the pattern of the error of my ways

Until recently, I did not realize how often I start sentences with the word so. That changed when I tried a new method of editing. This method, which is simple and obvious unless you share my male-pattern boneheadedness, facilitates a big-picture view. It helps me to notice repeated errors, patterns.

Rather than edit my novel's chapters within each individual Google Document, I now edit the entire manuscript at once within a Word document with Grammarly enabled. I have no stake in Grammarly, but I do recommend it. If you're not already using the free Chrome extension, give it a try. Here's an example of how a notification might look:

I am a grammar aficionado, but I'm not perfect. Editing a whole manuscript in a cursory fashion, focusing only on addressing issues noted by Grammarly, I see now what had previously escaped my attention.

​Lately, for example, I've been pruning my current wily nemeses: so, actually, really, pretty. I had been employing these words to reflect teen speech patterns... yet global manuscript editing has empowered me to see how I've gone overboard.

Fellow writers, let's vow never to sink once we have gone overboard. Climb with me aboard the good ship Grammarly – and see what you've been missing.