Thoughts On Using Grammerly

I have a tendency to skim over my work, not see all of the typos/errors, call it good, and hit publish. I refer to myself as a writer, so this is not a good thing. I put a lot of writing up on the Internet, and I was having to go back and make a lot of corrections - often after friends had alerted me that something wasn't kosher. The Grammarly app came to my attention, so I thought I would give it a try. First I will give a synopsis about what Grammarly does, then I will highlight my experience with it.

From Wikipedia: " Grammarly is an online grammar checking, spell checking, and plagiarism detection platform developed by Grammarly, Inc. The software was first released in July 2009. Grammarly's proofreading resources check against more than 250 grammar rules." The version that I use is Grammarly For Chrome. Grammarly highlights both spelling and grammar errors as you are typing so that you can make corrections in a timely manner. It works for messages, documents, and social media posts, as well as e-mail. Grammarly features a contextual spelling checker, along with a grammar checker. The premium version of Grammarly checks for over 100 additional types of errors, makes vocabulary enhancement suggestions, detects plagiarism, gives citation suggestions, and gives suggestions for different writing styles (i.e. academic, technical, and creative).

Overall, I really like Grammarly. When I hit the publish button, I am not as concerned that I am unleashing a gazillion typo's, which is a very good feeling! There are a couple of issues that I find irritating though. For one thing, Grammarly and I hit head on over the use of commas! This happens so often that I have decided to just say the heck with it, and leave the commas where I want them to be! The second irritation that I have with Grammarly is that it will sometimes (not often) suggest another version of a word. So far, their suggestions have been totally out of context, so I choose to ignore them.

A little side benefit (even for the free version, which is what I have) is that I get a monthly report from Grammarly. This includes notes on productivity (number of words written), accuracy, vocabulary (unique words used), and top grammar mistakes (yes, commas always make this part of my report!). 

In time, I will be purchasing the paid for version of this app.

(c) April 2019 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission of the author.   

Where You Can Find My Work

As an author, I am probably not alone in this: people do not seem to be finding my work. So the command decision was made to put up a post that gave my readers the links to where they can find me. Bored? Then move on while I chat away!

My website is Bonnie Cehovet - Author

My Facebook page is Bonnie Cehovet

I have specific blog sites set up on Word Press is where I put anything related to my music interests:

Bonnie Cehovet is where I place non-Tarot reviews.

The World of Flash Fiction is where I place my flash fiction writing. Generally under 100 words, there are a couple of longer pieces.

The World of Tarot is where my Tarot related reviews can be found. 

Books that I have either written or co-written include:

Tarot, Birth Cards and You: Keys To Empowering Yourself

Tarot, Rituals & You: The Power of Tarot Combined With The Power of Ritual

Surviving The Holidays

Seek Joy ... Toss Confetti (Co-Written with Brad Tesh)

The World of Tarot As Seen Through the Eyes of the Interview

 

Now you know where to find me!

(c) April 2017 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction is prohibited without written permission from the author.

Is It Time For You To Set Some Boundaries?

 

Autumn is one of my favorite times of year. It is also a time when life seems to start picking up, after the slowness of the summer. As writers, we are looking at fitting Halloween, the football season, Thanksgiving, and Christmas and the other December religious holidays. Shopping, baking, sending out cards. All of which takes up our time, and involves interacting with other people. At this time, setting boundaries sounds like a really good thing!

Suddenly we have a multitude of obligations, totally aside from our obligations to our writing. Right about now is when we need to learn to say now, in a manner that is gracious but firm, and saves  face for everyone. It is time to reinforce old boundaries, and set new ones. If you are saying ye to things, then resenting the time and energy spent, boundaries are something that you need to think about. 

The boundaries that you are about to set may be with friends and family, with publishers, editors, individuals that you are working on projects with, or spouses/partners. A good thing to do is to write out what you expect of yourself, and what the deadlines are. Include both personal and business obligations. List them in order of importance. If your list is overwhelming, and you know already that you won't be able to accomplish everything on it, then look at what you can delegate to others ,,, or simply not do. 

Become self-aware. Acknowledge when you are uncomfortable with something, or someone. Ask yourself why that is. Ask yourself what you need to do about that. Look at the image at the head of this article. Note where you wants/needs are, where the wants/needs of the other person or issue are, and where the boundary needs to be for you to be comfortable.

Find the best way for you to set your boundaries with others. Find support - someone that you can talk to before, during, and after the process of setting a boundary. Do not carry strong emotions into the conversation about setting boundaries. Remain calm. If you find yourself getting angry or upset, take a short time out, or continue the conversation at another time. Phrase things in a direct, concise manner. Be clear, not vague. You are the one setting the boundary - there is no need to defend yourself, or to debate the need for a boundary. This is your decision, it involves your life, and this is what you are doing. Do not allow the other person to side-track you. If someone is is trying to resist you, calmly restate your request. Do this as many times as you need to. Be prepared to do exactly what you said you would do if the other person did not respect your boundary. If you waver, or give in, they will not respect you, or your needs. 

Learn to set boundaries within yourself. Avoiding confrontation is not going to do you or anyone else any good. You may actually end up building resentment within yourself. When you feel uncomfortable in a relationship, look at the following: Where is the truth in the relationship? How much of what is making you uncomfortable actually belongs to the other person/people? What can you do or say to regain a sense of personal power with this person, or these people? 

Be prepared to experience a certain amount of guilt over having to establish boundaries. There is a good chance that other people may not want to be accountable for their words/actions, that they will not see the need for boundaries, or that at first they will not honor the boundaries. Acknowledge that you are making a lifestyle change, and that you will have to be making some tough choices. Allow taking care of yourself to become a priority. Know that you are not alone in this, that as a writer (which tends to be a very solitary occupation) you are one of many that are facing the issue of setting boundaries. 

A bit of self-promotion here. Aside from setting boundaries, take a look at the very real things you can do to survive the holidays: Surviving The Holidays.

(c) 2000 - 2013 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited in all venues without written permission of the author.  

How Courageous Are You?

 

Courage. What a marvelous word that is! We could accomplish soooooo many things ... if only we had the courage. As writers, we need courage. We need the courage to imagine a project, the courage to begin it, and the courage to follow it through. We need the courage to create our own boundaries ... and the courage to blast through self-imposed boundaries and create brave new worlds. We need to have the courage to not allow others to define who we are as individuals, or what our work stands for,

Without courage, our projects will all look like the work that has come before them. Without courage, the blank canvas that we begin with becomes nothing more than words in a sea of gray ... words without real meaning, words that tell a stilted story ... if they tell a story at all.

Where do you find your courage? What path (or paths) are you following? Who or what are you using as a role model/mentor/path finder? Do you  need a retreat to find the real you? Is your courage found only when you are surrounded by like minded people? Does your courage step back when you enter the "real world"?

Where do you want your work to go? What do you want it to say? 

How courageous are you?

(c) January 2013 Bonnie Cehovet