/lit/ - Literature

If people want to excel as writers, one of the best things they can do is practice the language they write in. Proper composition helps you get your message across more easily, and it makes your editor's job easier. If you've written something that uses the wrong word, for example, it's entirely possible that only /you/ actually know what you meant to say. If you leave it up to interpretation for your editor and proofer, you run the risk of having your message altered.

I'm not saying that everyone is going to use perfect grammar and spelling 100% of the time, especially when you're on the internet. However, knowing your language's rules makes the writing process easier on you, the writer, as well as everyone else involved.

Some examples in the first posts of those thread:

you're* genres* are* Let's* Let's* dialogue* how (it) is going* in* awaiting* proponent* shorthand* (though shorthand is something other than what you mean) and* says:* say:* I've (been) worrying* too* long-winded* interject;* its* "a good one"? good*

"quick with the tongue" means of sharp wit, which is true for many Shakespeare characters, but what you mean is that they're succint in their descriptions. Brevity works, as long as you get the message across.

To the person who suggested having a character point out that another one is taking too long or is monologuing, this is only valid if the character itself is prone to do so. You can't use this method as an excuse to leave in a writer's ramblings, even if it might seem difficult to shorten it and maintain the same meaning.

And finally, just to cover the topic at hand: Whenever I've gotten stuck at a particular fork in the road, I treat it as such. Either by writing it out in full, or simply "walking the path" in my head, I work out what would happen with every possible decision I can think of. Sometimes it ends up taking up hours of my time, but more often than not, I come away with a solution. Not to mention a number of new ideas and discoveries about my characters and story that I wouldn't have come across otherwise.

My apologies if anyone found my Grammar Nazi corrections to be dickish. If you want, you can point out I missed a few lowercase i's, hyphenated words, and that I mispelled misspelled a second ago.

Nobody's perfect, but what's important is that we actually try to better our mastery of the written word, including its rules.

Captcha screenshot attached for quality.