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"A Note from a Reader"; Great advice from another site
Topic Started: Jul 29 2008, 10:20 PM (1,261 Views)
NeesiePie
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Found this on another site, thought it was excellent advice and very well put....

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OK, I'm not a professional writer. I'm not an editor or anyone else with a recognized expertise. I'm a reader. I fell in love with the written word when I was eight years old and I've been in love with it ever since. I've read thousands of books, from just about every type you could name. Fiction and non-fiction, horror, science fiction, science fantasy and science fact, romance, history, religion, mystery, newspapers, magazines, the ingredients on the back of a soda can, the user's manual that came with my computer; if it's written I'll probably read it. But some things really turn me off and, if they're enough of a disruption to the flow, I'll stop reading your story and move on to something else.

My biggest pet peeve is that some people do not use words correctly. I'm not referring to slang here, I'm well aware of slang and use it myself. There are a lot of words in the English language that sound the same when spoken, but destroy a written sentence. Words like "there, their, and they're" are a prime example. Each is a valid word in its own right and, when heard or spoken, most people will recognize the context. In print though, they cause the reader (me) to sometimes have to stop and try to figure out just what is being said. I don't like to have to decipher what I'm reading; I want to enjoy the time I'm giving to your work. There are a lot more of these things than you would guess. A few are: your and you're; since, sense, and cents; it's and its; two, to, and too; grown and groan; throne and thrown. Some writers get so sloppy with this that I make a mental note to bypass everything else they submit. It's a shame, too, because some of these people have good imaginations and set up some very interesting situations. I just can't get past this one problem and I move on.

Most other people who are offering helpful advice will tell you to let someone else read it before you submit your work. This is sound advice. If that person gets confused while trying to read it then probably most other people will, too. Keep in mind that the person you choose should be someone who will give unbiased criticism, not comments based on personal preferences. I submitted a story that went over very well, but my friend didn't like it. She said she didn't enjoy it all. After talking it through, I found that she doesn't like science fiction stories and that colored her assessment of everything about the story I had given her to read for me.

You might find it helpful to just let it sit for a day or two, then read it again yourself before you turn it over to someone else. You'll likely find that your first draft has missing words, misspellings due to misplaced keystrokes, extra words where you've typed the same thing twice, and any number of other problems that you didn't notice the first time through. Believe me when I say that we'll notice them when we try to read your story. Use the spell checker, but don't stop there because it can only tell you that the words you've typed are spelled correctly. It can't tell you that those words are really the ones you want to use. If I say, "My dog ran threw the neighborhood," my spell checker won't have a problem with it, but I should have said, "My dog ran through the neighborhood." My word processor also has a grammar checker, but some of the suggestions I get from it would change the meaning of what I've written, or alter the mood that I'm trying to set. Use your tools, but don't be a slave to them.

When in doubt, use a dictionary; I do. Find out if the words you use really mean what you think they mean. I've found that I sometimes completely miss the meaning of a word based on what it sounds like to me. Case in point: I once bought a video that had, on the box, the statement, "not intended to appeal to the prurient." I thought, prurient, pru, prudish, and decided that this must be something very erotic. It turns out that prurient is 'tending to incite lust' and that the statement was trying to warn me that the video doesn't do that. My own misconception cost me twenty bucks, yours might cost you an audience.

Sometimes I even use the thesaurus. I like the word 'gorgeous' and tend to use it a lot. If I'm reading over a story and see that I've used the same word to excess, I'll look it up to see if there are other ways to say the same thing. With gorgeous I find 'superb, sumptuous, and impressive', and I'm directed to also see 'beautiful and grand'. There are lots of terms that say exactly what I want to say without being stuck in a rut. I don't have to say that Tanya is gorgeous and that she has gorgeous hair and a gorgeous face and gorgeous breasts and gorgeous legs and on and on and on with the gorgeous. Spend a few bucks on a good one.

If you're writing for your own pleasure, that's fine. I guess you know exactly what you mean when you write it. But if you're going to write for other people's pleasure as well, take the extra time to insure that they, too, know exactly what you mean when they read it. Let their judgment of your work be based on content and situation, instead of how difficult it is to figure out what's being said. I'll get off my soap box now and go look for a couple of good stories. I hope yours is one of them.

snuupy
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messyhead
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Wow, its great to reed the opinion of someone whose thought this issue threw. It makes perfect cents to me two - bad writing just makes you grown!
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Lola
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messyhead
Jul 29 2008, 11:24 PM
Wow, its great to reed the opinion of someone whose thought this issue threw. It makes perfect cents to me two - bad writing just makes you grown!

Very amusing, Messyhead! ````
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But did you notice that the author wanted to 'insure" that the reader understands your meaning? Maybe they should take their own advice and 'ensure' that we follow it.... :)
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OJFan
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Oops! That was me. Does it count as bad writing if we forget to sign in?
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Tigerlily
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I would never have the heart or the nerve to critique someone's grammar who went through the trouble of writing a story for me to read on the net (free of charge no less). That is what we're talking about here, isn't it...an amature writer writing stories on the net?
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messyhead
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Jul 30 2008, 05:29 AM
But did you notice that the author wanted to 'insure" that the reader understands your meaning? Maybe they should take their own advice and 'ensure' that we follow it.... :)

:lol: Good call! You've got to be reeaaaalllly careful when you get up on the ol' grammar high horse!
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messyhead
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Tigerlily
Jul 30 2008, 08:42 AM
I would never have the heart or the nerve to critique someone's grammar who went through the trouble of writing a story for me to read on the net (free of charge no less). That is what we're talking about here, isn't it...an amature writer writing stories on the net?

This is a really good point, Tigerlily - I like your generous attitude, and you're right, it's amateur and it's free.

On the other hand I do think people who post fan fiction really want others to read it - and there's a point where some stuff is unreadable because of horrific spelling, punctuation and misuse of words. It's true that the reader will be stopped in her tracks if a word is out of place, and that it disrupts the flow. I feel sorry for people who go to the trouble of writing something, hoping for a response, and they don't get any because nobody can comprehend what they're trying to say. Every writer should absolutely do their best to get it right, just so they get good responses from their readers!

The thing that little diatribe completely ignores is CONTENT. God knows that's the hard part - telling a good story, keeping it interesting, surprising the reader. Grammar is just form. There's a right way and a wrong way. Storytelling is an art.

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Lola
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messyhead
Jul 30 2008, 09:58 AM

The thing that little diatribe completely ignores is CONTENT. God knows that's the hard part - telling a good story, keeping it interesting, surprising the reader. Grammar is just form. There's a right way and a wrong way. Storytelling is an art.

Yes, I agree. Too many mistakes take away from the story but there's no reason to be letter perfect as the person who wrote that long speech is requesting.

The content is what's important and makes the story. I'm so impressed by the amazing creativity of all the fan fiction writers on this site. You all have such incredible talent and give me lots of enjoyment reading it.
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messyhead
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Very sweet of you to say so - and we're delighted to have your contributions!
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OJFan
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I have to say, I almost never wrote a story, because I was concerned about committing some unknown grammatical sin. I read a few reviews of stories posted on fanficiton.net. Some were helpful and constructive, but some seemed a bit harsh. I have been lucky enough to have people offer to review my stories first and offer really helpful advice. I think that makes a lot of difference. It gave me the confidence that I needed to take the leap the first time - and times since.

I also agree with messyhead, content is so important. You could have a perfectly correct grammatical piece, yet it could be boring and predictable. I'd forgive a few errors in exchange for a thrilling piece. It's easy to pick apart someone's work, it's a lot harder though to write it in the first place. I think this forum is a great place for new writers. I'd love to see more people take that leap. :)
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NeesiePie
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I agree that the key to being a good writer lies not in one particular thing, but a complex mix of imagination, storytelling skills, and wordsmithing. And I agree that the most grammatically correct story is nothing if it doesn't have good plot and character development.

On the other hand, there remains a lot to be said for caring enough to slow down and pay attention to what is spilling from your brain, through your fingers and onto the keyboard. I know several fan fiction writers who read and re-read their work ad naseum - often while still typing - prior to posting. Or who con someone else into doing it for them :) Oftentimes a story can be vastly improved by giving it a once-over - new plot points that occur to you, details you forgot to add, etc. Not to mention catching little things like "on" instead of "one", or sentences you didn't completely backspace over before retyping. (Of course none of this applies to the Line By Lines, where you have to be lightning quick lest you find the story suddenly six chapters down the road...)

I certainly understand that people come from different cultures, backgrounds, and educational levels, and I am thankful for all that is posted on this board (well, except for you folks who dole it out in excruciating one-chapter-per-day fashion :)

This board IS a great place for new writers, and should be a place to explore and create without trepidation or self-consciousness. Just hit Spell Check before you hit Enter.
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messyhead
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I agree with you completely about slowing down and re-reading what you've written. Nearly every time I write a sentence I imagine it to be perfectly formed, and then when I read it over it's full of the same words over and over again. I always find it helps to walk away for a while.

And of course I don't know where I'd be without that second set of editorial eyes... ;)
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OJFan
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I guess some of it comes down to the level of perfection you expect from a story. Spelling errors, typos, misuse of 'to', 'too' and 'two' etc... can (and SHOULD) be caught with just a careful review. But what about parallel sentence structure, misplaced and dangling modifiers, switching between active and passive voice, pronoun and antecedent agreement, adverbial phrases as subjects of a sentence??? Several colleagues I work with would view these errors in the same manner as a misspelled word (which is why I NEVER let them see my written work, because I'm sure it is chock FULL of errors).

Many fanfiction writers may not even be aware they are committing these mistakes. I honestly try to check my work before I post it (except line by lines) for errors, yet I always find some that I have missed. I also try to check my work before I have someone proof it, yet again, mistakes slip by. I think as long as you can say you did the best you could, that should suffice.

That said, I too have found some pieces on fanfiction.net (not just BW stories - other ones as well) that are hard to follow because of all the mistakes, and I haven't reviewed them because of it. Maybe that's my fault, and I should have taken the time to comment on the positive points of the story, while mentioning with constructive criticism what the author could do to improve the story's readability.

BTW, When are we going to see the next Neesiepie masterpiece? You can show us how it's done... c8654 c8654 c8654 I would SO look forward to another story from you - it's been awhile. :)
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NeesiePie
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Mmmm.... kinda backed myself into a corner on that one, didn't I?
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