I learn new things every day. Sometimes I fill a gap, and other times I replace entire belief systems.
Today I fall somewhere in the middle. I’m taking back what I said about not liking grammar apps like Grammarly or Hemingway, because I’d decided to give them a go and found that they weren’t as bad as I made them out to be.
But don’t hold me to anything though, because who knows if I’ll change my mind again? For now, let’s just start with the new pros and cons I’ve discovered since using said apps.
Pro 1: It’s an unbiased review of your work
What I like about these apps is the way they present the data. Am I using too many adjectives or qualifiers? Overusing redundant phrases? Abusing ten-dollar words? These apps will let you know without malice or joy.
You know it doesn’t come from a place of bias, like some editors are wont to do. Instead, this is just straightforward feedback.
That’s good because if left to my own devices, I tend to cram too much into one sentence and end up spoiling the reading experience.
Which is why it pays to look under the hood of my articles. After all, isn’t it my responsibility to make you comfortable? And like Nathaniel Hawthorne said, “Easy reading is damn hard writing.”
You’d think a self-declared professional wouldn’t need an app to show him the problem areas of his work. Thing is, I sometimes get too attached to my darlings, and it helps to have an impartial party show me which ones I can kill.
Pro 2: I get a free sub-editor
One thing I miss about working in a traditional publishing house is the presence of a sub-editor. This person’s job is to line-edit and fact-check (to see if a quote is attributable to Nathaniel Hawthorne, for instance).
It’s an important role, because even at the news desk—where an article goes through multiple approvals before print—mistakes still get immortalised in the papers.
So what hope does a one-person blog have to remain typo-free? This is where Grammarly comes in. It catches the mistakes I typically overlook, like a rogue ‘of’ or a misused homonym.
As confident as I am in my craft, I have to say that I mess up more often than not, and while these grammar apps won’t help me with factchecking, it’s still nice to know that someone—or something—is around to be my second pair of eyes.
Pro 3: I get a free Premium subscription
The good thing about having worked with so many editors is that I can now look at Grammarly’s highlights and guess what needs to be changed.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not that skilled. I’ve just built a knack for having options on the fly, a defence mechanism to appease my bosses from the days of yore.
So while Grammarly recommends that I pay for the extra feedback, I’ve found the existence of these yellow highlights alone to be a useful feature.
Most times, the suggestions are irrelevant, but I’ve made many stylistic rewrites thanks to these highlights, and have liked my work more for it.
Con 1: You need to know your style first
The thing about these apps’ suggestions is that they’re exactly that: suggestions. They don’t care about your voice, nor do they adhere to your company’s house style. And then there are the suggestions that clash directly with your style.
I personally find Grammarly to be prejudiced against commas. But as long as you know what you’re going for, you don’t need to follow the instructions to a tee.
Because I like commas. I’ll, even, use them, to channel, my inner, Christopher Walken, and the, grammar apps, will hate you for it.
But ultimately, writing is about getting a message across, and sometimes that message requires non-traditional uses of the language. So if we’re to take the apps’ suggestions as set in stone, then we could be missing out on the true beauty of the written word.
Con 2: You could become lazy
While I’ve mentioned how grammar apps can substitute sub-editors, there’s also the danger of being too dependent on them. I’ve found that I tend to care less about grammar when I know I’ll be running my draft through Grammarly.
To get an idea of how this feels, try writing an important document with spellcheck turned off. Notice how you pore over every potential misspelling (my usual suspects are ‘Philippines’ and ‘manoeuvre’).
Now turn spellcheck back on and see how careless you get with your spelling. The red squiggly line will always be there to help, right? That’s how I feel when drafting with Grammarly.
On the flip side, is that really a con? Those of you who subscribe to the ‘shitty first draft’ method might not even care. So it’s not really a dealbreaker for me.
Con 3: It slows down the creative process
One of my biggest gripes with Google Docs is that it can’t handle novel-length manuscripts without taking two seconds to delete one word. The WordPress editor does this too. Now imagine adding Grammarly or Hemingway to that bloat.
Editing entire manuscripts becomes unfeasible, unless you want to work in chunks. As if editing wasn’t cumbersome enough already.
I personally need my word processors and peripherals to be as responsive as possible. Even split-second lags can turn into unbridled rage when compounded over thousands of words.
Bukowski was an alcoholic, but I’d bet good money he’d have drank himself to death sooner had he had to deal with grammar apps and laggy word processors.
Tip 1: Best to play by ear
Now we get to the best practices of using these apps. And the first tip I have is to write for the ear as much as you do for the eyes.
Sometimes a sentence would still sound wrong despite being grammatically correct. That’s when you have to trust your ear instead of your eyes. Which is why developing your voice before relying on these apps is important.
How do you develop your voice and start trusting your own ear? That’s a question many a writer has asked, yet none can reliably answer, save for the hackneyed ‘just write’.
What, you thought a grammar app was the solution to all your writing problems? Ha.
I can offer you some good news though: ‘Just write’ really works. You think I know what it takes to be traditionally published? Not by a long stretch. I just wrote a lot and sent out enough manuscripts.
Do that enough and you’ll get to infuse your own voice with the calculated precision from the apps.
Tip 2: You still need to do the work
Here’s my writing process when using grammar apps:
- Vomit my first draft
- Polish it the best I can
- Run it through the programmes
- Let the piece stew for a day or two
- Polish it on my own once more
It’s imperative that you personally go through your post after subjecting it to Grammarly’s judgement though. Because there will be things you can improve on. So don’t let the apps be the final part of the workflow.
Tip 3: Use the tech to grow your craft
The good thing about Grammarly is that it provides explanations alongside its suggestions. This allows you to notice recurring patterns in your drafts, such as the overuse of ‘actually’ or your dependence on wordy phrases.
Knowing your tics will allow you to slowly phase them out, turning you into a better writer at the drafting level. On the editing front, you’ll also be encouraged to rewrite sentences that you’d have normally ignored.
Just remember that you’re ultimately trying to get your point across, and grammatical accuracy isn’t the be-all and end-all of that goal.
Should you use these apps?
At the end of the day, you need to do you. Choose whatever makes you happy. There is no ‘one way’ to write, after all.
So when it comes to expressing yourself, you should have your pick from the many ways to approach the art, with or without external help. After all, successful and sucky singers both exist, with or without autotune.
As for me? I may have softened my stance on grammar apps, but my message remains true: your story should always come before the details.
And if I hvae to get taht ponit arcoss wtih a wohle snenetce flul of typos, tehn so be it.
Know what’s better than grammar apps? The newsletter. No grammar checks needed there, as all you’ll need to do is to relax and get exclusive content in your inbox. You’ll also get a free guide on how to grow your WordPress audience, so do join in the fun!
Stuart Danker 
I’d love to hear your thoughts!