This is NOT a slam on any writer. I do, however, suggest you read this and keep it in mind when you write a story.

As MJN mentioned in her Story Guidelines Post, please, if you're unsure of the grammar or punctuation for a story, find a beta (basically an editor). Betas don't change what you write in a story, in so much as they don't tell you WHAT to write, but give you some ideas on HOW to present it so that others will want to read it.

First off, before you post it here (or fic in any message board/website), write it out in a word processing program, such as MS Word, Corel WordPerfect, OpenOffice Writer, (or equivalent on a Mac). This way you can easily do a spell and grammar check. Though those are not fool-proof. You can cut and paste the story into the message board when you're finished. It aslo allows you to go back and forth and change things if you need to much easier.

I will offer to beta, and I'm sure that there are others on the MB who would as well, because we certainly do not want to stifle the imagination of the writers. I have written stories in other fandoms, but not yet in BG fandom, primarily for the fact that others seem to do a much better job of it than I (ex. MJNet, ILMJN/Larkhall Returns, CanadaBadGirl, Gina L. Dartt).

There are some fantastic suggestions out there to help with the grammar/punctuation as well, when you're starting out writing - and even as a fun check when you're an experienced writer.

English Chick's Guide to Grammar - this site uses a lot of Xena references, when referring to grammatical errors and suggestions. It's how I got to know her via a XWP e-mail list as well as another list. She's got some really good points in there to help with grammar.

Holy Mother Grammatica's Guide to Good Writing - this is another brilliant fan writer's guide to good writing, using a lot of fan references. I went a panel for HMG at MediaWest a few years ago and it was absolutely brilliant. 2 hrs long and we had a ball.

Lori L. Lake's Writing Links - Found this a good site for all kinds of writing help and suggestions.

Now, go forth and read, then write!

Hi Ceridwyn,

Thanks for posting this. It's always frustrating when I find a story with a good plot and characterization but I can't concentrate on the action, or have to abandon it completely, because it's too difficult to read because of grammar and spelling. I hope your post is taken in the spirit in which it is intended and writers take advantage of the links.

Reading well-written prose is the key to knowing how to use punctuation (as well as automatically understanding the difference between hominyms like "there", "their" and "they're" or even "compliment" and "complement"), but if most of what you read is fan fiction, then some errors start seeming so commonplace that , as a reader, you hardly notice them anymore. Which means that as a writer you are more likely to repeat them even if you know better because the alarm in your brain fails to go off.

That's where a good beta reader comes in. And yes, it's nice to have beta readers who praise and encourage, but you should also have at least one who has no interest in fan fiction and only reads professional writers of fiction and/or non-fiction. I'd also suggest that you set aside your insecurities and ego when communicating with your beta readers, because nobody is perfect, so there will be mistakes and things which are unclear in your writing even if they were clear in your head at the time of writing. It's important to have beta readers who understand what you're trying to accomplish in terms of character/setting scenes and whom you trust to help make your vision take shape on the page - that includes people who can honestly say to you, "Nikki Wade would never say that" or "Helen uses correct grammar and understands the difference between "sat" and "seated" as a part of speech, so if you're going to put words in her mouth, you should, too".

Writing can come easily, but putting some work into it and getting into good habits actually helps in the long run, even though it's painful at the time. If you just want to write a story "for a laugh" then that's fine, but the scenes in your imagination won't take root in your readers' imaginations if they have trouble picturing the scene because of errors and distractions - and that's not fair to you, or to the person who made the effort to try to share your imaginings. I think anybody can write a readable story, but very, very few can do so without putting any effort into it. Even published authors write with dictionaries close at hand, so it makes sense that amateurs like us will need them even more.

Those are my thoughts on the subject, and now I shall shut up before I get flamed. But I'm only risking being flamed because I enjoy BG fan fiction and I want to read and enjoy even more of it, so I hope potential writers take onboard the contents of this thread.

Allie

I don't have much to add to this except to reiterate one specific point that Ceridwyn mentioned, and that is, don't rely on a spell check to do the work for you. Obviously, it won't pick up things like the mis-use of "their" for "there", "its" for "it's", and my personal peeve, "lose" for "loose". (It's- "I don't want to LOSE you.")

If you don't have a beta reader, then I would suggest you finish the story, put it aside for a day or two, then go back to it and slowly re-read it. I would also suggest that you try and read other stories as well, whether it be good fanfiction or actual books. The more you read, the better writer you will be.

If you're really enterprising, check out the book, Eats, Shoots and Leaves, which is a funny, yet helpful book on the problems of proper punctuation.

In the very least, have Dictionary.com open in another window as you write.


Read, read, read! Write, write, write! :)


-coolbyrne

I absolutely love that book. I've got that and her follow up book, Talk to the Hand: The Utter Bloody Rudeness of the World Today, or Six Good Reasons to Stay Home and Bolt the Door. This book and Eats, Shoots and Leaves are by the author Lynne Truss.

I love "Eats Shoots and Leaves" but I have to say that I didn't find "Talk to the Hand" to be as laugh-out-loud funny. Perhaps I've developed more of a tolerance for bad manners than for bad grammar...?

Thanks again for posting this topic and for the links.

A.

I am SO with you on this. I read plays by professional playwrights to evaluate whether they should be produced, and I am shocked (SHOCKED!) at how often this mistake is made. It's appalling, in my opinion, for a professional writer to not know the difference between loose and lose. !!!!

Thanks for the links. As with everyone we would love to encourage the whole standard of writing, but without taking away the pleasure of someone wanting to do a story.
I would hope these links and comments can encourage anyone wanting to write to take offers up from others to beta or simply to use links as a start.