This site is supported by partnerships with various hardware and softare vendors. I receive commissions on purchases made through our links to retailers. 

An aid for blogging

ProWritingAid – a tool for bloggers and writers

I’ve been writing this blog for over a year now and it’s a very different discipline to taking and editing photographs. I find it harder.

Until yesterday, my method was to write the post and then use Yoast’s features to check my writing. That worked for shorter posts but the longer ones were a nightmare. So many suggestions. So many things to improve. I spent almost half the time implementing its suggestions.

I have two main faults – I tend to use too many words when fewer would do and passive voice is used instead of active voice.

Oops! I just did it again! Buty now I have a ‘friend’ who points it out right away:

ProWritingAid

Faults spotted immediately!

The above picture is a screenshot of my friend in action. He’s immediately underlined two parts of the sentence. If I mouse-over them he tells me what’s wrong and, sometimes, how to fix it:

Mistakes in style

The mistakes and what to do about them

Who is this friend?

ProWritingAid

My friend is a software program called ProWritingAid. As I write this post, it is sitting in my browser (Chrome) as a plugin, watching everything I type. As soon as it spots an error, it highlights the word or phrase. When I mouse over it, ProWritingAid tells me what the problem is and how to fix it. Sometimes it can fix it for me; I just have to click the suggestion or one of several suggestions. Other times, I have to figure it out for myself.

I will admit I was sceptical of using such a tool – I had read of other programs picking holes in top writers, such as Hemmingway or Dickens, and it put me off. However, I’m not writing a novel. I’m not writing an ‘arty’ piece of prose. I’m just trying to write clear, understandable information about photography and software.

Other ProWritingAid features

The web browser plugin offers the following:

  • Grammar checking
  • Style checker
  • Readability
  • Spell checking
  • A thesaurus

The ProWritingAid advantage

I no longer face a long, boring task at the end of writing my blog posts. ProWritingAid ensures I correct mistakes as they happen. Yesterday I posted a long review and, for the first time, Yoast told me the first draft had achieved Good readability.

The full ProWritingAid package

ProWritingAid is more than a browser plugin. The plugin offers its basic features, but the full desktop application (Windows and Mac) has a larger set:

ProWritingAid Desktop

The Desktop App

In this picture, ProWritingAid is assessing a Scrivener project. ProWritingAid can then check the whole project and I can quickly implement its suggestions. I can use the App to check Word documents, Open Office documents, Rich Text document and Markdown documents.

Other Integrations

ProWritingAid integrates with most Web Browsers, Google Docs, Microsoft Office and has a Web app, so I can use it on my iPad or Chromebook.

Try it for yourself:

 


Recommended Software

Professional Level

RAW Converters

Image Finishing

Image Editing

Digital Asset Manager

Casual/Budget Level

Resources

Web Hosting

Please Support Us

This site supports me and my family.

Please use our links to visit the vendor’s pages. It helps us at no extra cost to you.

Please contribute or send a gift, because that will help me to keep this site active.

All content is Copyright Andy Bell 2024

DxO Nik Collection Review

DxO Nik Collection - Introduction DxO and Skylum (producers of Luminar NEO) have different approaches to photo editing. DxO is about control and quality. Luminar is about creativity and maximising the use of AI. Both yield successful results. DxO Photo Lab is a brilliant RAW photo processor that also offers post-processing options. But it offers [...]

Focus Like a Pro: Luminar NEO for Photographers

Focus Like A Pro with Focus Stacking - Luminar NEO tested Focus stacking is a technique used by photographers to achieve a greater depth of field in their images. This method involves taking multiple photos of the same scene, each with a different focus point, and then combining them into a single image with sharpness [...]

Beware the NFT Con

Beware of the Instagram NFT Scam! Alert: Instagram NFT Fraud! The emergence of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) has created a buzz in the digital art and collectibles market. These distinctive digital items are fetching hefty sums, drawing the attention of not only artists and collectors but also con artists eager to profit. It's essential to be [...]

The Silent Shout Out

The Silent Shout Out - Avoiding the Social Media Endorsement Fraud This piece provides insights on how to steer clear of fraudsters on social networking sites like Instagram. These con artists promise to boost your online presence by offering followers, likes, and product sales through a promotional tactic known as a ‘shout out’. What is [...]

NCH PhotoPad Photo Editing Software Review

NCH PhotoPad Photo Editing Software Review In the world of digital photography, having a reliable and user-friendly photo editing software is essential. NCH PhotoPad Photo Editing Software is one such tool that aims to provide users with a comprehensive set of editing features wrapped in a straightforward interface. In this review, we'll take a closer [...]

Unleash Your Imagination: Exploring the Power of Luminar Neo AI for Photographers

Introduction to Luminar NEO AI for Photographers Luminar NEO AI is an impressive photo editing software that incorporates advanced artificial intelligence features. It takes photo editing to a whole new level with its intuitive AI-powered tools. With Luminar NEO AI, editing becomes a breeze as it automatically enhances images, corrects imperfections, and optimizes colors with [...]

DXO Photo Lab 7 Review

DXO Photo Lab 7 Review This is a look at DXO Photo Lab, a review of its features. This time, I am not comparing it to anything else, although I will refer to comparisons I have made previously, when appropriate. Introduction to DXO Photo Lab 7 DXO Photo Lab 7, which I will simply refer [...]

Topaz Photo AI – The Power of Automation

Topaz Photo AI-Introduction As a professional software developer, one of the first things I did after getting a digital camera that could shoot in RAW was to write some automatic (batch) processing software for it. My reasoning was simple—I was taking hundreds of photos with this new toy, but getting the best from each photo [...]

The ‘Holy Trinity’ of Photography Software

This blog post looks at the 'holy trinity' of photography software. Three products that, when combined, provide everything you need to develop your RAW images and edit your photos. There is some overlap between the three, as each continues to add to and refine their capabilities. Yet I don't view them as competing with each [...]

Topaz Photo AI V2 – Any Good?

Topaz Photo AI V2 Update: December 2023: For the latest view and a comparison with DXO and Luminar NEO, see this post. I use Topaz Labs photo software and have done so for many years. This blog contains many reviews of their tools. I only publish reviews of tools I use in my own workflow [...]
Cookie Consent with Real Cookie Banner