tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468546013884694910.post5431462850956110103..comments2024-03-28T08:02:30.691-04:00Comments on The League of Extraordinary Writers: Writing Tips: Knowing When To Fold 'EmAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11431700962951592287noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468546013884694910.post-11056492541702402592016-06-21T15:14:38.452-04:002016-06-21T15:14:38.452-04:00When we write we really need a apostrophe checker ...When we write we really need a <a href="http://www.freepunctuationchecker.com/with-our-punctuation-checker-you-are-confident-about-your-paper/" rel="nofollow">apostrophe checker free</a> which will tell that it is absolutely fine or not.aliyaahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06184256288293330921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468546013884694910.post-58555579863090418662013-11-25T17:49:18.220-05:002013-11-25T17:49:18.220-05:00People are actually fretting over 'rules'?...People are actually fretting over 'rules'? This I don't understand. Everyone has their own style. Aside from spelling and grammar and the rules of the language, there should<br />be no formula for a novel. It should be natural.Jack Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01305754537577228060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468546013884694910.post-30013829326099286092013-11-25T17:48:03.788-05:002013-11-25T17:48:03.788-05:00People are actually fretting over 'rules'?...People are actually fretting over 'rules'? This I don't understand. Everyone has their own style. Aside from spelling and grammar and the rules of the language, there should<br />be no formula for a novel. It should be natural.Jack Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01305754537577228060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468546013884694910.post-43055152374927903972011-07-22T19:44:57.022-04:002011-07-22T19:44:57.022-04:00I spent my career as a technical writer, which inc...I spent my career as a technical writer, which included editing several other writers' work. They caught holy hell from me.<br /><br />Now that I write fiction, I decide what rules to break, but I darned well know when I'm breaking them (well, mostly).<br /><br />An unfortunate habit I acquired is editing everything when I read it. On my Kindle, that means many books have a ton of notes. I never make them public, but have asked writers I know if they'd like to have my edit notes. Unfortunately, after publication, it's too late.<br /><br />I recommend the Read Aloud feature with Acrobat or reading your work on an ereader (smaller pages makes errors stand out) before shipping your work to publishers or agents.<br /><br />One additional note: Using a 'to be' verb is NOT passive voice. Look it up. Is, was, are, etc. are perfectly valid words. You can find them in any dictionary.Cellophane Queenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08166797508899835493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468546013884694910.post-69504880573889550582011-07-22T11:51:22.164-04:002011-07-22T11:51:22.164-04:00Great quote and great post! My personal opinion (f...Great quote and great post! My personal opinion (for pretty much all of life, but especially the arts) is that you have to know the rules before you can break them. You have no right to break rules you don't know. Once you know them, know their purpose, then you have earned the right to go breaking as many as you want. Until then... :) And yes, in answer to your question, I've been breaking some grammar rules with my current first-person, present-tense MS. There's a lot of sentence fragments, and a lot of missing conjunctions. But I think it works. :)Melodyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08846251713093236356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468546013884694910.post-84888753838508092842011-07-22T10:55:19.530-04:002011-07-22T10:55:19.530-04:00I love that quote, because he's not using the ...I love that quote, because he's not using the common, modern meaning of observe. Great stuff!<br /><br />And I totally agree. You have to know the rules, so that when you break them, you're doing it on purpose, and with good reason.Matthew MacNishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03264738483763244969noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468546013884694910.post-25569860382951568062011-07-22T10:53:58.767-04:002011-07-22T10:53:58.767-04:00I hear you on the flashbacks...working with that r...I hear you on the flashbacks...working with that right now. Not quite certain why they are such a no-no anyway.<br /><br />(Even though, sometimes when I write one, my brain goes all wavy just like the dream sequences on Gilligan's Island...)<br /><br />Shelleystoryqueenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07039684494823420722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468546013884694910.post-82931948439434345382011-07-22T08:16:05.843-04:002011-07-22T08:16:05.843-04:00The rules can be overwhelming. I've decided to...The rules can be overwhelming. I've decided to do the best I can and hope my weaknesses can be helped by those who edit my work.Karahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03925811510913201292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468546013884694910.post-26420181866310209442011-07-22T08:02:29.640-04:002011-07-22T08:02:29.640-04:00This was a nice post, and it totally makes sense. ...This was a nice post, and it totally makes sense. I get so overwhelmed with all the "rules" that are out there for writing! It seems like they are neverending sometimes!Jade @ Chasing Empty Pavementshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10590414996286300613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468546013884694910.post-81795464870876921442011-07-22T07:53:11.823-04:002011-07-22T07:53:11.823-04:00I break almost all of the rules, but then a friend...I break almost all of the rules, but then a friend of mine makes me unbreak 85% of them:)Michelle Flickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11452307689508498982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5468546013884694910.post-9817843724927337212011-07-22T06:29:33.073-04:002011-07-22T06:29:33.073-04:00I think that the more you write, the more you know...I think that the more you write, the more you know intuitively when to break the rules---kind of like what you said about practice. :-)Paul Grecihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11340974339238587138noreply@blogger.com