BSV Forum - Writing - General Tips

Amusing (to us) anecdote from many years ago

Feb 06 2014 07:23 pm   #1slaymesoftly
So, we received a fic chapter from a non-validated author who was not familiar to us.  It was a mess - to be kind. Full of spelling, grammar and punctuation mistakes. We both saw it, agreed it wasn't acceptable, and sent one of our reasonably tactful "we're sorry but..." letters.  He indignantly fired back that we were clearly ignorant of British (English?) grammar/spelling and punctuation and.... blah blah blah.  Given that Always_jbj was born in England... yeah it didn't fly very well. I took his chapter and did a thorough edit on it, clearly marking all the mistakes and pointing out the English rule being broken. It was, of course, covered in red ink by the time I was done. I also mentioned Always's background, lest he try to tell me again that I was ignorant.  

I will give him credit for admitting he was wrong. He sent a reply saying he'd had no idea he'd forgotten so much of what he learned in school, and apologizing for yelling at us for the rejection. I don't think he ever came back, but I'm pretty sure that apology was a first! (And probably a last. People tend not to take it well when they ask what's wrong with their rejected fic and we take the time to give them specifics....
I am not a minion of Evil...
I am upper management.
Feb 10 2014 02:10 pm   #2DeepBlueJoy
So, we received a fic chapter from a non-validated author who was not familiar to us.  It was a mess - to be kind. Full of spelling, grammar and punctuation mistakes. We both saw it, agreed it wasn't acceptable, and sent one of our reasonably tactful "we're sorry but..." letters.  He indignantly fired back that we were clearly ignorant of British (English?) grammar/spelling and punctuation and.... blah blah blah.  Given that Always_jbj was born in England... yeah it didn't fly very well. I took his chapter and did a thorough edit on it, clearly marking all the mistakes and pointing out the English rule being broken. It was, of course, covered in red ink by the time I was done. I also mentioned Always's background, lest he try to tell me again that I was ignorant.  

I will give him credit for admitting he was wrong. He sent a reply saying he'd had no idea he'd forgotten so much of what he learned in school, and apologizing for yelling at us for the rejection. I don't think he ever came back, but I'm pretty sure that apology was a first! (And probably a last. People tend not to take it well when they ask what's wrong with their rejected fic and we take the time to give them specifics....


I remember asking someone (on TtH, where I post most of my work) to critique my early work.  I too, had apparently forgotten all the rules, and while I don't pretend to have them down perfectly now, rereading my old stuff (even after repeated 'fixes' ) makes me cringe. 

The critique almost broke me, but the person was right, even though it hurt like hell.  I licked my wounds for a bit, then I made it my business to relearn the rules.  I'll be eternally grateful to that person, though I still hate them a little too!!

The take home message is that it's worth it to have all the dross stripped away and to rebuild yourself.  Even if you think you can write.  Even great ideas are hard to read if presented badly. 

My British/American issue was that I had studied both sets of rules, and ended up mastering neither (though like your author, I thought I had the British English down).  If you are in import from one or the other tradition, pick one, and learn it.  It doesn't matter which you pick, just don't try to do both, it will make you crazy. 

Blue
http://www.tthfanfic.org/authors.php?no=12717&list=profile
DeepBlueJoy
DeepBlueJoy's stories
Feb 11 2014 08:08 pm   #3slaymesoftly
So, we received a fic chapter from a non-validated author who was not familiar to us.  It was a mess - to be kind. Full of spelling, grammar and punctuation mistakes. We both saw it, agreed it wasn't acceptable, and sent one of our reasonably tactful "we're sorry but..." letters.  He indignantly fired back that we were clearly ignorant of British (English?) grammar/spelling and punctuation and.... blah blah blah.  Given that Always_jbj was born in England... yeah it didn't fly very well. I took his chapter and did a thorough edit on it, clearly marking all the mistakes and pointing out the English rule being broken. It was, of course, covered in red ink by the time I was done. I also mentioned Always's background, lest he try to tell me again that I was ignorant.  

I will give him credit for admitting he was wrong. He sent a reply saying he'd had no idea he'd forgotten so much of what he learned in school, and apologizing for yelling at us for the rejection. I don't think he ever came back, but I'm pretty sure that apology was a first! (And probably a last. People tend not to take it well when they ask what's wrong with their rejected fic and we take the time to give them specifics....


I remember asking someone (on TtH, where I post most of my work) to critique my early work.  I too, had apparently forgotten all the rules, and while I don't pretend to have them down perfectly now, rereading my old stuff (even after repeated 'fixes' ) makes me cringe. 

The critique almost broke me, but the person was right, even though it hurt like hell.  I licked my wounds for a bit, then I made it my business to relearn the rules.  I'll be eternally grateful to that person, though I still hate them a little too!!

The take home message is that it's worth it to have all the dross stripped away and to rebuild yourself.  Even if you think you can write.  Even great ideas are hard to read if presented badly. 

My British/American issue was that I had studied both sets of rules, and ended up mastering neither (though like your author, I thought I had the British English down).  If you are in import from one or the other tradition, pick one, and learn it.  It doesn't matter which you pick, just don't try to do both, it will make you crazy. 

Blue
http://www.tthfanfic.org/authors.php?no=12717&list=profile


Good advice, Blue.  I remember being embarrassed the first time my punctuation errors were pointed out, but I was pretty grateful for it.  Probably wouldn't have taken content advice as well, though. But usually, if the mechanics improve, so does the writing style. :)
I am not a minion of Evil...
I am upper management.
Feb 15 2014 10:32 am   #4nmcil12
I have found that I almost always ended up with much better work after getting the "it's not your best"  from my husband.  After the initial bit anger or disappointment I get back to it and come back with a much improved work.  

One of my fav songs from the great Astaire-Rogers films is "Pick Yourself Up" by Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields - pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again.   Good advice.

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