Inkerman Writers
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That's write ... innit ?
I can now report that I’m pleased with my new editing tool - Grammarly. Proofreading is hard to do accurately on your own work, and if you pay for it to be done by somebody else, you will pay dearly. Grammarly I’ve decided is better than a ‘halfway house’.
As my graphic would suggest, it gives you four main areas of back-up; Punctuation, Grammar, Spelling and Synonyms. In the programme synonyms are referred to as ‘enhancements’.
Like all wonder tools, it has it’s drawbacks, but even when taking them into consideration, I would still recommend the tool for the independent publisher. If, like me, you are publishing eBooks on Amazon or another site then you may allow eagerness to take over, just when you should be considering the reader. Yes, remember those nice people that you want to spend money on your hard work - well, they’ll be expecting a well-written, well-presented book. We can’t blame them can we, because it’s what we would want too.
I’ve just spent two weeks with Grammarly and used it on both of my e-published novels. At one end of the scale I was delighted with my spelling, but at the other end, I was dismayed at my grammar. Nothing more to be said there.
Until recently, I didn’t realise how many proofreading programmes were out there. There are those you can use free, and there are those you pay for - and like all things in life; you get what you pay for. I read the profile, pricing, and reviews on three different systems before opting for Grammarly. It’s affordable, easy to download, and easy to use. It does have the need to connect to the Internet - and keeping your browser clear of excess cache files is a good idea, because that will allow the system to run smoothly.
Write the document, open Grammarly and watch those numbers accumulate; Grammar, Spelling, Enhancements. It will tell you when it’s completed the check.
It’s still a good idea to, insert the ‘suggested’ amendments manually. There is an option to click and let the system change the punctuation, but occasionally there is a suggestion to drop a comma within a word. On odd occasions, the programme will suggest that there is no punctuation at the end of a sentence. When the system is wrong, you will see clearly that there is punctuation.
Apart from that, it might not recognise a word that you abbreviate within dialogue, like, thinkin’, or nothin’, for example. It will give the option to ‘add to dictionary’. Place names are another favourite for non-recognition, as I found out with both my books. Click to ‘add to dictionary’, and off you go again.
A nice touch, if you’re like me and were last taught grammar and punctuation a long time ago, is an option for a short, or long explanation with the suggested amendments. I’ve found that the short explanation is usually enough for my needs.
Was I satisfied with one session of ‘filtering’ my novels with this proofreading system? No, I wasn’t. I went through both books twice, and the fact that the system brought up the same things (place names, etc.,) as the first time, it gave me confidence in the method. My books may still not meet the strict criteria of the purist, but I’m happy that I’ve done all in my power to improve them - except pay out excessive money.
If you’re interested in trying it, there is an optional free trial period. As an example, I used the Grammarly system on this piece of writing and it highlighted the need for inserting a comma on two occasions. The programme also highlighted my examples; ‘thinkin’ and ‘nothin’.
Link: http://www.grammarly.co.uk/
My website: http://www.tom-benson.co.uk
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About
DfC
The Inkerman Writers are members of Darlington for Culture (DfC), which was set up in 2010 to help save Darlington Arts Centre from closure.
Its members include representatives of arts and community groups.
DfC was established after the centre’s owner, Darlington Borough Council, announced that budget cuts meant that it would have to withdraw its subsidy from the Arts Centre.
Although the centre closed, the organisation remains active - more at www.darlingtonforculture.org
Publications
Welcome to the site created by the Inkerman Writers to showcase our work.
Based in Darlington, North East England, and having celebrated their tenth anniversary in 2013, members have enjoyed success in a variety of arenas, including winning, and being shortlisted and highly commended, in short story competitions, having novels published and publishing the short story anthology A Strawberry in Winter, which can be obtained by visiting the website www.blurb.com
The group's second anthology of short stories, Christophe's Farewell and Other Stories, can be obtained, cost £4.95 plus postage and packing, from
The Inkerman Writers’ latest book, Out of the Shadows, which was launched as part of the 2013 Darlington Arts Festival, is on sale. The book can be ordered direct from
http://www.blurb.co.uk/b/4204019-out-of-the-shadows
The group also produced The Last Waltz, a double CD of short stories, available by contacting deangriss@btinternet.com, cost £5 plus p and p.
Several of our writers wrote original one-act plays in a collaboration with the Green Theatre company, which were performed at Darlington Arts Centre early in February, 2012.
Darlington-based Inkerman Writers have produced their latest anthology of short stories, Inkerman Street, based on the demolition of a fictional northern street and the stories of the people who lived in it.
The book, which features a variety of stories ranging from horror to comedy, was launched to a large audience at the Darlington Arts Festival Literary Day on Saturday May 26 and begins like this:
“Inkerman Street is still and graveyard-hushed tonight, the terraced houses cold behind boarded-up windows, silent sentinels among a sea of wasteland. No one lives here now and tomorrow the bulldozers will move in to flatten the houses to make way for the Council’s Grand Plan.
“Although the people are long gone, the houses still have life. Peek into one of the bedrooms and see on the wall a painting of a seaside scene, brightly-coloured boats bobbing in the harbour, fishermen pipe-smoking in the noonday sun and seagulls wheeling high above the choppy waters. In the roaring silence of the night, you can hear the screeching of the birds and taste the salt air, acrid and herring-sharp at the back of your throat. It is an illusion; the bedroom is empty and the blooms on the faded wallpaper have long since wilted.
“The air in the houses is musty with neglect yet but a few months before, these were bustling homes filled with frying bacon and steaming irons, whistling kettles and playing children. The houses witnessed all these scenes for more than 150 years. Behind their curtains were enacted a thousand stories but tomorrow they will be destroyed because Inkerman Street is the last of its ilk.
“Now, on the eve of the street’s death, the people who once lived here have returned, gathering solemn and silent in the mist, the ghosts of the past come to pay final tribute….”
The anthology can be purchased at http://www.blurb.co.uk/bookstore/invited/7524452/bae89c993c98ec8c8b37b12d6b9b37ecced5dec3
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