Comments | wren_kt7oz: just me having a new year moan

wren_kt7oz

just me having a new year moan

Jan 02, 2018 21:34

Have been reading a fair bit of fan fic over the holiday break and I have a few new year wishes. They mainly apply to QAF fan fic, but the principles (get names right, etc.) apply across all fandoms. Some I have whinged about before, but my tolerance level for this stuff is low and I keep seeing these things everywhere so I feel like having a bit ( Read more... )

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Comments 14

starbaby12 January 2 2018, 12:23:23 UTC

Yes!! There are certain authors I will not read, even though their plots are intriguing, because of their inability to write a coherent sentence.

wren_kt7oz January 2 2018, 23:14:32 UTC

Exactly. And it's a real shame because a lot of the time it's nothing that a good beta couldn't fix.

kinwad January 2 2018, 13:15:40 UTC

Ha! Reminds me of my post, "A Hopefully Helpful Writer's Guide to QAF": https://kinwad.livejournal.com/215460.html

I definitely hear ya, Wren! *hugs* I once went to the local library to find an answer to a grammar question that I couldn't find online. *g*

wren_kt7oz January 2 2018, 23:17:41 UTC

I hadn't seen that post, Kin. Thanks. I didn't even get into the "there/their/they're" or, even more common, "your/you're" and "its/it's". I know they happen. They happen to me when my fingers move faster than my brain, but again, it's what a beta is for. I don't mind these things occasionally (mine tend to crop up when I tinker post-beta) but when they're all through the fic ...

mdlaw January 2 2018, 14:14:01 UTC

Yes!

wren_kt7oz January 2 2018, 23:17:54 UTC

Thanks.

malanna42 January 2 2018, 14:38:11 UTC

The one that drives me insane is wonder/wander. I want to facedesk every time I read something like: Justin wandered if Brian would ever be monogamous as he wondered through the park. (And yes, the poor sentence structure, too. Lol)

wren_kt7oz January 2 2018, 23:18:56 UTC

I'd forgotten that one. Yes. I'll add it to my pet hate list for next year because I see it a lot too. Oh, and "site" as in "he loved the site of him". AAAAGGGHHH!

gaedhal January 3 2018, 07:19:30 UTC

Strangely enough, writing is a craft, like playing an instrument or a sport.
There are things that you can work on to get right and/or better!

From a person who actually teaches writing!

wren_kt7oz January 3 2018, 08:04:10 UTC

Exactly. I remember when I first started writing, I took on board every single piece of feedback about the actual writing (rather than the content). It was very helpful and I learned to avoid so many Brit/Aus colloquialisms. I probably still use some occasionally, but at least I've learned to use "elevator" instead of "lift" and "apartment" instead of "flat" and stuff like that. I still have the lexicon I put together back then to help me.