I’m editing and reworking what I thought was a final version of a manuscript. The work is tedious and the pace is taxing. I want results now and I much stay patient. I’m discovering the myriad of tools available to an author in this digital age. They each seem to promise a one-stop shop, yet I am learning they need to be used together. Where one is strong another is weak.
Grammarly is my preferred helper, and it helps a lot. It serves as a guide going through the drafts and rewrites, but it doesn’t leave the sheen of a good polish. I’ve discovered another tool that has helped me kill adverbs and passive voice that was snuck into the text by zombies. 😉 Hemingway was my guide in this venture and I found it to be illuminating and useful. My manuscript reads bolder, exudes more confidence and feel more professional. I’m not done yet. I’m going to attempt WordRake next.
My great hope is as I use these tools, that show the cracks in my craft I can learn to eliminate their necessity. With proper use and if I pay attention, they should teach me where my writing must change. Is there any powerful writing tools on the web I’m missing? What else should I try? I only want to get better at the craft of writing and not need any of them at all. And no editing programs will need to display my flaws.