Spell/Grammar Check Program

[DanDraper]

Am I missing something when I use the spell/grammar check program that I'm not utilizing correctly?

This isn't a regular complaint, but occasionally I get a comment saying I need to use the spell/grammar check to review my stories for errors. This confuses me because I always use it, I fix whatever errors it can find and I even fix the errors that program misses.
Plus, I review the story several times to fix whatever problems I can find.

I'm not saying I don't make errors, it happens even when I used to have an editor, I just don't see what the complaints are after I go through all that.

I see those comments about the spell/grammar check on other people's stories as well and I still don't see any problems.

I know people like being dicks in the comments and they find any excuse to be a dick there. But just in case I'm not using the program correctly, I thought I'd ask.


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[RejectReality]

Am I missing something when I use the spell/grammar check program that I'm not utilizing correctly?

This isn't a regular complaint, but occasionally I get a comment saying I need to use the spell/grammar check to review my stories for errors. This confuses me because I always use it, I fix whatever errors it can find and I even fix the errors that program misses.
Plus, I review the story several times to fix whatever problems I can find.

I'm not saying I don't make errors, it happens even when I used to have an editor, I just don't see what the complaints are after I go through all that.

I see those comments about the spell/grammar check on other people's stories as well and I still don't see any problems.

I know people like being dicks in the comments and they find any excuse to be a dick there. But just in case I'm not using the program correctly, I thought I'd ask.


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There are a lot of Grammar Nazis who are actually Grammar Idiots. They think they know what they're talking about, but as soon as they provide examples, you see that they're trying to ding you for things that they're completely wrong about.

And yes, some are just dicks hoping the false claim will turn people away from your story.

That being said, software checkers are far from foolproof — especially for fiction. When in doubt, ( and examples are provided ) look it up.

If they're just saying "Ur Grammer Sux" then ignore them.

 

[KeithD]

There's no telling that those criticizing your use of grammar know any more about grammar than you do. More specifically, they may never have gotten further into writing for the commercial market than high school themes in an English class taught by a wrestling coach.

 

[SimonDoom]

No program is perfect or full-proof. All of them will miss things. I use those programs for every single story I write and yet I always miss things and catch them only after I've published a story. Sometimes zealous readers catch them before I do.

My attitude is this: Some people, myself included, respond very strongly to poor spelling, punctuation, and grammar. That's just a fact about many readers, and authors are in no position to grumble, "They shouldn't be like that." It's the way it is. Readers shouldn't be jerks about it, but if errors diminish the reading experience their perspective is as valid as anyone else's.

 

[Bramblethorn]

I think your readers are half right: there are spelling/grammar issues, but software can't do everything.

For instance, first paragraph of your "Valentine's Day Story":

Renee came home to the apartment she shared with Krista. She had a long day in her photoshoots with some diva models that she didn't care for who didn't want to do as they were told and nearly ruined several shots because of it. She then had problems with the computers where she had her photos stored digitally; turns out it had a virus because one of her assistance was using it to download porn and infected it with something. She was lucky that all her good stuff was packed up. Then she had a big blowout with the fashion editors for the magazine on how the next several photoshoots should be done; she got her way on several key areas but had to lost on a few she really wanted.

Highlighted:
- second sentence would be a lot clearer with some punctuation.
- "in her photoshoots" reads oddly, would probably be better as "of photoshoots"
- number mismatch: "computers" is plural, but "it" is singular
- "packed" should be "backed", I think?
- "assistants"
- "had to lost" should be either "had lost" or "had to lose"

Also, this passage is in simple past tense, but most of it should be in past perfect tense. "Renee came home to her apartment" is the main story, and simple past is a good choice for that. But "She had a long day in her photoshoots", and all the rest of this paragraph, is describing things that happened before Renee came home. Past perfect makes it clearer that this stuff happened at an earlier point in time.

If I were editing I'd red-pen this to something like:

Renee came home to the apartment she shared with Krista. She had had a long day of photoshoots with some diva models that she didn't care for, who didn't want to do as they were told and had nearly ruined several shots because of it[/b]. She had then had problems with the computer where she had her photos stored digitally; turns out it had a virus because one of her assistants had been using it to download porn and infected it with something. She was lucky that all her good stuff was backed up. Then she had had a big blowout with the fashion editors for the magazine on how the next several photoshoots should be done; she had got her way on several key areas but had lost on a few she really wanted.

That second sentence is still a bit awkward, and might benefit from recasting, but the punctuation at least makes it a bit clearer. The last "had lost" could just become "lost", reusing the earlier "had".

Skimming through the next few paragraphs, I can see similar issues. Unfortunately, most of these are not things that an automated grammar-checker will catch. You'd need a human editor.

 

[jaF0]

Am I missing something when I use the spell/grammar check program that I'm not utilizing correctly?

Which program(s)?

I fix whatever errors it can find and I even fix the errors that program misses. Plus, I review the story several times to fix whatever problems I can find.

Many programs will not pick up the kinds of errors shown above, but your manual review(s) should have.

I just don't see what the complaints are after I go through all that.

Those noted above would make the story clumsy and difficult to follow.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Grammarly is pretty good, but it will suggest things at times that don't make sense. Nothing will replace the human mind for those judgment calls.

 

[Handley_Page]

Of course, your Grammar may not be the same as that used in their locality. . .

 

[DanDraper]

Grammarly is pretty good, but it will suggest things at times that don't make sense. Nothing will replace the human mind for those judgment calls.

So true. My grammar check told me to fix things that didn't make sense. If I change everything it suggests without looking at it first I think it would be a lot worse for me.


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[Zeb_Carter]

I get those also and I always ask if they would like to be my proof reader. Of course, none have volunteered.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Spell/grammar checks are a start, but a story also needs a check-through for every verb - is it in the correct tense? - to ensure consistency (can also consider better verbs rather than boring verb+adverb).
Then check it's all being told by the same person/consistent third person.
Then check every pronoun - is it clear what 'it' or 'he' refers to? If not, recast your sentence or paragraph until it is.

Once you've done all that to the best of your ability, then look for a proof-reader, though admittedly they can be hard to find. But they'll be impossible to find if you can't convince them you've taken the time to do as much editing as you can yourself.

Of course, feedback from readers saying your work is 'badly written' can just mean the reader didn't like it or you dared use a word or dialect he couldn't understand.

 

[gordo12]

Grammarly is pretty good, but it will suggest things at times that don't make sense. Nothing will replace the human mind for those judgment calls.

So true. My grammar check told me to fix things that didn't make sense. If I change everything it suggests without looking at it first I think it would be a lot worse for me....

Grammarly is good and bad. It catches a lot of my mistakes, but at the same time, makes suggestions that make no sense.

It wanted me to change "I don't think it will work out." to "I don't think it will workout." Now workout is a completely different thing from work out.

Yet on this comment, it's caught the workout error and is asking to change it.

 

[LAHomedog]

And then there is the Oxford comma...

 

[jaF0]

This thread needs a restful pause.

 

[MetaBob]

Ugh

Renee came home to the apartment she shared with Krista. She had had a long day of photoshoots with some diva models that she didn't care for, who didn't want to do as they were told and had nearly ruined several shots because of it[/b]. She had then had problems with the computer where she had her photos stored digitally; turns out it had a virus because one of her assistants had been using it to download porn and infected it with something. She was lucky that all her good stuff was backed up. Then she had had a big blowout with the fashion editors for the magazine on how the next several photoshoots should be done; she had got her way on several key areas but had lost on a few she really wanted.

->
Renee came home to the apartment she shared with Krista. She'd had a long day of photoshoots with some diva models she didn't care for, who wouldn't do as they were told and nearly ruined several shots. The computer where her photos were stored had a virus because one of her assistants had been using it to download porn. She was lucky that her best stuff was backed up. Then she had a big blowout with the magazine's fashion editors on how the next several photoshoots should be done; she got her way on several key areas but lost on a few she really wanted.

That said, your suggestions improved significantly on what came before.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I think Bramble's post, with the analysed sample, illustrates the problem. There are fundamental sentence construction issues going on here that grammar check software won't always pick up, but a human editor will. My suggestion would be to find an editor.

 

[ttvttp]

And then there is the Oxford comma...

It's weird, I've always used the oxford comma, makes more sense than what I am supposedly supposed to use being an US Citizen.

 

[Bramblethorn]

->
Renee came home to the apartment she shared with Krista. She'd had a long day of photoshoots with some diva models she didn't care for, who wouldn't do as they were told and nearly ruined several shots. The computer where her photos were stored had a virus because one of her assistants had been using it to download porn. She was lucky that her best stuff was backed up. Then she had a big blowout with the magazine's fashion editors on how the next several photoshoots should be done; she got her way on several key areas but lost on a few she really wanted.

That said, your suggestions improved significantly on what came before.

Yeah, there's certainly room for further improvement. My edit was only addressing things that were outright errors there. I wasn't trying to polish the prose beyond that.

It's weird, I've always used the oxford comma, makes more sense than what I am supposedly supposed to use being an US Citizen.

It's not really a US vs. UK thing. The "Oxford comma" is also known as the "Harvard comma", or just the "serial comma". I think both US and UK English have factions who prefer it and factions who don't.

 

[SimonDoom]

It's weird, I've always used the oxford comma, makes more sense than what I am supposedly supposed to use being an US Citizen.

The Oxford comma is standard in American English as well, although I prefer to call it the serial comma.

 

[DanDraper]

The Oxford comma is standard in American English as well, although I prefer to call it the serial comma.

I also thought it was a standard thing in English grammar, I didn't know it could be done any other way.


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[SimonDoom]

I also thought it was a standard thing in English grammar, I didn't know it could be done any other way.


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Most editors, I think, would recommend using it, except in journalism, where it's often eliminated, probably to save space. But there's no universal agreement about it.

 

[gordo12]

I also thought it was a standard thing in English grammar, I didn't know it could be done any other way.


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I consider it totally redundant and haven't used it for a long time. I can't recall Grammarly disagreeing with me either.

 

[KeithD]

It's weird, I've always used the oxford comma, makes more sense than what I am supposedly supposed to use being an US Citizen.

??? Most American publishers use the Oxford comma too, although we more often call it the serial comma. This isn't a British vs. American issue.

 

[NotWise]

??? Most American publishers use the Oxford comma too, although we more often call it the serial comma. This isn't a British vs. American issue.

If you want to be distinctly American about it, then you could call it the Harvard comma.

 

[KeithD]

If you want to be distinctly American about it, then you could call it the Harvard comma.

I've never called it that--and neither have any of the instruction sheets I've received from the some-twenty-five American publishers I've edited for. Don't mind if it's called that, but as I see no distinction between this being used by American and British publishers in the humanities alike, I see no reason to give it a nationality distinction. I just call it the serial comma. It's used for complete clarity purposes.