Grammar Software - Does Your Writing Fit Your Audience?

I earn my living as a writer, churning out copy for blogs, magazines and other publications. Like most folks who grew up around computers, I depend heavily on software tools to make my work easier. Good grammar software has long been one of my most important devices, helping me clean up my writing without too much extra work.

You may think that writers are supposed to be good with grammar and all that technical stuff. Unfortunately, you can't be more wrong. Many people writing for online publication, do save time by ignoring grammatical mistakes, or completely skip spell, grammar or writing style checking.

Fact is, working writers need supportive tools just as much as the next guy. Writers don't get paid for their grammar, after all. They get work, mostly, for their insights, their ability string ideas together and their skill at presenting issues in a way that others can appreciate.

If you can see the first draft of many writers' work, you'll be laughing your socks off with the amount of errors you will find, from misspellings to wrong word usage. As such, they need an English writing software, just as much as you do, to catch those misgivings, without having to having to run through their copy word per word.

Almost every writer I know who's comfortable with computers (let's leave the old-school semi-Luddites out of this) use an advanced grammar software of some sort. If people that skilled in the art of writing recognize their value, should not you do too?

If you find the process of writing difficult, it usually helps to imagine who you're writing to. When you have a specific and clearly-defined audience, keeping them in mind when you lay your thoughts to paper can do a lot of good at making the words flow.

When writing for a group of young men about to graduate from college, for instance, it's easy to dream up what their attitudes and concerns are. You can then gear your written piece to serve those very specific attributes, making the whole process an easier undertaking. Since you have them in your mind, you also tend to care more deeply about the information you impart, making certain that it benefits them.

In many ways, having this "picture of your reader" may be the most important writing tool in your arsenal, more powerful than even a sophisticated grammar software. Problems begin when you're writing for a general crowd and you need to serve a very broad audience. Who will you be writing for then?

When faced with such a situation, I usually imagine writing for a reader of about 12 or 13 years. They won't be that aware of many intricacies of most subjects, so I have to explain things in greater detail. Since their language skills are probably not that sophisticated, I'll have to employ clear words and uncomplicated sentences. I'll patiently repeat important points to make sure they don't miss it, despite the myriad of distractions the young kids are burdened with these days.

Writing for an audience can turn even the most impersonal composition task into an intimate and noble activity - the way it should really be.