Scrivener files directly into the editor program.
There’s also Editminion, but I haven’t used it as much.
Try prowritingaid.com
It has a free online version (but I think you have to register), and it does check for overused words in close proximity to each other. The online version underlines these words, and the google docs/word version will highlight them.
https://prowritingaid.com/art/343/How-to-use...-The-Overused-Words-Check.aspx
>simular ingredients
What the christ. Never heard of this word before.
Simular means false; specious; counterfeit when used as an adjective.
Not sure that is what the author intended. Regardless I learned something so yay?
Check this link out: the links will guide to more explanations. I think it’s simple https://prowritingaid.com/art/398/How-to-Seamlessly-Shift-Between-POV-Characters-.aspx but it will allow you to get the feeling of this.
I also like this one (but it also touches other POV) https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-choose-a-pov-for-your-story#3-advantages-of-using-thirdperson-pov.
Hey there Pilots! Couldn't stand the current situation so I'm putting my energy somewhere else. Please tell me your thoughts in the comment section and if you want to help, please read the following (no Patreon crap):
I use a software for my writing called Pro Writing Aid. A lifetime subscription is 250 bucks but they also allow people to get that upgrade if they refer 20 other users to the website. All these 20 users would have to do is to create a free account and try the app around and I would get that license! Please take five minutes of your time and follow this link, create a free account, or buy a subscription here and give their app a try!
You can also support me by following on my art account on Twitter !
Here are my top tips for writing:
- Write. Every. Single. Day. It's OK if it's trash and you throw it away. Just write.
- Keep reading the kind of stuff you want to write.
- Write. Every. Single. Day.
- Get immersed in the craft of writing. Read books about it. Keep what you like, discard what you don't. Don't stress about it.
- Write. Every. Single. Day.
- Trying joining an online writing group. I'm part of Critique Circle. To share your writing, you have to critique the writing of others. It's sometimes brutal, but you will learn amazingly fast.
- Write. Every. Single. Day.
- Just for fun, try your hand at different writing styles (flash, non-fiction, whatever. Push your boundaries).
- Write. Every. Single. Day.
- Switch from third to first person. Switch from past tense to present tense (for the love of god, skip the 2nd pluperfect). You might find that the switch opens new pathways to writing (I discovered that I stop filtering when I write in the present tense)
- Write. Every. Single. Day.
- Try the Hemingway Editor. You might not like the style, but the different approach can be thought-provoking.
- Write. Every. Single. Day.
- Try tools like ProWritingAid and see how they affect your writing. Again, an interesting point of view.
- Write. Every. Single. Day.
- Try making a full outline before you start writing. You might learn something new.
- Write. Every. Single. Day.
- Try sitting down and writing without an outline. You might learn something new.
- Write. Every. Single. Day.
- Keep experimenting until you find your voice and your rhythm.
Hope that helps.
Wow! Congratulations on starting your writing!
I don't believe anyone is a bad writer. Just not taught!
You're welcome to post chapters, but I suggest if grammar is your issue, you can use aids like ProWritingAid. You can also ask questions!
just check out this article it was the bedrock for my argument
While I think the than/then is atrocious, it's ridiculous to call grammatical errors "obscenities" and then use anything but perfect grammar. You can be polite or not, correct it either way, but being a drama queen and insulting the entire U.S. (which DOES have a deplorable education system) is just silly lol.
Since I'm not a drama queen, I'll just inform you that you're suppose to use a comma before "which" when it's a non-restrictive clause.
Developmental editing is going to find the places you need rewrites.
Copyediting is going to find errors like if you said a character's eyes were blue in chapter one and called them brown in chapter 13.
Proofreading is last. That's checking for spelling, comma usage etc.
Taking another tack entirely, it may be worth taking a page from literature. All stories have some sort of root "conflict", but many of these conflicts aren't or can't be resolved through combat.
Wiki has a reasonable starting point (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conflict_(narrative)) and lots of other folks have tried to classify conflict in different ways (eg https://prowritingaid.com/art/1366/what-are-the-7-types-of-conflict-in-literature.aspx).
Games aren't all story driven, but even purely technical/skill based games have some conflict that drives the rest of the mechanics. Minecraft is quintessential Man vs Nature; Papers Please is more like Man vs Society; etc etc.
It's good to know about compound adjectives and nouns but that's not really answering the question, and it's not really as simple as "you want to put a comma separating more adjectives than two."
There are coordinate adjectives, for which you should use a comma to separate more than one, and cumulative adjectives, for which commas shouldn't be used.
> Coordinate adjectives are two or more adjectives that describe the same noun equally. For example: The long, metal pole. "Long" and "metal" are both adjectives that describe the noun "pole" > > Cumulative adjectives build on each other and cannot be re-ordered or split with "and," for example: bright yellow jacket. It can't be "bright and yellow jacket" or "yellow bright jacket".
https://prowritingaid.com/grammar/1008103/Should-I-use-a-comma-between-two-adjectives
> The rulebooks tell us to put commas between coordinate adjectives, but it is not always easy to tell when adjectives are coordinate. Apply two simple tests to be sure: > > First, place the word and between the two adjectives. Second, reverse them. If, in both instances, the resulting phrase still sounds appropriate, we are most likely dealing with coordinate adjectives and should use a comma between them.
https://getitwriteonline.com/articles/commas-between-adjectives/
/u/pious-highness mentioned a few good editing tools the other day that actually checks for repetitiveness. The one I've used is editMinion, which does a good job and it's free. She also mentioned ProWritingAid, but I've never checked that one out before.
Sloz,
For grammar checks, you can try this site: https://prowritingaid.com/ It performs a free analysis of the text you put in and gives you feedbacks on the mechanics of the writing.
For story feedback, it's far more useful to have that grammar stuff out of the way first. You'll get better feedback if your critiquers aren't having to work grammatical weaknesses to try and judge your character development and plot.
In the future, I'd always recommend addressing grammar before asking for a critique. ;) You just get more bang for your buck that way.
I think if you include the instruction "Please be brutal, pendants welcome" you will find what you need.
I find this editing website helpful. https://prowritingaid.com/ If you select combo the system will highlight every possible problem.
Good luck!
You are totally correct. Thank you so much. I was able to find this thanks to you. https://prowritingaid.com/grammar/1000140/What-form-of-verb-should-you-use-after-modal-verbs
I get it now.
Yes. Although more like it's a bug with a piece of software than my chapters being deleted. To explain rather quickly, I use the application Prowritingaid. It is a plugin that I use to check grammar, spelling, style, and much more. One of the features of the application is to detect unnecessarily long sentences with ‘sticky’ words. A ‘sticky’ sentence is a sentence with a lot of glue words. There are over two hundred of them, which means sticky sentences are very common. The Sticky sentence report is a feature that Identifies ‘sticky’ sentences so I can rewrite them. The idea is to get a 40% ‘sticky’ rate or less throughout the document. Last night any ‘sticky’ sentences were undetectable by the software. However, it still returned 44% ‘sticky.’ It's very annoying even though I eliminated any ‘sticky’ sentences from my chapter last night. I did report it to Prowritingaid’s customer support, so it isn't the end of the world, but I’d think that even when I eliminate sticky sentences that the software would at least correct the sticky rate.
I’ve been trying to give you the space to develop your own Authorial Voice.
> u/Enough-Oil-2003 grew with the years. Every other writer claimed descent from him. Inexplicably, the whole of r/stupidpol posting proceeded from his genius. Poetry, novels, short stories, history, theater, criticism—he had opened up the whole gamut of literary endeavor to his fellow posters. He was first in time, and first in quality. He was the source. Neither r/wallstreetbets nor r/Tinder could have existed without him, for he made the posting language; he prepared the ground for the growth of every genre.
And the rule is that the comma goes before the 'and' when it joins two independent phrases. https://prowritingaid.com/grammar/1008093/Is-it-grammatically-correct-to-put-a-comma-before-and-
Give me an example when you should use a comma and pausing on it doesn't feel right. And you should absolutely proof read and check for commas by pausing at them.
Having done more reading on this, you seem to be correct. This link explained it in a succinct way that finally got through to me.
You can use a comma before which if it is a non restrictive clause. I would say that in this sense it doesn’t alter the sentence to remove it so it is correct.
https://prowritingaid.com/grammar/1008080/Should-I-use-a-comma-before-which-
Most grammar guides seem to say no to spaces around em dashes. https://prowritingaid.com/grammar/1000066/Should-I-use-spaces-around-an-em-dash
(But regarding academic papers, em dashes are often a mark of informal, conversational writing, so make sure that they are really what you want to use.)
https://prowritingaid.com/art/347/How-to-use----The-Sticky-Sentence-Report.aspx
For the record, I loathe automated writing checkers, so I don't recommend using it, but they give a pretty good explanation about what a sticky sentence is. Basically just be concise. Don't write stories the same way a toddler tells them.
YMMV, but for the grammar ProWritingAid or Grammarly may be useful to you. For understanding grammar, spelling and other mechanics, you might take a look at the Purdue Online Writing Lab.
For writing fiction, I'd suggest looking at Stephen King's On Writing, Storyteller by Kate Wilhelm, I Should Be Writing by Mur Lafferty, and Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury.
One of the writing apps I subscribe to, ProWritingAid, has a desktop app designed to work with Scrivener. Here is the link. I also have the full version of Grammarly and use both while editing my work.
I've heard others praise this, and there is a free option to try it. I will admit I haven't used it yet, but it supposedly works with Word, Scrivener and a few other programs writers use, so it might help you.
You're a comma abuser.You also used the word "that" for no good reason and people don't like that (haha). I only read the first page. I liked it.
You should hire a proofreader to put the finishing touch on your edit. Elance is a good place to look for one if you're on a tight budget.
I use this site for my final edit. https://prowritingaid.com/ It's free but I upgraded to the paid version. When I feel the final edit is complete I pass the story onto the proofreader. You really can't have too many eyes looking out for your typos.
Good Luck!
Good article on this: https://www.history.com/.amp/news/colonists-native-americans-smallpox-blankets
But once again, you don’t get the point. The small pox blankets were 208 years after Columbus landing in the new world. By that time, most had the damage had been done, and the blankets had only a small effect.
Also, you should read this. It will up your metaphor game: https://prowritingaid.com/Metaphors
Ah! I've seen things like this before.
> quillbot
I'm not familiar with QuillBot but I've used a few others like it before. I use them during the editing and rewriting stage. How I use them is like this:
Sometimes I will run into a paragraph that just reads wrong and I can't figure out why it reads wrong.
I paste the paragraph into one of the apps and see what it gives me. Usually, just the app rewording the paragraph is enough for me to see what it was feeling wrong and I'm able to go back and rewriting it better.
So, I have found these sorts of apps helpful during the editing process. But I've never had a time when one gave me sentences that I thought were better straight out of the app. So I can't see that I'd use it as any sort of ai re-writing tool. It definitely is helpful when I get stuck during editing and need to reword a line in order to see it from a different angle, but beyond that I've not seen these sorts of apps as overly useful.
ProWritingAid is way better for editing, so that's what I use most.
>>>I feel like it's great for learning better sentance structure
ProWritingAid is great for this. English is not my native language either and using ProWritingAid helped a lot for teaching me proper sentence structure. It's not perfect, but it's way better then other apps available. https://prowritingaid.com/
Well, clearly you’re taking notice, and lessons in their use. I’m glad you figured it out! 😂😂😂
Since you deem them useless, here goes:
Ellipsis: the omission from speech or writing of a word or words that are superfluous or able to be understood from contextual clues. (source: New Oxford American Dictionary)
In other words, it can be used as a recommendation to think about what is being stated, to muse on it, to cogitate. It is also used to show a thought being verbalized, with a brief hiatus while thinking, then continuing the same thought or one that is related in furtherance of the prior concept.
As you seem to be seeking more information, and to guide you away from your sad misunderstanding of such a vital part of modern writing, and thus to further your understanding of this particularly useful little character, I suggest you check out the following webpage, which has a plethora of information on the use of the ellipsis in both formal and informal writing - the latter most definitely applying to Reddit, wouldn’t you agree? Pro Writing Aid on Ellipsis
Grammarly has been mentioned, but ProWritingAid is superior as a tool for learning. It makes a decent effort to explain what you're doing wrong and lets you fix your mistakes on your own.
Apart from reading, consider getting some books on writing style. The classic primer is "The elements of style", you can find it here.
There are other, more involved books like "On writing well", and "The sense of style", if you want to delve deeper.
A big part of writing good prose is learning how to edit. "The copy editors hand book", "Line bu line: How to edit your own writing", and "The art of styling sentences" are all great, though they read like UNIX manuals.
I also recommend ProWritingAid, it's an analysis and grammar tool similar to Grammarly. The difference being it's more geared toward showing you your weaknesses rather than trying to fix them for you.
I use prowritingaid https://prowritingaid.com/ it doesn't catch everything, but it catches most things and is pretty good at helping me to see where my repeat flaws are. Like I have a problem with over using certain words and it has a feature that shows me how often I repeat each word, so that I can find and edit those.
It helps with basic grammar and spelling editing, but then it has 20 additional ai features besides grammar and spelling and it's incredibly helpful.
The free version and the paid version are the same, except the free version you can only edit 500 words to a time in the browser and the paid version you can upload your whole draft and edit as a big file.
I'm not going to add my two cents to what a neckbeard is, instead I'll suggest some things you can do to simplify your writing and get a better understanding of potential problems.
First, get a book on writing style. The classic, that really everyone should read, is "The elements of style", it's a slim book with excellent advice on how to write clear and vivid prose. You can skip the grammar section and the list of commonly misused words. Link to a PDF here.
There are other more elaborate books on style, like "On writing well" that's a good follow up, but Elements is the natural place to start.
Second, give ProWritingAid a try. It's a writing analysis tool that will give you an overview of potential problems with your writing, and how you stack up against published authors in the genre you're writing in. It may give you some insight into what the editor meant. Link.
If you're interested in diving deeper, there are a number of more advanced books on the topic. "Line by line: How to edit your own writing", "The copy-editors handbook", "The art of styling sentences", there are many more. "Self-editing for fiction writers" is great for aspiring fiction writers. These books, except "Self-editing" read like UNIX manuals, but they really take you to the next level if you can push your way through them.
Good luck! Improving your prose isn't that hard if you dedicate some time and effort to it.
ProWritingAid https://prowritingaid.com/ I used the free version for 5 years before upgrading to the pad version
The free version you can access all the editing features, but you can only edit 500 words at a time.
The paid version you can upload your entire novel and edi as one file, without the need to copy and paste 500 words to a time. The paid version as addition features that let you create your own spelling rules (like, say you have a character who says ya instead of you, you can add that to the spell checker so that it no longer tries to correct ya into you).
Line by line: How to edit your own writing (In case you're a masochist.)
The AP style guide.
The copyeditor's handbook.
ProWritingAid, I've learned a ton just by using it.
> im 19 my parents did a thing called "unschooling" so i wasn't taught anything and they lied to the state and said they did everything they should've so now im trying to learn all of the stuff i should have learned
:( My parents did the same thing to me and my 3 younger brothers. Unschooling was a big thing in the 1970s, and my mom got in with a group that was anti-vaxxer, so did unschooling to avoid getting the required vaccinations for their kids.
What I did to learn grammar, was, when I was 37 years old, I went to a local high school and asked if they had any adult education programs I could take and it turns out they had a GED program, so I got my GED later that year.
When I was 42, I attended actual school for the first time, via local community college. They had a program for "community enrichment" that let people take classes, without being part of a degree program, so I didn't have to take the prerequisites a degree program requires, and was able to just take all the writing/English/literature classes they offered. (Cost about $300 for each one).
ProWritingAid should help you out. It helped me a lot. https://prowritingaid.com/They offer a free version, as well as a paid version. I used the free version for about 5 years before upgrading to the aid version. You take your writing and paste it into it, and it shows you all the spelling and grammar errors and tells you how to fix them. It's really good for learning a lot of the basics.
I love, love ProWriting Aid and WordRake. Both are paid programs. WordRake isn't a grammar editor; it's a program designed to make your sentences less wordy and a lot clearer.
ProWriting Aid is like having a grammar editor, a proofreader, and a style editor all in one. If you love stats, it will give you all sorts of stats on how many times you used adverbs in your story, how much of your story is comprised of "glue" words, etc. It will let you compare your work to your favorite published, best-selling author to see how you compare on word choice and more. I sometimes quibble with it over its desire to decrease my adverb usage, but it's overall made my writing better since I started using it.
If you use Word, know that the Editor is okay, but you do have to turn on grammar checking and configure the grammar checking rules.
Google Docs has a decent grammar editor but it's like Word: it's okay, not great, and not the best at explaining why it thinks something is wrong.
"Self-editing for fiction writers" by Renni Browne and Dave King is a must. So is "Techniques of the selling writer" by Dwight Swain.
I absolutely love ProWritingAid, it's a great help when you copy edit.
"The elements of style", has already been mentioned. You can find a PDF here.
If you're a glutton for punishment, try "Line by line: How to edit your own writing."
Do you mean...
>What is a sticky sentence?
Glue words stick the essential pieces of a sentence together. They're words that carry little meaning in and of themselves, yet are still necessary to create a coherent sentence.
When you get too many in a sentence, the sentence becomes sticky. It's overly wordy and hard to read. You can reduce the number of glue words to make your sentence more clear.
I use Pro Writing Aid online (free with email reg) to check those.
>A small example of this is how a man’s title is always Mr, but a woman’s title changes depending on her relationship to a man (Ms. Mrs. Miss)
There's a bit more to it than that though. Both men and women change titles as when they become adults. Master is the "proper" way to adress young boys, basically the same as "Miss" is for women. So saying that men is always referred to as Mr is definitely not true historically, and only recently has it fallen out of fashion (although "Master" is sometimes still not uncommon). "Source"
That's a bit tangiental however, and the key point here is that women are often defined by, and change title depending on, their relation to men. Which I'd agree with you about. I do however find it interesting that when it comes to the nomer of "widow", widow*er* is not that unusual to hear either. Less common, to be sure, but women also tend to live longer than men.
With that said, I suspect that one big reason for why men are viewed as more "expendable" than women is based in biology. One man can have children with several women at the same time, whereas a woman can "only" have a child every ~9 months. So if I was a strictly pragmatic medieval king and had choose which sex to send to war, and assuming that I'd need more population after all the deaths in said war, I'd send men. Biologically speaking, men are sort of more expendable.
TLDR: I agree with you, but also more!
That might be true for adverbial clauses, but these aren't adverbial clauses. All clauses require a subject and a verb. The phrases I'm talking about in each achievement description have neither.
"As Latvia"
"As Estonia"
"As the Soviet Union"
"As Soviet Union"
These are all prepositional phrases at the beginning of a clause, not adverbial clauses. For prepositional phrases, the rules I stated in my original comment apply.
Commas After Introductory Phrases
>When an introductory prepositional phrase is very short (less than four words), the comma is usually optional. But if the phrase is longer than four words, use a comma.
Commas with Prepositional Phrases
>Adverb phrases at the beginning of the sentence, now introductory prepositional phrases, are usually separated from the sentence by a comma unless they are very short (three words or fewer)
Why should you put a comma at the end of prepositional phrases?
>For short introductory phrases (fewer than four words), you can choose to add a comma or not. For longer phrases, you should always use a comma.
I haven't used it because I write academically. This is what the website says:
"ProWritingAid's author comparisons feature allows you to select your favorite author and compare their writing to yours in the following areas:
- Emotional Tells
- Bad adverbs
- Sentence Length Variety
- Sentence Structure
- -ing Starts
- Dialogue Tags
- Dialogue Tags with Adverbs
You'll be able to see how your writing compares in these areas to the average for your chosen genre and your favorite author."
https://prowritingaid.com/art/1435/compare-your-writing-to-your-favorite-author-s.aspx
As already mentioned, ProWritingAid, accept no substitute. What makes it better than the competition is that it won't actually fix anything, it'll just do its best to explain why it thinks something isn't right, and leave the decisions up to you.
Expect a learning curve, but that's sort of the point.
I don't think you mean 'adverbs'. An adverb is any word that modifies a verb, and they are wonderful words that add color and emphasis to language. In fact, you used several in your writing above.
- "learned my lesson well"
- "They seldom add..."
- "I subconsciously omit them"
- "I'd probably be 10,000..."
What you probably mean is that your teacher simply taught you to avoid overuse of the word 'very', (and 'really'). Which is fine, and described well here
Sorry, for the nitpick. It's just that I often enjoy using adverbs.
If this is how you feel I suggest you go ahead and do it. There are a number of more heavy-duty books on writing style and language. For example:
The copy-editor's handbook
Line by line: How to edit your own writing (reads like a UNIX manual)
The art of styling sentences
On writing well
The copywriter's handbook, or some other book on writing for advertising. They have to get results, so they pay attention.
There are many more.
I also recommend "ProWritingAid". It's an analysis tool that will break down your writing for you and show you how your style compares to others. It's very detailed and I both love and hate it. Link.
You will learn so much more about the mechanics of writing by editing than actually writing, so I suggest you approach this from that direction. Write first without thinking about anything but the message, then edit with every book and technique you can find. Eventually your writing mind will get the message and start doing things (somewhat) right from the beginning.
Try ProWritingAid, it will help you with grammar and punctuation. There's a free plug-in I use for all my English writing, and some free features and trials for the full version. I use it for all my professional writing.
Mind you, you're not supposed to just blindly follow what it says. The intent is to teach you to make informed style decisions, not to fix things for you, but if you're anything like me you'll appreciate having a framework to lean on.
>Have I got it right?
Nope.
Heres the full articles ill be referencing.
What you have is two adjectives that are either coordinating (option 1) or cumulating (option 2).
However, you can tell yours are non cumulative adjectives, because they can be applied separately. Cumulative adjectives *cannot* be separated. Take for example:
'I brought a bright yellow jacket.'
You cannot reorder the adjectives (yellow bright jacket) or separate them (bright and yellow jacket), which is not the case for yours.
You can say both 'my miserable, own world' or 'my own and miserable world'. Granted, those phrasings sound *weird*, but they are still *correct*.
In your case, they *must* be coordinating adjectives, so you should use a comma between them.
So you can't have two versions.
> pwa
Thanks. Didn't know the history. Was just looking for reviews etc.
I'm looking through it now. It has just about everything I need. Will give it a proper going through tomorrow. Looks impressive all the same.
If it incorporated the same grammar spellcheck as https://prowritingaid.com/ etc I'd be giving it it's own sub on reddit :)
It’s tricky, that one. It’s like its (lol, I’m making myself dizzy!). You want to add a comma but you don’t need one. It’s is a contraction for it is, its is a possessive. Eg It’s cold today vs The door looked like its hinges had broken. Re: your vs yours, it’s the same principle. Is that your dog? Vs (pointing to a satchel. Is that yours? Here’s an explanation of why they’re different.
https://prowritingaid.com/grammar/1000260/Yours-vs-your—what-is-the-difference
I’m no grammar expert! I make mistakes, all the time. My problem is use of commas. lol.I hope this helps. Language can be tricky, at times. Take care.
Girlies, I'm tryna get a free ProWritingAid Premium license. If y'all have the time, could y'all just sign up for a free account and test out some text in the actual writing software (this second step is the most important), I could b one step closer 😭 here she is y'all! Hope this isn't against the rules, eek!
See, I would have usually said that, but had to check if it was bear or bare and found this link and got scared so changed it https://prowritingaid.com/grammar/1000217/Bare-vs-bear%E2%80%94what-is-the-difference#:~:text=What's%20the%20right%20phrase%20'crosses,%2C%20minimal%2C%20nude%2C%20naked.
No, you do not need a comma here.
“Created by the employer” can be interpreted in two ways:
1) As a participial phrase modifying the noun phrase directly before it. Those participial phrases do not need a comma.
2) As a reduced relative clause (“[who were] created by the employer”). In that case, it’s a restrictive (or essential) relative clause. Those don’t require a comma either.
https://prowritingaid.com/art/1228/starting-a-sentence-with-and-or-but-should-you-do-it.aspx
The OP put effort (on their own time) into making something that can add value to those coming here. I know commenting anonymously on the internet cloaks and shields us from any accountability regarding our impacts on others but that doesn't merit one being sour and abrasive.
The average length of a nonfiction book is 50,000 to 80,000 words. It's higher for memoir and biographies, shorter for how-to and self-help. Standard nonfiction is about 70K-80K.
The average length of a novel is 50,000 to 110,000 words. The lower limit is more for YA novels and penny romance novels. The lower limits are 70-80K for the other mainstream genres of fiction.
Both genres have the same lower limits for average word counts, but the upper limits for novels are higher.
Fiction books tend to be longer than nonfiction books. The claim that men read less books because the books they read are bigger doesn't hold up to scrutiny. Men read more nonfiction books, which tend to be shorter.
https://prowritingaid.com/art/1243/genre-book-length-.aspx
https://thewritelife.com/how-many-words-in-a-novel/
Do you know what punctuation is? Punctuation tells your readers when a sentence ends and a new sentence begins.
Hey, did you know that you should use a comma after an interjection to indicate a natural pause in your speech?
https://prowritingaid.com/grammar/1000160/Should-I-use-comma-after-interjections-
Yet you keep coming back for more! Are you a masochist?
​
Also, just so you get something out of interacting with us chimps...
>Interjections are words that we use to show emotion. Interjections are usually only one or two words, and they help set the tone of a statement. They can also be used as filler words when someone isn’t speaking clearly. Examples of interjections include oh, ahem, oops, and yikes. When interjections are used at the beginning or in the middle of a sentence, we put a comma after them.
>
>Interjections are a unique part of speech. They are small words that are interjected into our speech and writing to demonstrate emotions or act as filler words. Usually, interjections are only one or two words. Interjections can stand alone as their own sentences and are often followed by an exclamation point. They can also be used at the beginning or in the middle of other sentences. When this occurs, we put commas after the interjections.
>
>(https://prowritingaid.com/grammar/1000160/Should-I-use-comma-after-interjections-)
Although periods in interjections are technically correct, your sentence will flow more fluidly in the reader's mind if you use proper punctuation. But what do I, an illiterate ape, know regarding.
Pro Writing Aid:
https://prowritingaid.com/en/Landing/Promotion/Q2dky
Don't worry about the paid version, the free version works very well. Just set up an account, no card needed, just an e-mail address and create a password. You can either upload a document or just copy and paste.
This has been pretty fun to use and I'm very happy with it, along with Grammarly.
Grammarly has been fascinating to use. It comes as a Chrome extension (among others) and basically, I'm using the free version on my phone and computer to check everything from this post to actual writing.
Practice! Practice! Practice!
I am ESL myself and I know the struggle is real. I am still pushing through—my advice is read in English, watch/read your fandom in English, use good thesaurus (or multiple for that matter, I have various for different themes) and just write.
It gets better slowly, but it gets better, I swear.
I will give you an example: I use PWA (which is like advanced version of grammarly, it has different reports). I have been struggling with one: sticky/glue report. Stickiness or glue means the words that keep the sentence together but are not essential to its meaning (more here https://prowritingaid.com/art/347/How-to-use----The-Sticky-Sentence-Report.aspx). If you use to much of such words writing can be heavy to read. And for months my stickiness report was slightly above the orange line, a couple of % above acceptable level. And I tried by myself to improve, and it wasn’t working. At some point I’ve given up and just let it slide. Who cares about this 3%. I checked after a couple of months accidentally—and it’s gone. My stickiness report is all fine. It got better by itself.
Now I still confuse my readers sometimes as I tend to invent words/phrases that don’t exist. But I swear it gets better the more you do it.
Or write in Portuguese, it’s also an option. 😉
>Editing tips in general
I assume you have revised the daylights out of it, have the plot holes filled in, the story and scene structures fixed, the character arcs just right, and all the characterization and dialogue doing what you want, and are concerned with editing.
Hands down, the best desktop tool for me is ProWritingAid. I received a lifetime license last Christmas on a discount, and am sold on the insight it gives me into my writing. And I'm not talking about the free version which I find almost useless.
If you want an online group, consider Scribophile. Over time I have built up a quality support group.
Write long and prosper. :)
Hey you seem like a real smart person so to help you appear as smart as you surely are, here are some helpful tips so you can avoid looking like a dumbass.
https://prowritingaid.com/grammar/1000164/What-s-the-difference-between-to-%2C-too-and-two-
I'm guessing those give you some trouble too. Happy posting!
According to this: https://prowritingaid.com/art/1243/genre-book-length-.aspx
That's on the level of biography length! And more than any other genre in terms of length according to that site! Damm
If you are going to go full pedant, why not address the more glaring problems, those being the complete lack of commas, and the misspelling of <em>self-control</em>?. While we're at it, <em>that</em> ought to be <em>who</em>:
He’s just a big, sad, orange baby who has no self-control.
Now THAT is fixing it.
I would really suggest avoiding adverbs as much as possible. If there's a stronger verb, use it instead of adverbs.
I will say that you can use an adverb to clarify or define something that is uncommon.
Example:
My mom begrudgingly ate dessert.
Anna cried happily at the wedding.
It's also possible to use adverbs to create juxtaposition or emphasis, but strong verbs can do it better.
Here's a really good article from ProWritingAid about it. I also generally suggest to use ProWritingAid and Hemingway Editor as they catch grammar and structure.
https://prowritingaid.com/grammar/1000088/What-s-the-proper-way-to-use-adverbs
No.
> Too is an adverb. It's usually used to mean "in addition" or "also."
> It is one of the hardest words to know whether you should use a comma or not. It really depends and many editors will have contradictory views. If you want to emphasize the "too" at the end of a sentence then use a comma, but if it's not that important then you can get away with leaving them out:
> I'll come, too.
> It had rained on every other birthday too.
> I like you, too. (emphasis) and I like you too. (no emphasis) are both correct,
https://prowritingaid.com/grammar/1008090/Do-you-need-a-comma-before-or-after-too-
Here ya go, I hear you need a grammar refresher since your time at UT, ya heard?
The comma must be used for adverbs of concession like “though” and “although,” as there is a logical shift.
https://prowritingaid.com/grammar/1008098/Should-you-use-a-comma-before-whereas-and-although-
> So you’re proving me right. You’re just here to instigate, argue and troll essentially to incite a reaction.
No, I’m here to take in different viewpoints about an interesting topic. Trolling is what you do about something you don’t believe in. I truly don’t believe that Atlanta Falcons QB Matt Ryan is worth a tier 1 to 3 metric by any reasonable metric.
> Also, don’t start sentences with And.
Critically acclaimed journalists have started sentences with the word, “and”, for a long ass time. Google the premise for yourself and you will see countless articles telling you that there is actually no issue with doing so, such as this one, this one, and this one. Elevate yourself from an elementary state of mind and understand that to be something taught to children as encouragement to simplify their writing into complete clauses.
I’m not going to quote your second paragraph but bud, you’re on Reddit. The entire point of this website and corresponding app is to argue for the sake of arguing, unless you’re a paid Redditor in which case, where do I apply?
Hey thank you so much?
Quick question: Should there be a comma before "since" in your comment?
https://prowritingaid.com/grammar/1008102/Should-I-use-a-comma-before-since-
I am confused on that aspect too.
I copy and pasted in PROWRITE and it did an analysis of your chapter. I'm a new writer too and learn a lot for correcting my weakness with this Word add-on.
Don't tell me you really think native English speakers are using a rulebook to determine if comma placement makes sense. We just can tell because it comes instinctually after so many years of using it constantly. But if you want to send me a link to your rulebook I'd gladly look it over.
Also, regarding my comma usage in my previous comment, I found this site
i got grammarly premium recently, and it’s pretty nice. but i would highly recommend prowritingaid, it has more features. here’s a coupon if you do want to get prowritingaid https://prowritingaid.com/en/Landing/Promotion/kEoLg?utm_campaign=Kindlepreneur&utm_medium=VideoLink&utm_source=youtube i got a coupon for grammarly premium too, but you have to go through a bunch of blogs that have a code.
I've disabled every autocorrect and spell checker etc. on every device for years now. When they try to teach me my native language even though I know my native language better than they do, I only get aggressive. 😄 And I don't need that stuff in a second language. I prefer to ask for specific corrections.
That being said, if you need a grammar/spell checker, I can recommend ProWritingAid. You can define what kind of writing style you use (like general, creative, casual, etc.) and also what it should look for (you can disable the check for writing style completely - I think passive voice is included in that - or the check for sentence length, complex words and stuff like that). At least on the desktop app.
Also: Don't let any program tell you how you have to write. It's nice to get advice on stuff you want advice on. But no program can really tell you if your writing is good or not.
I found links in your comment that were not hyperlinked:
I did the honors for you.
^delete ^| ^information ^| ^<3
Try using https://prowritingaid.com/Free, you can get very detailed reports about your writing. The free version you can only get detailed reports 500 words at a time but it’s worth it. Will tell you when you are using too many dialogue tags, sticky words, passive sentences, ly adverbs and other things that will make your writing seem amateurish. Also when using dialogue tags use ‘said’, don’t repeat grumbled. And I only change paragraphs when it’s a scene change or a speaker change. Prowritingaid will help you with grammatical mistakes and punctuation errors as well. Will also tell you when you are using too many repeated sentence starts and other useful things. And my general advice is write for someone whose younger than you. I’m 33 and that’s what I do. I want anyone to be able to understand my writing. Write Simple and clear, don’t try to sound smart it’s confusing. Also read GOT if you haven’t. He’s a great fantasy writer he just goes a little heavy describing clothing IMO
Maybe ProWritingAid can help you. Aside from a few other things, it analyzes your text for repeated phrases, sentence structure (compared to published writing), and sentence length.
I think the way I interpreted that in the original post is right. I found this resource useful: https://prowritingaid.com/grammar/1000138/How-to-use-hyphen-after-adverbs#:~:text=When%20a%20hyphen%20connects%20an,hyphen%20(e.g.%20highly%20regarded).
That extra "l" makes all the difference. https://prowritingaid.com/grammar/1000167/Bellow-vs-below%E2%80%94what-is-the-difference#:~:text=The%20words%20bellow%20and%20below,when%20used%20as%20a%20noun.
what kind of morality do you have that makes you think cheating is not shitty? it's always shitty.
hmm what is a 3d character? let's ask the experts. according to https://prowritingaid.com/art/308/How-to-Construct-a-3D-Main-Character.aspx this is how you write a 3d character
- let them surprise you
check. abby killing joel certainly came as a surprise
- let them search for a purpose
check. abby did, through saving lev and yara
- let inner feelings be expressed physically
check check check
- use conflicting emotions
hah!
- use real-life emotions
yep, abby's emotions are very real-life
so yeah, i'm no expert, but basing from experts, i can say abby is 3 dimensional character
I feel it's my duty to point out ProWritingAid since no one else has. It's similar to Grammarly, but you store your work locally, which gives me some comfort since some of my clients info have sensitive info. The user interface isn't as nice as Grammarly, but the power goes deeper. It checks EVERYTHING. Grammar, readability, word repetition, stickiness, style, etc. so it's several of the other tools mentioned (like Hemingway) built-in. It also has a word explorer that integrates a thesaurus, rhymer, alliteration, cliches, etc. It's my go to checker.
prowritingaid.com is really great - there's a paid version but the free version is pretty helpful :)
Also having other ppl proofread your essay is always a good idea, computers don't always catch everything
>The Best Sci-Fi Books of All Time link ka clanku
>1. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien, >5. A Song of Ice and Fire, George R.R. Martin
i feel personally attacked
SciFi > Fantasy dont @ me
Congratulations! That’s some promising news!
So, I personally always capitalize lol, ever since I wrote papers in college. So I would love to pick your brain as to your anti-capitalization stylistic choice. Is it because you love poetry, like e.e. cummings? Or you you feel like it makes you seem more friendly and approachable in personal correspondence?
I read this interesting write-up on the case for giving up capitalization a while back.
> at what point has the media not had an anti-police agenda?
Like...90% of the time?
They routinely use passively language when talking about police actions, which they don't do with normal people.
https://prowritingaid.com/art/861/why-passive-voice-is-dangerous.aspx
There are two others that I know of, ProWritingAid and Microsoft Editor. The full version of Microsoft's Editor is free if your district has a 365 subscription.
Do you realize how hilarious it is that the one instance in there I used "u" is all you pointed out? It was in the section where I was typing like you often do. I also wrote "spel" and "kwestion" and missed at least 5 spots there clearly should have been a period, comma or question mark.🤣
Here's a helpful link if you are willing to learn to communicate more effectively. I liked your splinter/log analogy.
HEART/ MORAL
I’m not yet sure what the heart of moral is of this story; this is not the entire story, only the beginning.
PLOT
The goal of the story
The goal seems to be telling Reagan’s story. She is the MC and her personal goal is to get promoted to ensign. It looks like she won’t achieve that because she is being put on trial for treason.
Actions leading from starting point to goal
Reagan has spent five years trying to achieve her goal: “Five years she’d been a Lightblade, one of the most revered soldiers in the Kingdom of Khadra. Five years spent watching from the outside, waiting for her turn while Fajri recruits with money and honey colored eyes passed her by. How much longer would she have to wait if she slowed down now?”
Character changes
The MC hasn’t yet changed, at this point in the story.
PACING
The pace was too fast; you could slow it down by filling in the backstory like I mentioned in the General Remarks section
POV I thought the POV was right for the story; if you tried to tell it from the POV of a different character there would be a lot of missing information. That doesn't mean that you have to stay with one POV; I have read many books where the other changed POV every few chapters.
DIALOGUE I think you should take out some of the dialogue tags to increase readability.
CLOSING COMMENTS: It is a good story that could be a great story, with just a bit more background information. Great job!!
Sentence structure: Your sentence length and variety was fine and you used an active voice most of the time.
Sticky sentences: 14
This grammar and style checker will help:
https://prowritingaid.com/art/347/How-to-use----The-Sticky-Sentence-Report.aspx
1'354 words