![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
Okay, this is fun
I finally signed up for ProWritingAid (grammar checker) after hearing people in writerly circles talk about it for ages, and this is actually really fun to use! Just in the text that I checked it already caught one genuine mistake (I ignore its comma suggestions at least 50% of the time for sentence flow and clarity, but this one was legit wrong, left over from a previous version of the sentence). I'm probably going to spring for the paid version; it looks useful enough that it's a valid business expense.
I'm still figuring out the interface and I wish it was easier to see the sentence around the suggestion popping up in the middle of it (I may be able to change or move this; I haven't figured that part out yet), but it's actually really fun; it's almost like a game, and I like playing around with my text this way. We'll see if I'm still having fun after using it on a whole 70K novel ...
Questions for those of you who use it: do you use it in your browser, use the Chrome extension, or use it on desktop? If you use it more than one way, do you have a preference? Any tips or tricks you think I should know for ease of use?
Edit: To be honest, I genuinely can't figure out how to use the desktop version. I downloaded it, but it just seems to run in the background and not do anything? I can't get it to engage with text or give me a place to put text. It's possible I might need to upgrade my OS to get it to work right?
I'm still figuring out the interface and I wish it was easier to see the sentence around the suggestion popping up in the middle of it (I may be able to change or move this; I haven't figured that part out yet), but it's actually really fun; it's almost like a game, and I like playing around with my text this way. We'll see if I'm still having fun after using it on a whole 70K novel ...
Questions for those of you who use it: do you use it in your browser, use the Chrome extension, or use it on desktop? If you use it more than one way, do you have a preference? Any tips or tricks you think I should know for ease of use?
Edit: To be honest, I genuinely can't figure out how to use the desktop version. I downloaded it, but it just seems to run in the background and not do anything? I can't get it to engage with text or give me a place to put text. It's possible I might need to upgrade my OS to get it to work right?
no subject
There's also a Word plug in which is pretty useful, though it doesn't have all the features of the desktop app.
When you say the desktop version isn't doing anything... are you using the actual _app_ (ProWritingAid Desktop), or the new thingybobbins which is meant to run in the background and offer pop up help in any program (ProWritingAid Everywhere)? I've not tried Everywhere - I use the desktop app. Which, as I look at their website now, they seem to have made weirdly difficult to find (I really hope they aren't about to deprecate it...). I had to Google to find the link to download Desktop, but you should be able to get it here:
https://prowritingaid.com/download/desktop
Anyway, Desktop is an actual standalone app - you open a word document in it and away you go. There's a real time checker that pops up on the sidebar, or you can use the menu bar items to run specific queries. I have a custom Combo report that I run, which lumps together the particular checks I find useful - once you've got the app, I can tell you my settings if you want!
no subject
(I have a custom rule set in PWA to tell me how many times I have used "eyes" in a chapter...)
no subject
no subject
(Also if I go hybrid into indie...)
no subject
OHO. thank you!! Yes, Everywhere was the one it directed me towards, and I thought *I* was doing something wrong because I couldn't get it to turn into what I was expecting, which was an interface to enter text into. This is mega-helpful, thank you so much!
no subject
I run the style check, but ignore most of it except for typos and commas where I pick up more than half the advice but not all of it (every so often I'll peer at something and consider it.)
I use it heavily for:
- Length of sentences
- Consistency checks (because I am almost bi-dialectical in British and American English, but there's always something that slips through)
- House rules, where I flag things I tend to overuse, style guide stuff like "should this be a capital", etc.
I've tried the desktop version periodically, and it's always felt boggy to me in ways that annoyed me (and the next place that text is going is Google Docs, so running it in the browser and then copying it into a different tab works fine.)
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
I use the Desktop version and then open the Scrivener project file inside to have it check that.
no subject
no subject