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Post by Butterscotch on Mar 29, 2005 11:04:54 GMT -5
How important to you are spelling and grammar when you write? I try to use the best spelling and grammar that I can, but other people don't seem to care and it makes their writing look sloppy. (This isn't a dig at anyone particular, just a general comment on fanfic writers's overall)
What are your thoughts on this? Does spelling and grammar matter when you read a story? Does good grammar make the story better, or easier to read? Some people think using proper grammar can make the writer seem snobbish? Do you agree?
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Post by Kayla on Mar 29, 2005 11:08:02 GMT -5
Personally I think using proper grammar is important when writing anything. At least for me it makes the work seem better if I'm not trying to figure out what people are saying or their sentences aren't broken up correctly. It gets quite irritating for me to read stories like that. I'm not saying you have to be perfect with your spelling and grammar, but at least try to make an effort in your work.
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Post by Butterscotch on Mar 29, 2005 11:10:18 GMT -5
Personally I think using proper grammar is important when writing anything. At least for me it makes the work seem better if I'm not trying to figure out what people are saying or their sentences aren't broken up correctly. It gets quite irritating for me to read stories like that. I'm not saying you have to be perfect with your spelling and grammar, but at least try to make an effort in your work. You bring up some very good points there, Kayla. I agree that grammar doesn't always have to be perfect, but using good grammar does make it easier on everyone.
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Post by Haruske Elmdor on Mar 29, 2005 20:30:32 GMT -5
Spelling and grammar are very important aspects when it comes to writing. Spending time spellchecking, looking around for loose grammar shows that a writer is being prefessional with his work. Although of course it's hard for ESL guys (like me), as much as possible I try to make my work as pressed out if possible. It gives the readers an easier time reading the entire text, and it's more entertaining of course since a coherent "flow" in the story is observed with correct grammar use.
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Post by Cary on Mar 30, 2005 20:44:04 GMT -5
I think grammer and spelling are of the utmost importance, but not only that, but every element of mechanics. Such things as capitalizing all sentences and spelling things correctly really adds value to the story and makes it much more enjoyable to read.
A good author knows how to balance proper grammer with creative sentence writing to generate interesting sentences which don't fall into a repetative boring pattern. Such can be seen in the last sentence of my first paragraph in this post. The grammer is just on the virge of being incorrect and the sentence risks becoming a run on sentence. But it isn't, and because of the creative structure it becomes something enjoyable.
Something else of importance to note is that characters in stories don't have to talk in proper grammer. They don't even have to think in proper grammer. It is their own mind, and the way people speak and think are rarely correct in the grammatical sense. Run-ons aren't really acceptable for conversation, because they can easily be chopped up without damaging the integrity of the writing. But sentence fragments and sentences beginning with conjunctions, among other grammatical no-nos, are perfectly acceptable and even encouragable for people's words. It makes them seem so much more real and human.
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Post by Butterscotch on Mar 30, 2005 20:47:12 GMT -5
Something else of importance to note is that characters in stories don't have to talk in proper grammer. They don't even have to think in proper grammer. It is their own mind, and the way people speak and think are rarely correct in the grammatical sense. Run-ons aren't really acceptable for conversation, because they can easily be chopped up without damaging the integrity of the writing. But sentence fragments and sentences beginning with conjunctions, among other grammatical no-nos, are perfectly acceptable and even encouragable for people's words. It makes them seem so much more real and human. Those are very good points, Beez. ;D
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Post by Cary on Mar 30, 2005 20:54:32 GMT -5
Furthermore, on rarely occasions (though opinions on this vary from author to author), it is okay to mis-spell something in order to show how a person is mispronouncing a word.
I prefer to avoid people with slangs or accents, because to me, it get's annoying to try and read what a person says when what they say is spelled incorrectly constantly in an attempt to match the person's accent... In some instances, it cannot be avoided. The book "Tom Sawyer" just wouldn't be the same if everyone didn't talk in a southern dialect. The thing is, it's very important to assure that the dialect is not written too heavily. I read about one page of "Their Eyes were Watching God" before putting it down and never touching it again because the dialect was so strong, and the spelling of the dialect was so horrible, I couldn't ever figure out what the person was saying. Then again, "Their Eyes were Watching God" is much more acclaimed than "Tom Sawyer," so what do I know? It's just my own personal preference.
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Post by sakuramoon on Apr 2, 2005 23:36:32 GMT -5
oh boy... I think it's imporant too when writing but this is DEFINATELY somethin' that I need to work on. I know that's for sure. but Beelz is a good teacher and he's helping my vocabulary grow. I think that's helping me out a little bit too. Thanks Beelz ;D
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Post by Cary on Apr 3, 2005 21:16:14 GMT -5
oh boy... I think it's imporant too when writing but this is DEFINATELY somethin' that I need to work on. I know that's for sure. but Beelz is a good teacher and he's helping my vocabulary grow. I think that's helping me out a little bit too. Thanks Beelz ;D I think you are majorly improving. And it isn't so much using large vocabulary. It doesn't do much good to stick a word like petulant (watches as everyone runs for their dictionary) unless that word really deserved to be there and was the best way to discribe it. Often, you can make something sound better by using smaller vocabulary in creative fashions. It doesn't have to be something difficult; just make sure that whatever words you are using are the best words for the job. So, rather than having a large vocabulary, you should have an open vocabulary. One that can easily access words which are the right ones for the situation instead of becoming caught up in a word which doesn't discribe it accurately. There is a world of difference between "chuckling" and "snickering." And even though neither are big vocabulary words, to be able to access both and pick the correct one easily, that is the power that you need to have.
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Post by frypan91 on Apr 23, 2005 23:24:42 GMT -5
I think that it is important. I mean, which one is easier to read?
I can't spell at all.
or
Eye can;t spel at al.
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Post by Butterscotch on Apr 25, 2005 9:25:53 GMT -5
More good points. Thanks everyone.
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Post by Ember on Jul 23, 2005 8:35:47 GMT -5
It matters in stories deffinately, and long pieces of writing.
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