[Tipster] Boost the School Marm (and School Darn) Out of Your Head

This past week in our Roadtrippers community, one of our writers asked about my thoughts on Grammerly, an A.I. (artificial intelligence) driven app that helps writers with grammar and basic editing.

The promise of Grammarly is, "Compose bold, clear, mistake-free writing with Grammarly’s AI-powered writing assistant."

Who doesn't want bold, clear, mistake-free writing?

I certainly do.

But Grammarly irks me.

The School Marm and School Darn Problem

I apologize for the phrase "school marm."

Historically, it referred to a rural school teacher who is patronizing and priggish in her instruction. She is a rule enforcer. Serious. Joyless.

She doesn't know what great writing is, but she surely knows what doesn't follow the rules. She knows the rules of grammar, and she enforces them.

I don't want to be sexist, because I've had a few School Darns (priggish male teachers) as well. So the issue is both a School Marm problem and a School Darn (take the word "dad" and delete the d and add an rn at the end) problem.

A focus on the rules of writing or of grammar in particular misses the entire point of writing something that changes a person's life.

Yes, you want your final product (article or book, for example) to be correct grammatically and proofed to perfection.

But you can hire for that.

Fire Your Nitty Friends Too

Have you ever handed your writing to a friend or quasi-friend and said, "Here's something I wrote. I'd like you to take a look at it. I'm looking for feedback."

That's always a risky move.

I'm always in fear of handing my writing to someone to evaluate.

Often, when the feedback comes back it's a lengthy email with a list of nits ("You're missing a word here" and "Your verb should be plural here" and "I wouldn't use this word there.")

Nits. Tiny grammatical problems. Missing words. Repetitive statements.

But no real substance.

No questions about the meaning or implication of ideas. No reflection on the "so what" or what the writing evokes.

So, yes, use Grammarly if you want your nits cleared up. And use it to clarify a sentence or paragraph in your writing. In that sense, Grammarly can help.

Say thanks to your friend, clean up your writing, and then roll your eyes as you delete the email.

Treat Grammar and Nits as Secondary

Don't feel insecure if you don't know every rule of writing before you write. Grammar is more important to teachers and less important to real writers.

Just write. Be creative. Come up with fresh ideas and lay them down.

Only a human can create something out of nothing.

And that is what will change the lives of your readers.

The rest is merely details. Nits. Important to clean up before you publish.

But not imperative right now.

Now, buckle up and lay down some beautiful words!

Only you can create beauty.