Noob Writing Assistant: Creative Writing Critic (Beta)

Noob Writing Assistant is a writing analysis tool designed to help authors identify and fix common issues in prose such as weak phrasing, repetition, unclear references, and unnatural pacing.

Unlike generic grammar checkers, it focuses on style, clarity, and narrative quality, rather than only correctness.

Tech Stack

• Frontend: React (real-time editor + annotation rendering)
• Backend: FastAPI (Python API server)
• NLP Engine: spaCy (dependency parsing + POS tagging)

Features

The engine analyzes writing across multiple levels of language structure:

1. Word-Level Analysis

Detects issues at the lexical level:

• Weak Verbs & Adverbs (e.g. was, very, just)
• Passive Voice Detection
• Filler Words (e.g. stuff, things)
• Spelling Issues
• Ambiguous Pronouns

2. Sentence-Level Analysis

Evaluates sentence structure and flow:

• Repetitive Sentence Starts
• Immediate Word Repetition
• Telling vs Showing Patterns
• Tense Inconsistencies
• Double Negatives
• Sentence Fragments
• Weak Determiners
• Word Echoing Across Sentences

3. Paragraph-Level Analysis

Evaluates narrative rhythm and pacing:

• Monotonous Sentence Lengths
• Repetitive Sentence Structures

4. Window-Based Context Analysis

Cross-sentence pattern detection:

• Repeated Subject Usage in Close Proximity

Rule System

The analysis engine is modular and rule-based:

Word Rules

• AdverbRule
• WeakVerbRule
• WeakAdverbRule
• WeakFillerRule
• PassiveVoiceRule
• SpellingRule
• AmbiguousPronounRule

Sentence Rules

• RepeatedWordRule
• ToBeAdjectiveRule
• PerfectTenseSVARule
• PastToBeSVARule
• PresentSVARule
• InconsistentTenseRule
• DeterminerRule
• DoubleNegativeRule
• SentenceFragmentRule
• WordEchoRule

Paragraph Rules

• SentenceStartRepetitionRule
• MonotonousLengthRule

Window Rules

• RepeatedSubjectRule

Installation & Setup

1. Backend Setup

cd backend

python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate   # Windows: venv\Scripts\activate

pip install -r requirements.txt

python -m spacy download en_core_web_sm

2. Frontend Setup

cd frontend
npm install

3. Run the Application

From the project root:

• Double-click dev.bat

Then:

• Open the terminal link in your browser
• Use Ctrl + Click if needed
• Keep terminals running

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Usage Guide

Follow these steps to use the application:

Novel

Novels are the main project container.

1. Creating a Novel

To create a novel, go File >> New Novel

2. Loading a Novel

Once the novel is created, go File >> Load Novel

3. Edit/Deleting a Novel

In the event that Novel is named wrongly or you wish to delete the project, go File >> Edit Novel

Chapter

Chapters are the sub-projects that will actually be graded.

1. Creating a Chapter

Once a novel is loaded, you can create a chapter by clicking Create on the left panel

2. Editing and Deleting a Chapter

Click Edit or Delete accordingly. This is where you can change the chapter number. Note that the other chapters will shift accordingly

3. Selecting a Chapter

To use grading feature, select a chapter from this page. This can be done by clicking the chapter anywhere but the button. You should notice changes in the circled parts indicating the selected chapter

4. Using Editor/Grader

Once a chapter and novel is selected, you can go to the editor. The options to save, load and analyze are at the top right corner.

(Note: Users are required to save first before analyzing)

Characters (Optional)

Characters are optional additives to a chapter. They are required for AmbiguousPronounRule to work and will be used in future features

1. Creating a Character

To create a character, press Create. Each chapter will be assigned their own set of characters.

2. Linking Characters

To re-use characters from previous chapters, you can use the link feature by clicking Link. This would hopeully reduce the need to create duplicate character per chapter.

Note that linked chapters are all the same, meaning if you edit the same character in one chapter, you will also edit the same one in another