Looking for an Editor

[Kostly]

I need an editor for the few pieces of work that I make. I write mostly how-to and personal experiences. I don’t have very many fictional pieces, and I have a few poems.

I attempt to write every day, but I get very few actual finished pieces. I would like to finalize them with someone who can edit and who will give me constructive criticisms.

I am a individual who has been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder with a learning disability in, of all things, written communication. I find it often effects what I write in a way that creates miscommunications for the feelings I am trying to portray. I am not looking for someone who will try to fix me, for they will truly fail, as did many professional teachers and people have through out my history, just someone to correct the simple mistakes and who may offer suggestions on content.

I want to eventually publish a website with my collection of literature and personal experience. I have NO money to provide, and I am no good at editing in return. I am looking for someone who will help me, and I will gladly give credit for the editor in an email address attached to the document.

Please, I need help.

[Guardian2114OT]

Kostly,
I sent you an email.


Guardian2114OT

[LadyAmanda]

I can help you out as well, if you like. I'm pretty good at spelling and grammar, and having ideas bounced off me.

Hell, I was even in Rochester last weekend! I had a very nice time at one of your sleazier motels ...

[InnerTemptress]

i'd be happy to help also. lots of editing experience and a bit of a writer myself.

i'll PM you with my email address.

[Faibhar]

There seems to be no challenge in coming up with story idea/plots/etc.,(archive at bdsmlibrary provides much evidence)especially of a visual nature.

What does challenge, however, is an on-going conflict with grammar. It seems that much of what I was taught, and this goes back to the days when diagrahming sentences were daily lessons, while instructive, nowadays cause much confusion. If there exists a contemporary rule on proper grammar please advise.

Thank you.


p.s. oh. And I used to get mixed grades in English by the various instructors...

[woodsman'sgame]

If there exists a contemporary rule on proper grammar please advise.

Faibhar, grammar rules are not set because language is a living, changing, thing, but if you use the MLA Handbook of English Grammar (Modern Language Association), you can be fairly sure that no one will give you a hard time. There are other good grammar books out there, but this one is used as a guideline by most U.S. universities.

By the way, the sticky points are never agreed upon. When we have a question in our English department, we examine several books and pick the rule that the majority of the books agree on. hehe

Oh, and this is American English (US). The Brits and Canadians have their own rules and I bet the Aussies do too. You'll have to ask one of them about what they use.

[Moggy]

One of my political fantasies (of which I seem to have as many as sexual fantasies) is that the English speaking world agree on common spelling and rules. I'd gladly accept some Americanisms for the sake of a unified language. These variants we have in English spelling give no benefits.

And while I'm on a rant, another thing I'd love to see abandoned is MM/DD/YY date format, which to my knowledge is only used in the USA. What an anomaly!

[woodsman'sgame]

Yes,

In the US we do lots of things backwards. We are still using feet and inches, gallons, etc. We write our dates backwards, 1 billion is really a thousand million instead of a million million, I can go on and on. hehe
I teach my students that we are the only ones in the world that do these peculiar things, but then most people in the world drive on the right hand side of the road.

We all have our eccentricities.

[-angelstar-]

well. if its just editing and proofreading and stuff abt language and spelling and grammar, yeah i can help out if u want

[Faibhar]

Thank you to those helpful on the sticky questiong of (US/World) Grammar, especially woodsman's game.

Style books are employed as needed though it must be said that, unlike the style reference mentioned by w.g., the style books used are mainly media oriented. It should also be said that past "screwy" education on my part can now be seen as both archaic and international in scope, making the use of contemporary grammar that much more dicier.

So, as others have alluded Grammar should just take a second seat, priority-wise, and one should forge one a s best as possible. This technique seems like stumbling around in the dark, but at least does not usually present the worst of evils.

[Curtis]

I agree that month/day/year is less logical in writing. It does, however, match the way it is said in speech (February 12th, not the 12th of February, or 12 February).

I also agree with woodsman'sgame that we should have gone over to Metric a quarter-century ago -- basically when Britain did. It's idiotic that we can't conform to the rest of the known universe.

And thanks to Faibhar for pointing out that most style books (of which I have several) are designed for media use. That had completely escaped me. Sometimes I overlook the obvious.

[Faibhar]

Curtis hardly has a corner on the overlooking the obvious bit. Suspicions run rampant that we all have at least at one time or another tripped over dollars while chasing nickels and dimes.