I am kinda new to the whole writing thing, but I had a subscription to prowritingaid. I did my chapter, did a rewrite and addressed all the errors, upload it. 

Queue next day, I check my writing on RR. There were issues every paragraph, so I plugged it into grammarly, bunch of crazy squiggles, fixed it. 

Queue the day after the next. I check my writing on RR. Still issues even though prowritingaid and grammarly cleared it. 

Am I messing something up, or do I have to get another person to proofread it for me. 

Sucks that's you've struggled with these programs!

They can be helpful for spotting spelling errors and such, and giving suggestions for grammar, but with fiction writing they aren't really a substitute for a human reading through and checking.

As writers we kinda need to put the time in the learn the grammar and be responsible for the flow and correctness of our own works, especially if writing in a second language, which can also include cultivating better proofreading skills ourselves. Having other folks proofread for you is a very valuable thing, but also very time consuming for the person you're expecting to do it. Or an expensive thing if you hire a proofreader.

I'd recommend developing the skills yourself as much as possible and using the softwares as they were intended - as a supplement to help learn common mistakes so you can be aware of them and eventually notice and fix them yourself without the software. It will take a good amount of time, but we are all in the same boat there mostly!

I've never seen them as 'editing' softwares personally, more something to lend a little helping hand and run top-line checks for common errors. They aren't meant to replace human editors/editing or proper proofreading.

Best of luck! :D

Rixi Wrote: They can be helpful for spotting spelling errors and such, and giving suggestions for grammar, but with fiction writing they aren't really a substitute for a human reading through and checking.

Just thought they would be better since they have been around since the dawn of the internet.

cardboard Wrote:

Rixi Wrote: They can be helpful for spotting spelling errors and such, and giving suggestions for grammar, but with fiction writing they aren't really a substitute for a human reading through and checking.

Just thought they would be better since they have been around since the dawn of the internet.

They're certainly helpful, but not a full replacement. They're a learning tool! :) Fiction writing often breaks common grammar 'rules' and structures to facilitate writing style and that's not something these programs can pick up. They're not going to be better than you taking the time to improve your skill in the craft you've chosen to undertake. There are no shortcuts in writing! (as much people might wish it).

In my opinion, learning to edit teaches much more and helps writers grow much more than simply writing and then relying on a program to weed out errors entirely. It will never catch everything, and neither will a human, but at least a human knows what allowances to make for style, impact, and the subtleties of language.

It takes a long time to improve as a writer, so just keep up the great work and you'll do fine! You can always look for a writing community that has more of a direct interaction than forums (like the thousands of writing-based Discord servers) and then over time as you make friends with other writers you may be able to get a critique partner or proofreading partner or something to also help check. Because fresh eyes are super valuable for spotting mistakes!

The more times we read our own works, the less effective we are at spotting problems with it (I'm a proofreader/editor for my day job but still absolutely find errors in the print copy mock-ups of my books despite having read through it sooo many times).

Just a little food for thought about not relying on these programs in an absolute way <3

Which version of Grammarly are you using? The paid version is significantly better at finding errors in grammar, not just spelling. 

It also helps to make it reload the section of writing. With Grammarly, I click on authors notes, then back to the main page, and it finds more things as it checks it all over again.

The Wrote: Which version of Grammarly are you using?

Just the free one, but I have about 6 months left on Prowritingaid. 

Rixi Wrote: It takes a long time to improve as a writer, so just keep up the great work and you'll do fine! You can always look for a writing community that has more of a direct interaction than forums (like the thousands of writing-based Discord servers) and then over time as you make friends with other writers you may be able to get a critique partner or proofreading partner or something to also help check. Because fresh eyes are super valuable for spotting mistakes!

do you have any discord server recommendation?

I use PWA for my writing as well, copy-paste straight from that document, and never had any of the problems you're describing. It must be something strange that you're doing, I think. 

cardboard Wrote:

Rixi Wrote: It takes a long time to improve as a writer, so just keep up the great work and you'll do fine! You can always look for a writing community that has more of a direct interaction than forums (like the thousands of writing-based Discord servers) and then over time as you make friends with other writers you may be able to get a critique partner or proofreading partner or something to also help check. Because fresh eyes are super valuable for spotting mistakes!

do you have any discord server recommendation?

There are tonnes out there if you use the Discord server database website to search for 'Writing' - the website is called Disboard :)

I'm part of one server called Writers Block and have been for almost 5 years and I'd always recommend it to writers who want an encouraging and helpful online writing community, but it's not the kind of place where you can join and immediately dump your stuff for review. The community there has a levelling system and you unlock the critique channels by engaging with other members and talking about your works and theirs.

It's a craft-focused server rather than a critique-based server :D I'm quite sure you could find one that suits your needs if you do a little trial and error

I use ProWritingAid as well, but you need to be careful never to accept every change the program suggests.
I used to do that with commas and the program gave me chapters with short choppy sentences one after the other. 
Instead, use the program as an indicator of where you might have to rewrite sections. Use your own grammar knowledge, don't rely on PWA. If you struggle with that google what the tips its suggesting you implement in your writing and learn.
It's a time consuming process, but you will learn much from it. 

Joroboros Wrote: I use ProWritingAid as well, but you need to be careful never to accept every change the program suggests.
I used to do that with commas and the program gave me chapters with short choppy sentences one after the other. 
It's a time consuming process, but you will learn much from it.

Definitely, after a bit I am getting a little better at not optimizing my sliders and getting into the flow!