I'm a writer. Though not a good one. And I'm not a native English speaker. And I just don't seem to get a handle on commas. Gawd, I hate those things. And I make all sorts of other mistakes, no matter how I try.
So... are any of the modern tools any good? Now, near the end of 2026? Note that I'm actually looking at the editing aspects mostly...
A human editor
Even though I haven't published anything (boy, do I feel ashamed about that one) I do have an editor (and an expensive one at that, although that is a bit relative). But I can't ask her to check every change that I make. Well, I could, but I cannot afford that.
She's good though. Or so I think. I might be wrong. You, as the reader, will have to decide yourself once I've released the first book. If ever...
(Note: an editor is not a human tool. Though, I admit, some might be 😁 Not mine, though!)
A non-human editor - NOT AI!!!
But... could I perhaps get some help from a non-human editor? Perhaps...
Note that this is NOT the same as using AI!!!
I don't like AI. Period. I don't want an AI to tell me how I should write. I'm the writer. Not some soulless machine.
That doesn't mean I dislike technology, or the help such a technology can offer me to improve my own craft. So, let's have another good look at 4 tools, and see if they are any good.
In other words: I don't mind an AI pointing out my mistakes, but I don't want the AI to write on my behalf.
Candidates
I picked four apps, three of them free, one of them paid. I haven't tried all paid variants yet, though I might do so at a later stage, just for comparison.
- Grammarly
- Prowritingaid
- Gemini
- Autocrit
Rules and tests
1. Free, if possible
2. Must run in a browser
3. I must be able to copy / paste to and from
4. I'm going to throw a certain test text at it from both Google Docs and Word
5. How well does it handle (deliberate) mistakes?
6. Can I copy / paste and retain (most of my) formatting?
7. How does it treat my punctuation and spelling?
8. Is it sending my work to an AI to train it?
9. Whatever comes to my fancy 🤔
So, I might accept the use of AI to help me write better, by using it to analyze my work, but I'm NOT going to use it to WRITE my work!!
Test texts
1. Deliberately wrong
This one I found on the Internet. It contains some deliberate mistakes.
Yesterday, their manager go to the store to bye stationary for the new office project. It was a very unique situation, due to the fact that everyone agreed upon the final decision, expect for John, who allus makes a lot of careless misteaks. Their going to submit the report theirselfs by tomorrow morning.
2. Early draft
Now, in some ways that text above isn't very representative of my needs.
I do use italics and em-dash, and I use some color to mark up sections that I have changed or am currently working on. My earlier drafts (in Docs, typically) contain straight quotes and space-dash-space as em-dash placeholders.
I also write early drafts in 'block' mode, ie. without paragraph indents or any other fancy editing, and use empty lines in-between to indicate new paragraphs.
The text below I will copy from Google Docs into the test candidate...
Half a mile below the surface mister Eddison talks about his beloved Eleanore.
There was a girl once - she must be an old woman now, I guess - carrying my name. Somehow our pasts have become intertwined, and I've been told more than once that I am that same person. Which is outright impossible, because that would make me more than seventy years old and still a highschooler. Talk about a slow learner.
Old Eddison is convinced I am Eleanore. Even my passport claims I'm an Eleanore, but I am not.
I'm Ellen. I am. Have always been.
"You are so wrong," I tell him.
3. Late edit
My final rewrites and edits are done in Word (it's what my editor uses) so that will look something like this (I will copy this from Word):
Some cowboys are real men, but this ain’t one of them. This one bought his Clint Eastwood outfit on Wish and goes frugal when it comes to toothpaste—I’m fairly sure he had spinach for dinner last week. And I bet he collected his scar when he fell off his tricycle when he was three.
“Won’t he mind?” the wannabe cowboy whispers.
I have no idea whom he’s referring to, and I don’t care. I try my best sultry voice and push my chest forward. “I’m sorry, I guess I took the wrong turn. Or did I?” I wink, then close the door behind me, rather loudly. I place a finger against my lips.
His eyes widen and he throws a glance at the middle of the three stalls, confirming the location of my prey. As if the smell and the noise weren’t clue enough. I slowly approach the cowboy, swinging my hips, keeping both hands behind my back. With every step I take, he gets more nervous. When I’m close enough to smell his cheap aftershave, he tries to back away, pressing himself against the basin.
If you think some guy sent me here, then you’re stupid. If you think I frequent men’s rooms at gas stations to get my kicks from strangers, then there’s something seriously wrong with you.
I smile seductively and close in for the kill, and whisper, “I don’t care what he wants...”
He hesitates, but when he reaches for me, I place my dagger against his skin. He swallows, and I have to retract my blade a little so I won’t kill him accidentally. I’m pretty sure he carefully selected his aftershave to match his outfit, but now it’s overcome by the scent of sweat and fear.
“I didn’t have my pills this morning,” I tell him. “I think you better leave. Quietly.”
Alright. Let's go for it.
No comments:
Post a Comment