How Much Should Grammar And Spelling Weight With A Review?

[RoseKrystal]

a big NO on whether it should matter.

[RoseKrystal]

I myself do not have a degree in writing.I try my best. I can welcome contructive critisism.But to be honest.I wont waste my time or anyone elses, just because my grammar isn't proper....excusssseeeee me...lol.Sooo thats a big NO on whether it should matter. Sharing my experiences in story form is a gift to ppl...No one is forcing anyone to stay and read it.I have been a member for 3 days.I got one review.It wasnt just negative on one point...seems I covered the whole spectrum of errors.I doubt I will continue anymore writing.Sorry to anyone, if I made your eyes bleed from such an atrocity.....I really dont care if i have errors in this post...its my last so I dont care..G'Bye

[ElectricBadger]

Personally, I think grammar and structure DO matter. They serve a real purpose, after all, not just to let English professors fit in at dinner parties -- they allow flow and clarity. Truly bad grammar -- to the point of illegible sentences -- make a story horrible no matter how good the idea and word choice is. I weight it not as its own feature, but how it affects the story overall. If I didn't enjoy the work because of the bad grammar, then the work wasn't enjoyable, ya know? I also won't give a 10 to a story that still needs a basic spell check

[moptop]

Some of us love language for language' sake, and for those of us who suffer from that love, bad or incorrect use of language hurts. It's not just being picky or stuffy or annoying - it genuinely does hurt.

Gentle reader, try to be tolerant. If the author is here, surely it is because they wish to learn, and how can they learn without guidance?

Writers: think about it. At the simplest level, if you mean 'red' you don't say 'blue'. So: they're, their, there; I, me; your, you're: they mean different things! How can you say what you mean if you don't know that?

The written language is the writer's tool, and I believe we should all learn to use it as part of learning our writing skill. What use is imagination if you can't describe what you mean and build it in the reader's mind? How much more powerful and evocative can you be, when you have control of language as a weapon?

You have no idea how wonderful being able to communicate is until you can't do it! (I have lived in a foreign country and worked very hard to speak/write the language; I love it and miss using it. Sadly I now misuse it).

Of course, we all make mistakes, proof-reading your own work is really hard and yes, this is for free! But there is no excuse for pure laziness (I do forgive over-enthusiasm - I have to, it is one of my major sins! That and being verbose).

At the same time as supporting good and loving use of language, though, I believe we should all also fight against unreasonable shackles of correctness: why aren't I 'allowed' to start a sentance with 'however', and various other words, when that is exactly what I mean? (No, please don't tell me, it is rhetorical!)

[Nikita]

This is a thorny topic. In the beginning, I was so anxious to post my first story that I didn't proof it thoroughly.

Alas, I had to update several times and I learned a lesson, eventually. I still repeat the same mistake, turning a story in before thoroughly reviewing it.

Spell check did the obvious, but at times the spelling would be correct but the usage was wrong.

The tool, grammatik, in wordperfect was confusing at best. Once in awhile it helped. Then the formatting was making me crazy until I downloaded a free program called Textpad. If you drop down VIEW, it will highlight the spaces between the words, sentences, and paragraphs. It also has spellcheck and saves your file in a .txt format.

Finally, I put a story down for a month...didn't read it at all. In fact, I took a break. When I did return to it, I printed the whole thing out, sat down with red pen in hand, and made corrections, switched paragraphs, etc. I decided that was the best technique for me to edit the first pass.

Secondly, I ask a fellow writer to proof it and I return the favor. I don't abuse this type of request. It is a big deal for someone to proof a piece of writing for you. So, when I proof for them, I use the same care they used for my work. The more feedback, the better. I can some of their advice, all of it, or none of it. But they know that in advance.

Anyway, that is what has worked for me. Y'all have to find a way to deal with the spelling, grammar critiques or make some changes.

Personally, when I review a story, the focus is on the story...I'm not proofreading.

However, when the mechanics, i.e. story structure, run on sentences, etc., get in the way of the story, I get annoyed, and spelling is the last thing I look at. By then, I've lost interest. That's when I make a comment such as 'fire your proofreader.' IMO, it is more tactful than saying the obvious.

Just my two cents.

[Widget]

I complety agree with badger and nikita, I am not anal about spelling and grammar by any means. God knows I make my share of mistakes.

I hate it though when it ruins the flow or the errors are so glaring and stupid it shows a lack of care and attention by the author. If the author does not care enough to take care of the work they have submitted by making an effort to make it the best they can ( AND NO I DON'T MEAN PERFECT!!!) then why should the reader care enough to continue?

[Lee Boudine]

GRAMMER AND SPELLING ADD GREATLY TO MY ENJOYMENT OF READING A STORY: errors distract my concentration. An occasional typographical error will not decract from my scoring. I will note it in the review.

The development of the plot and quality of character development are to me most important. Then the authors imagination. What unique relationships are developed.

Of course the stories I read will be determined by my bondage preferences.

[H Dean]

I myself do not have a degree in writing.I try my best. I can welcome contructive critisism.But to be honest.I wont waste my time or anyone elses, just because my grammar isn't proper....excusssseeeee me...lol.Sooo thats a big NO on whether it should matter. Sharing my experiences in story form is a gift to ppl...No one is forcing anyone to stay and read it.I have been a member for 3 days.I got one review.It wasnt just negative on one point...seems I covered the whole spectrum of errors.I doubt I will continue anymore writing.Sorry to anyone, if I made your eyes bleed from such an atrocity.....I really dont care if i have errors in this post...its my last so I dont care..G'Bye

Okay, I can understand being upset at reviews that hammer on the story content. I can even understand being a little upset that a story got a bad review because of technical mistakes...some reviewers (even me) can be a bit harsh. However, I was struck with the sheer arrogance of the comment in bold. A "gift" that had little thought or care put into it is meaningless and insulting.

[Nikita]

I agree with you Dean. If the story was an experience RoseKrystal wanted to share, that's fine, but the forum would be a better place to do it. No one here would criticise her 'gift' because of spelling or grammar. WTF?!?

[SimoneLocke]

Ensuring proper grammar and spelling is a courtesy to the reader.

Poor spelling and grammar makes an otherwise good story hard to read, and pulls attention away from what the author had intended.

You owe it to your readers to write in a way that captures their attention rather than distracts it.
You owe it to yourself as a wordsmith to know your tools.

[Faibhar]

I must generally agree with SimoneLocke re: spelling and grammar detracting from an otherwise worthy story.

That much said it is wise to keep in mind writers here are mainly not professionals with the usual editing skill sets, so a little leeway is frequently appropriate on the reader's part.

[iggygor]

I've seen several people mention that they have trouble remembering whether to use "its" with an apostrophe, so here's the answer. It's very simple:

"it's" means "it is" or "it has". Always. No other meanings.

(To test, replace "it's" with "it is" or "it has" and re-read
the sentence. Still make sense?" OK.)

In every other instance, use "its".


Hope this helps.