The Grammarly Conspiracy
Semi-Comic Observations On Keeping My Writing Readable *** Trigger Warning - This Contains Big Words ***
Introduction
When I first felt I could actually write on Vocal I got advice from Call Me Les and Tom Bradbury to use something like Grammarly to help my grammar and spelling because my writing is not that good. I stumbled about and wasn't sure at first but eventually started to use it in earnest.
I find a lot of things about it a little annoying but overall I believe it does make my Vocal stories almost readable, though many will dispute that.
So why would I see Grammarly as conspiratorial?
Well read on reader and you will find out ..........
The Grammarly Conspiracy Theory
Today I was typing away and Grammarly was correcting spelling mistakes and grammatical errors and making suggestions to improve my writing, and I then got to thinking that every word that I write is being checked and assimilated by Grammarly.
The article image says that I have been using Grammarly for 53 weeks but it is longer than that. I started getting email stats through because I believe that they want me to go for the Grammarly Premium option, but I believe the free version does enough for me.
The fact that I have used six thousand unique words seems to imply that I am more verbose than laconic although I do consider myself in the latter camp.
But going back to the opening paragraph in this section, if Grammarly is checking my words, it could be recording my words and spying on me, and if I was a conspiracy theorist I could start spouting any number of reasons why people should not use spelling and grammar checkers because they could report you to the authorities, blackmail you, steal or plagiarize you meister work and more.
These ludicrous thoughts made me think of the unfounded theories that ill Gates and co were putting tracking chips into COVID vaccines to track our moves.
While nanotechnology is here I severely doubt that that would happen. There had been some research into putting something into vaccines in Africa to know whether patients in remote areas had been treated, but it was dropped because it was not practical.
Often people use phones, tablets and laptops to promote the "fact" that vaccines have tracking devices, conveniently forgetting that the device that they are using to share these conspiracy theories, is, in itself, a perfect tracking device. I know a lot of people who do not trust any social media, yet still use social media to spread their distrust of social media.
So What Do I Really Think About Grammarly?
I will be honest, I do believe that Grammarly seriously improves my writing and would recommend anyone to use it if their machine supports it. I am unlikely to go for the premium option because I still don't consider myself as a writer, despite my twelve hundred Vocal pieces and four self-published anthologies.
As I write this every word and sentence (I think) is being checked by Grammarly, and a lot of mistakes have been pointed out and corrected.
When I check old Seven Days In posts like the one below the amount of errors and faults is appalling and Grammarly makes me want to make sure everything that I write is correct.
Conclusions On The Grammarly Conspiracy Theory
Grammarly is a totally trustworthy tool that is free to use, and it will improve your writing, it has certainly improved mine and I believe will continue to do so for a long time.
Whatever you write about, and whatever your style, I believe Grammarly is a tool that can turn good writers into great writers, and make people like me almost adequate (that is a joke, you know I could never be adequate).
I've included "Teacher, Teacher" by Rockpile because that is what Grammarly is to me, teaching me to be a better writer and creator on Vocal.
Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insights
On-point and relevant
Writing reflected the title & theme
Easy to read and follow
Well-structured & engaging content
Excellent storytelling
Original narrative & well developed characters
Expert insights and opinions
Arguments were carefully researched and presented
Compelling and original writing
Creative use of language & vocab
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
Masterful proofreading
Zero grammar & spelling mistakes
Eye opening
Niche topic & fresh perspectives
Comments (5)
Well done Mike. I am not a prolific writer and haven't delved into helping-hand technology, except for Microsoft word. I do rely on it for spelling corrections and I use thesaurus a lot for word variety. As for conspiracy theories, I like the ironicisms (I just made that up), you pointed out with conspiracy theorists not realising they are being tracked no matter what they do. They probably have smart watches too and don't consider they are made specifically for tracking. As for your output, I have not read everything you've put out, but what I have has been entertaining.
As always, Mike, reading what you write is a whole lot of fun. I love your self-deprecating humor & your conversational style. I think you write pretty good! (Just wanted to check to see if anyone was checking my grammar. They did indeed suggest using "well".)
Wonderful Grammarly tool and love your story!!💖💖💕
You know, my anxiety, trust issues and paranoia can never let me lean on Grammarly, lol. But I'm happy you're able to use it!
I admire your diligence, and your courage. Maybe I should go back and read my earliest writing, too!