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 Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 10:19 am
So... I have to admit that I'm a huge procrastinator and waste way too much time reading blogs and forums and other things about writing. I often see people asking questions and getting what I feel is terrible advice (and linking to sources that are clearly biased). Sometimes the advice is well-meaning but outdated and no longer accurate, or relates to a different genre or type of writing. Sometimes it's advocating sticking to absolute rules. Sometimes it's just a matter of personal preference. And sometimes it's advice that could be harmful to the writer--saying that new writers have to pay to be published, for example. Do you have any pet peeves when it comes to writing advice? Do you step in and offer your own opinion, or do you let it go? *Started thinking about this after reading a blog post by Justine Larbalestier.
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Posted: Fri Mar 19, 2010 7:51 pm
Most of my bad advice is just what my mother has to say about my work.
"It is too dark." You know I write about monsters, darkness, murder, sadism, what have you, that I like horror and horror-related things, and that a lot of my characters are amoral and/or gray. This is a big, "no duh!"
"I like this character." Why? Seriously. I never got an answer.
"You shouldn't have this character swear. You know better than that. Set a good example. Etc." I am not my character, and my character will swear because that is who she is. It was not even one of the bigger offenders. Even funnier that literally about two paragraphs down started a rape scene which she did not notice on looking over my shoulder...
This coming from the same woman who goes into long paragraphs detailing her character's family tree, lives in a bubble world where adults are always right, or at least, respected by kids even if they disagree, and where nearly everything she writes translates into "a girl and her horse"...
At least I have dabbled in fairy tales, myths, and fantasy along with my horror obsession...
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Posted: Sat Mar 20, 2010 7:06 pm
Well... at least she likes your characters? xd
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Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2010 2:37 am
Not really an annoyance but I hate it when people says I should speak and write in more common words instead of lengthy, complicated ones. How is that good advice? I always ask my tutors to rip apart my writing, a masochist at heart haha.
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DesertRoseFallen Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2010 2:35 pm
Racheling Well... at least she likes your characters? xd Just one character, probably because in the story she read him in, he came off as a "hero" type. A lot of my characters tend to be more "villainous," regardless of if they are villains or not. Desert: My style also kind of fits the carefully crafted words. I have never encountered that, though, except one teacher pointing out that I love that "graciously" word (but that was good advice XD).
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Posted: Sun Mar 21, 2010 4:57 pm
"Your grammar is wrong"
Ok.. how? Where? English isn't my mother tongue, if you can help me understand my grammatical mistakes, I can learn from it.
"Your character's speech is grammatically incorrect"
Wow. You mean everyone speaks with perfect grammar?
I've since learned to not feel annoyed at people who point out that my character's grammar isn't perfect, but that was a definite annoyance at the time.
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DesertRoseFallen Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2010 1:31 pm
Haha!
Nightmare - Yep, well some people just can't understand certain words...small minds.
Nefas - I agree, everyone speaks with perfect grammar xD Not.
Also, I hate it when people pick out words that are 'spelt wrong'. I am English, of course I spell some words differently than Americans! I point the fact out and refuse to change it.
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Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2010 7:29 pm
Oh god, yes! The English vs American spelling. Many fun arguments have been had because of that.
Also, any idea which is correct? Program or Programme?
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Posted: Mon Mar 22, 2010 10:36 pm
My only issue with American English vs. British English is consistency. I will likely say something if it seems to alternate between British and American.
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Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2010 10:04 am
Nefas Fatum Oh god, yes! The English vs American spelling. Many fun arguments have been had because of that. Also, any idea which is correct? Program or Programme? I have never actually seen the spelling 'programme'...must be American. Well Americans have come from England, so our spelling is the...seed. However, I see them both right and I used to spell with the American 'z' until my tutor had a fit haha.
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DesertRoseFallen Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2010 7:01 pm
DesertRoseFallen Nefas Fatum Oh god, yes! The English vs American spelling. Many fun arguments have been had because of that. Also, any idea which is correct? Program or Programme? I have never actually seen the spelling 'programme'...must be American. Well Americans have come from England, so our spelling is the...seed. However, I see them both right and I used to spell with the American 'z' until my tutor had a fit haha. I've lived in America all my life (I've never left the country actually... *sigh*) and I've never seen 'programme' either. Just sayin' xp
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Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2010 8:14 pm
"Programme" is actually British (think it originated from French), but in both America and England, program is the most common and preferred spelling. ^^
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DesertRoseFallen Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 11:44 am
Yes you never see it here.
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Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 5:00 pm
Ah.. yeah, that makes sense. The reason I came across the 'programme' spelling is because I deal with some multicultural stuff and the debate on that spelling came up recently.
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Psychotic Maniacal Sanity Crew
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Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2010 5:06 pm
I don't think that you never see programme, I think it's just preference. I usually use programme, because I think it looks nicer. I think originally they had different meanings too, slightly, because when I was younger I was taught that they were different (though now I can't remember why! I should research...)
It really bugs me when people correct words like 'grey' and 'realise' though, because that's how most English people spell those! And colour. Ugh. It's when people are ignorant and don't know that there is a different cultural spelling that I often decide the rest of their feedback probably isn't worth it. ninja
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