Adding Hemingway Editor to my bag of tricks
Even though it’s an older app, I’ve added Hemingway Editor to my writing tools. This may also prompt the question, but why do that when you have PaperEdit?
While they are similar, PaperEdit is more suited to fiction writing, with Hemingway Editor more suited to business/article writing.
I’ve put Hemingway Editor to work on my resume and other business emails. The focus is on short, tight, active word sentences. The very thing when looking for a new job. I’ve spent a lot of time writing and rewriting sentences to make them as efficient as possible.
PaperEdit does a lot of these same tasks, but it’s not as strict with word choice. For example, Hemingway Editor tags “multiple” as having a simpler alternative. PaperEdit does not.
I don’t see that a limitation, but a difference in usage and audience. That’s why I see Hemingway Editor as business centric and PaperEdit as fiction centric. They both work really well, but suit different kinds of writing styles.
For business, I want to get to the point. For creative writing, I want to check repeated words, but passive voice may not be an issue. I want to check my dialogue flow, but not go with the most common word.
Unfortunately, both apps are behind the times when it comes to updates. They work with Mojave, but who knows the results under Catalina and beyond. That’s unfortunate as I would like to keep using them when the next Mac rolls into my life. Further, the cost of Grammarly and other services are ridiculously expensive. Subscription based grammar check doesn’t fly for a variety of reasons.
That aside, I see a lot of articles chiding tools like Hemingway Editor. I disagree. Solely depending on them to fix your writing is a bad idea. Using them as part of your proofreading and revision workflow makes sense.
As you can see, Hemingway Editor found a couple of “errors.” If you notice, it tagged “fly” and “Grammarly” as problems. Again, not perfect.
According to PaperEdit, everything is fine and I should publish this article with no further edits.
Use them as you see fit, but regardless of the critics, I’ve gotten a lot of value from both of them.
