Just a point of clarification on this. This wasn’t intended to pitch AutoCrit. I think it’s a waste of money for most people. I subscribe to their blog because it sometimes has some good articles. I have tried it and found it too “mechanical” (and kind of silly in many cases). Great writing (and great grammar/punctuation) is an “art,” not a manufacturing process employing interchangeable widgets. I don’t use it or advocate it. I have tested (out of curiosity) all of these kinds of applications—as I do believe, some day, they will evolve to be more useful. I found them all wanting (so far).
My two cents (or more) in advance of being clobbered (and this is not just in reference AutoCrit, but all applications that purport to assist editing):
(PS and before I begin: yeah, yeah, yeah ... opinions are like a—holes, everybody’s got one. I’m an a—hole, here’s my opinion ...)
1. For the novice, it’s too often used as a crutch to support struggling writers too lazy to learn grammar and punctuation rules. For people who use it that way, it will probably marginally help some of their writing (until they give up, because they will, inevitably), but without a solid grounding in grammar and punctuation, they won’t be able to effectively use what they get from it. If you are lazy, then you won’t solve that problem with a crutch. In fact, for these people, in the main, it does more harm than good, as if you don’t have the will (or gumption, it should be noted) to interpret the info, you end up just being a non-learning robot and repeating bad practices (and not even knowing it), and you never develop the ear for language, which is at the heart of being a skilled writer. Tragically, it tends to create tedious know-it-alls who ... well, don’t. Alas: lazy folks end up giving up these kinds of applications in the end, because even a crutch requires too much effort for the truly lazy.
2. For novice writers who use it as an active assist to help them learn punctuation and grammar, and who are disciplined enough to strive to understand the “why” instead of just blindly doing what it recommends, they might get some benefit out of it. But voraciously reading and actively studying grammar/punctuation would be time better spent—and much more fun and effective.
3. For experienced, non-lazy writers with a good grasp of punctuation and grammar: taken with a grain of salt (and used intelligently and judiciously), it can be a second set of eyes if you don’t have good beta readers and have money to blow.
4. Bottom line, if you want a solution to weak grammar and/or punctuation, there is no shortcut or magic wand: 1) there are some great reference books out there to be read and absorbed - read them; absorb them; 2) read (read, read, read) with an aim to understanding why skilled writers make the choices they do and to develop your ear for language; 3) read the work of good editors and try to understand why they make the suggestions they do; 4) try to edit the work of others to hone your skills; 5) seriously consider the suggestions others make about your work and try to understand why before you take or reject; 6) read your work aloud to get an “ear” for language (and good grammar and punctuation); 7) if you are lazy, just stop now and don’t drive yourself batty; and, lastly, 8) bow to Pablo Picasso for this piece of wisdom:
“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
