Editing Software

[Tony]

Hi,

Does anyone use free editing software? I know it's never going to replace a human being entirely, but I've been reading about a few options lately.

Scrivener has a text analysis function that has helped me a little. It counts how many words you've used in a section or as a whole, and you can pick out words you might have used a lot but not intended. EG, I found I'd used "looked" 7 times in 3000 words, and got that down to 4, and "maybe" from 5 down to 2. About a dozen words, in fact, I reduced the usage and replaced them easily. Sometimes it made me realise a whole sentence wasn't needed as it was redundant.

However, that was a long, painstaking process. Something that will take forever (groan), and now I've discovered it, I HAVE to do it. That one chapter read so much better afterwards I cannot ignore the damn tool.

But, as an inherently lazy person, I'm looking for programs or online software that does it for free (or very cheap).

The sample on https://www.autocrit.com/ was excellent. It did more than Scivener in terms of tips re the manuscript, but as a novelist the minimum you'll probably want the platinum package @ $77

Grammarly http://www.grammarly.com/ comes highly recommended from several quarters, but best value here is $139.95 and you can't even get a sample without inputting credit card details.

yWriter, I hear, is a kind-of watered down version of Scrivener, but it's free. But also, I own Scrivener. Still, I'll give it a go.

http://prowritingaid.com/ seems okay too, with a lot of freebie options (and a premium option if you want it). Minor quibble in that it seems to think anything ending in "ly" is an adverb, though. Words like "only" and "probably" don't need pointing out unless they are overused. But overall, it seems good to me. The overused words report, the cliches and redundancies section, grammar report, all do a good job. Plus more I haven't played with yet.

Here are some others I found with free versions:

http://afterthedeadline.com/

http://www.softwareforwriting.com/

http://www.serenity-software.com/

Anyone want to recommend a program or site that's suitable for this sort of first-stage line-edit?

Comments on the above?

[Gloria]

Hi, Tony,
Thanks for the list.
Concerning Grammarly, it can be helpful or harmful, depending on whether you understand grammar. I've found that with programs like Grammarly, that you need to know grammar in order to use it. And if you already know grammar, why bother with it? Its value for me was to find typos I would have missed.
I'll look at the other programs you've listed.

[Tony]

Yes, I totally agree. All the grammar checking within programs need a good level of understanding. The old saying "know the rules before you break the rules" applies, since we all break with "proper" grammar occasionally for stylistic reasons, and even clarity. Especially fragmented sentences.

[Lori]

I use Grammarly with a grain of salt. i didn't spend that much for my subscription, though. They had a special offer of like half that amount. They do run pricing specials from time to time.

They've recently updated their program to catch a lot more things, like the overuse of words, commonly misspelled words, etc.

Bottom line, if you watch for it to go on sale, (I paid half price) go for it. Just remember, it's not the be all that ends all. :)

Lori

[R.L.]

Hi Tony
How do you utilize that function on Scrivener? Any tips or direction you can give for someone trying to get to grips with it please?

[Tony]

R.L.,

You go to Project -> Text Statistics

This brings up a box. Click on the arrow next to "Word Frequency" and it analyses how many times each word is used.

The downside to the Scrivener function is that it includes things like "the", "and", "a", "of", "he" and "she" but you can filter those out yourself. If you find one you don't like, just do a search for them all.

On ProWritingAid.com (the online free version) you can run a lot of other reports too. I currently use the following in this order:

1. Overused words
2. Repeated words and phrases
3. Clichés and redundancies
4. Pacing

Occasionally I'll use "sticky sentences" or other reports depending on the sort of chapter I have written. Reports like "consistency" if I've used a lot of names/acronyms, etc or "NLP Predicates" if I've had a very verbal-orientated chapter (it highlights overuse of specific word-types like those associated with "looking", eg, if lots of people keep "looking at" each other or "throwing a look" and other variations, it picks up on that.

All in all, it's really really BORING to go through each chapter like this, but really useful.

[K.P.]

the programs I use are ywriter5, page four, smart edit, write it now4, and stylewriter 3. (I would use stylewriter4 once I upgrade my computer. it runs fine for now.)

Yea, I paid quite a bit for these programs, but I figured it'll pay off in the long run. XD

[R.L.]

Tony wrote: "R.L.,

You go to Project -> Text Statistics

This brings up a box. Click on the arrow next to "Word Frequency" and it analyses how many times each word is used.

The downside to the Scrivener func..."

Thanks Tony, that's really helpful.