Im sure we all have horror storys. I find correct grammer use to be a complete mine field. (this is after having extra tuition for my whole school life, writing to try and combat my dyslexia, having software that is supposed to highlight these silly mistakes) Problem is I know im going wrong, but im not sure where or why. Reading aloud is supposed to highlight most of the flaws. but sometimes the intonation of ones own voice hides them even more. I have been saying to myself get the content reading well and then buy an editor, but its hard to get constructive reviews when you have a colon in the wrong place... and even harder for a reader to keep in the plot if they are spotting gramatical errors. So what im after here, from the community, are hints and tips for your own gramatical editing. How do you spot a sentence that is not working; how do you know when a comer should be a full stop? It would be great to hear other horror storys too.
@ everybody. You are all such wonderful people and the links are fantastic. Im doing the seven day trial on Grammarly and it already is highlighting things that Word and Read and Write have missed. If it works out I will buy it because I have a LOT of editing to do ^_^ once its finished I will pop up the first chapter again and it would be amazing to get some feedback.
I was a bit dubious about posting a topic like this because i've had many a run-in with the grammer nazi's before: "If you cant spell you shouldn't write!" But here I have had nothing but constructive encouragement and fantastic resources!
Pat yourselves on the back because i'm feeling energised and ready to tackle imperfect nouns and faulty parallelism's.
I would just like to add another point to your question. I have read most of the reply's to your question, and would like to think that most contributors on this site. Would be glad to read and help you if you thought, putting your work on here would help. I get the feeling from these people on this site that they are warm and friendly. They are always there to point you in the right direction. So I think that they would be glad to read some of your work, and help you where they can. I am like yourself with grammar, but I have started my latest novel. I will be posting the odd chapters on this site just to gain prospective and help in the direction I want my work to go.
Keep up with the work it will get easier and you will get better.
Grammarly does look good, and promises a lot, but I have heard people say it doesn't live up to the hype. I'd be wary of getting tied into a contract, but I guess just see if the free trial is really useful. Perhaps post a short piece of writing here before it's been processed and then after it's been processed to see what human readers make of any suggested changes?
Like Mark said above, it is worth trying to go back and learn the rules by rote, even if they make no instinctive sense to you. I know you will have tried to do this already, but sometimes the time is just not right and you can't get it - maybe the time is right now. This link has a lot of different resources. Half way down are some links for grammar and punctuation - have a look when you feel you motivated and energetic because it's not the liveliest topic!
http://www.halfpennydevelopment.co.uk/dyslexia-resources/
I think you're right to focus on content at this stage. You are still reading a lot, aren't you, as well as writing? Absorbing the rules from good models is the best method and at least can be entertaining at the same time.