Grammar and spelling and why you need to fix it

Things I Cannot Stand

In the first chapter, I covered Grammar Nazis and why they .

However, I cannot stand it when fics have numerous errors, be it grammar problems, spelling problems, or both. It disgusts me.

Here are some things that are very common but are horribly, horribly wrong.

1. Using *asterisks* in the middle of a sentence.

I see this all the time. At least 5 out of every 10 featured fics have used this, if not more. This is how it usually works:

*Oh! I wonder if oppa likes me* she thought.

or:

*blinks* "Really?" *blushes*

NO. BIG FAT NO TO YOU.

To describe thoughts, you italicize. To describe actions, you say 'she blinked' or 'she blushed.'

I cannot understand why people do not understand this, since no published literary work has ever used this.

2. Improper tense.

Do not switch tenses unless you are using flashbacks or something like that. Be consistent. This also means make sure your verbs are in the correct form for present and past tense.

3. Singulars and plurals

I know that these can be very difficult for non-English speakers, especially those who speak Asian languages as their first language. I'm studying Japanese and Korean, and the singular/plural forms for those languages is very different than the form for English.

 

In the next chapter, I will cover other common spelling errors and why you really really need to fix those.

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deepbreath #1
Chapter 11: thank you for clearing up the meaning of SNCJ. i keep on seeing sncj santa exchange fics but doesnt have any clue as to what sncj means. and then i searched what it stand for only to be more confuse cause what in the merriam is sonyeoncheonji? i still dont know. but at least it is now clear its for the exo fandom only cause i swear i thought girls generation has something to do with it. thank you for this informative article. and your a/n cracked me up. also, evrything about that lj thing is super true. atleast in my observation. theres a lot of unappreciated writers there.
ChaoticDarkAngel
#2
Chapter 4: I think it's silly when people bash authors who write 'you' fics and praise those who write OC fics. Deep down I think those type of AFF users know that both genres have their faults. There are some you fics I've enjoyed greatly actually and ones I didn't enjoy as much same for OC stories it all depends on how the writer portrays the lead character is all ^^
kaedeyuuki
#3
Chapter 4: Wanna know something? The Mary Sue trope can be both found in OCs and reader-insert characters. :)

It's total bullsh*t if one says that OCs are a lot better than reader-inserts. I could totally throw a good number of Mary Sue OCs from Fanfiction.Net. :P
lovestillgoeson
#4
Chapter 12: While I agree with the majority of things you say in your posts, I have to disagree with the last one.

I personally don't think asking for a sequel to a story is rude (again, asking, not demanding; demanding does is rude). You take the readers wanting a sequel as if they're telling you your story is not good enough, but for me (and I think a lot of people will agree) it means that they liked your story so much that they need to have more of it.

Haven't you ever liked a book or story so much that you wished you hadn't gotten to the end because you couldn't get enough of it, or you've read it more than once because you couldn't get over it? The feeling is pretty much like that.

So no, I don't think people who ask for sequels are implying a story is bad.
j2ster
#5
Chapter 12: by far the worst i've ever gotten was a straightforward "i demand a sequel"
MehRainbow #6
Chapter 3: Overall, I found the tidbits about AFF & LJ to be the most interesting. I frequently use both sites, and your points seem very valid. Anyway, I just wanted to say, "Kudos to you!" :)
Iloveanime
#7
Chapter 6: Oh God, Mary-Sues... hate them! I dislike it when the OC is perfect. I mean, do you know anyone who is pretty, has an IQ of 700 (aka super smart), virtually speaks ALL languages, is a magnet for hot boys and is popular, all at the same time? The answer is NO.
FullmetalTitan
#8
Chapter 8: Mhmmm...I personally like mpreg but to each their own XD This could be very useful to those who have no idea how to write . Hell I've been writing it for awhile and it's difficult to get right .___. I hope to become better at it someday.
FullmetalTitan
#9
Chapter 3: *patience* stupid typos...
FullmetalTitan
#10
Chapter 3: I have a LJ account though I haven't been on it...oh gosh since last year I think. It's not that I dislike it, I just feel more comfortable on AFF is all ^^ And yeah, there are bad stories on here...but there's also good ones. People just need to have patients is all. They'll find a good fic on here I'm sure.

I just dislike it, when people praise LiveJournal like it's a God or something. It's just like every other site out there and so is AFF. You'll find cringe worthy fics on both sites and good ones :3