I just realized that my first two REAL posts on my website were not the greatest! Well, at least one of them was garbage, while the other was passable. And luckily I had some help getting them up to snuff. So what am I talking about here?
During this quarantine period, I have been struggling with myself to create more content for my brands and for the company I work for. Most of the time, a few things get in the way – time, my inner editor, and my writing skills.
I am the queen of the run-on sentence. Even now, I fight the urge to “run forest, run” with my words, avoiding periods and commas like the plague (or Covid-19). And because I am aware of my shortcomings, I experience nothing but writer’s block when the terms “content” and “blog post” enter the conversation.
A writer and published author friend told me that these are the same fears that seasoned writers have. Good thing I am not alone! Her advice? Focus on writing without editing, and maybe let Grammarly help clean things up.
My writing skills might not be the best when it comes to “brain dump” style; however, I am proficient at “editing” as I write. Oh, I know. Didn’t I just say I had a problem with my “inner editor”? Yes, but I believe that my “inner editor” has more to do with changing my mind about what I intend to write about than editing my actual sentence structure.
As I work to create more content, “editing as I write” will save me time and help me be more efficient. I’m not looking to write the next outstanding dissertation about how technology saves lives. I just want to share what I’ve learned in the hope of helping others. This is something I want to accomplish without fumbling over my words.
You may have noticed that I’m a software junkie. Grammarly is something I discovered a few years ago and have been paying the monthly subscription off and on ever since! Although I have mostly used it for work, it would only make sense if I also used it for my personal brands. Honestly, I’m not sure why I haven’t done so.
Grammarly allows me to be myself, preventing me from running away and using lousy sentence structures. The heavy lifting of editing is essentially done by Grammarly, so I don’t have to worry about it. Amazing! It is even more rewarding to know that I am close to completing this blog post and that it has been edited along the way. As soon as I’m done (and maybe after a few reads for continuity), I’ll be able to publish it.
Getting to the point where you can publish a post is the most encouraging thing there is. Ideas for my personal website are flowing out of me “like hot lava.” (Name the movie. 🤔)
Voila! FEAR gone. Thanks Grammarly!
Enough of that! Here are my pros and cons.
Pros
- Edit as you write
- Educational - Look, I have forgotten most of what I learned in school (and probably shouldn't admit that out loud). Nevertheless, I retained gems such as the difference between they're/their/there and your/you're. Other than that, I need help. Gramatically does a nice job explaining why you might want to reword.
- Performance Calculator - Feels somewhat like a game. Still, I appreciate the opportunity to compete with myself to become a better writer.
- Did I say edit as you write...?
- Confidence restorer
- Fear obliterator
Cons
- A bit pricey if you pay monthly instead of annually, but worth every penny!
- It can be a little glitchy in different browsers. As an example, the web app continues to crash on one computer, which requires a refresh. However, I don't have any problems on a different computer, so I don't know if it's him (Grammarly) or me. 😏
- Installing the extension in the Chrome browser really slowed it down in the past. Sites would load slowly, and it was frustrating to use. In the end, I uninstalled it and used the web-based app. This was over a year ago, so I may try again.
