Okay, who here likes to read stories that have crap grammar?
No one?
Me neither.
Before you guys all point it out, I know that I have a few grammar mistakes in my stories. That happens when you are writing and posting to give your readers a new chapter; it’s expected and okay.
However, I would like to stress that I have a few grammar mistakes. My stories aren’t a mish-mosh of shit grammar and awful formatting. I actually make the effort to edit the chapters to make sure most of the grammar is correct, as well as the dialog format.
People don’t like reading stories where the author makes no effort with the format or grammar; it sends the message that the author doesn’t care.
Here are a few grammar things that I personally think authors should pay attention to.
Dialog Format:
This may just be something that gets on my nerves, since English is one of my favorite subjects and I’m in the AP courses, but dialog needs to be formatted correctly.
When writing dialog, there’s really only one rule: start a new paragraph with a new speaker.
WRONG:
“So what did she say?” I asked, taking a bite of my sandwich. Natalie scrunched her nose, and I could tell that she was having a hard time remembering what her mom had said. “I’m not sure,” she replied finally.
RIGHT:
“So what did she say?” I asked, taking a bite of my sandwich.
Natalie scrunched her nose, and I could tell that she was having a hard time remembering what her mom had said. “I’m not sure,” she replied finally.
Or
“So what did she say?” I asked, taking a bite of my sandwich. Natalie scrunched her nose, and I could tell that she was having a hard time remembering what her mom had said.
“I’m not sure,” she replied finally.
It’s just a formatting thing, but in the long run, it’s going to matter.
Punctuation:
This is something short, and I’m going to be straight with it:
We do not need more than one question mark or exclamation mark to understand the intensity of the dialog or statement/question.
DON’T DO THIS:
“Seriously???”
“I can’t believe she said that!!!”
“What is she had died?!?!?!”
STOP DOING THIS! IT IS HIGHLY IRRITATING!
No Text Speak. Ever.
Don’t say things like LOL or OMG in your writing, and I mean in dialog or narrative. It comes across as unprofessional, and I know that I’m not the only one bothered by it. Please, dear God, stop with the text speak, unless you are literally writing out a text message.
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Please keep in mind that all of this advice is coming from me in the hopes to help, not criticize. I’m only doing this because I want people to see things that make their writing better.
Also, I know there are more grammar issues, but I couldn’t think of anymore off of the top of my head. I will undoubtedly add to this chapter because grammar is very important.
Next chapter will be on characters!
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Closet_Anarchist Presents: Writing Tips!
Non-FictionHere are some tips and advice for beginning authors or writers who want to get their work out there!
